So nice to get outside today. It wasn’t the warmest day of the week but it wasn’t the coldest either. So it was all good. On order today was a recovery ride. 90 minutes of nice light pedaling. Perfect for a Friday. Loaded up the iPod with some of my favorite podcasts and hit the open road.

Unfortunately most of the small country roads are still snowy and slick so I had to stick to the busier roads. No problems though – the bicycle paths are all clear of snow. I had a super smooth ride. Did get lost for a bit and ended up in Eindhout (with only 30 minutes of planned riding left)… I made it home almost an hour later. Perfect – I got in two hours of recovery instead!

Felt so nice to be outside breathing the fresh air and checking out the sights. Didn’t see anything too crazy today. The usual mix of classic Belgian brick houses with the odd uber modern house thrown in. Did see a house with siding on it… Forgot how ugly siding really is.

Hit up the bike store in Geel today with Erik (the latest Canadian to arrive on the scene). I picked up and thought about buying a lot of stuff. But I put it all back. Did buy Marc some new cycling socks – two pairs of winter socks for 9 euros (can’t go wrong)!

Been having a pretty chilled out evening. Smooth decaf-cappuccino brewed up in the silver bullet and some milk made bubbly with my handy dandy milk foamer. Now it is time to relax for a bit. Have the latest issue of Rouleur magazine (thanks to Erik) to read and some chai tea to drink. Early trainer ride tomorrow morning and then in the car to go to Marc’s race. I’d rather be going to Roubaix but such is life. Really looking forward to racing next weekend! (My thumb is slowly getting better. The swelling is going down but the flexibility and rang of motion is not improving. It was okay on the bike today – except when I hit the odd bump. But I know it will be fine come Tabor.)

Happy weekend. Make sure you get up and do something fun. Remember your New Year Resolutions? Well, time to tick an item or two off the list this weekend.