As I look out the window on this fine Dec. 2 morning, my brain is getting a bit muddled. It sees white stuff. Lots of white stuff. Snow. Where am I? Am I in Canada (not in Ottawa though since it rained in Ottawa yesterday) or in Belgium? I have to say that snow this early is a bit crazy here. And it is cold. Not -40 middle of winter Saskatchewan cold but Dec. 2 in Belgium cold.

Yesterday I’m sad to say the cold cracked me. I got out in the morning for my planned 90 minute tempo work-out and I had decided to tack on some extra time to be spent riding in the Averbode Forest. Well, normally this isn’t a problem for me. I tend to overdress so I’m typically warmer than I should be. Not on Tuesday! I got my intervals done and focused on getting back to the house. My toes were cold. My fingers were cold. The wind was blowing right through me. To top it off, the bicycle paths were very icy – forcing me to ride on the road a big “no no” here in Belgium.

It is amazing what riding in such cold weather does to the body. I became very hungry during my ride and for the rest of the day I was pretty tired and wiped out. Suppose this is all a good sign that I pushed my body but I’d like to think I can recover better than that. Normally on Wednesdays I go to Floreal Lichtaart for a cyclo-cross skills session but I decided with the cold weather and the rather icy conditions to pass on zipping around on the trails. For once, I’m quite happy to have “skipped” a training session….

Today is not looking much more friendly for training purposes. All I have today is a recovery ride so I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a very long time… I’m going to ride the rollers. I used to ride the rollers all the time back in 1994/95 but when we got a CompuTrainer this all changed. But I might as well get back on the rollers today and get comfortable riding them again. They are really good for teaching you how to spin and this is a big deficiency of mine. Besides, I’m hoping the “thrill” of riding the rollers will help the time pass more quickly. I don’t think I’ll try watching television (downloaded shows on my computer) for this first time back on the rollers. (Anyway, I’ll be sure to let you know how the ride goes….)

Doing a double-header this weekend with a couple of races with the junior boys. Not exactly sure where we’re racing on Saturday but I know on Sunday we’ll be racing in Averbode. Very nice to be able to race so close to the house and on a pretty fun course.

Well, I best be off. The rollers are calling my name. Hoping I don’t fall off!

(Oh check out this amazing video from the Koksijde World Cup – you can see me at 4:38 into the video…)