Made it home to Ottawa on Monday with no incidents. Flight was pretty smooth – having an entire row to myself helped as did watching movies/television for the entire duration… Best news was that all of our luggage arrived and the bikes made it through fine. You just never know what is going to happen to the bike once it is taken away and placed in the belly of the plane.

Tuesday was a bit of a blur. Unpacking. Staring at piles of stuff considering what to do next. Catching up with the gang at The Cyclery was a major positive in the day. We talked cyclo-cross and road racing. Good stuff happening all around.

So this is my last day of the off-season. I’m not really sure if what I’m in right now is an off-season but I don’t have another word for it… I guess it is the last day of my recovery-season. I had a great talk with coach Steve on Tuesday and he’s already put together a solid plan for the next few weeks. Lots of fun stuff in the plan to keep things challenging – riding (of course) the trainer/rollers and then for some extra spice, I’m doing some trail running and “winter endurance training”. Winter endurance training basically is translated to: get outside, move your body, have fun, challenge yourself and just enjoy it.

I think I’m going to really be looking forward to my winter endurance training Sundays. (Assuming the temperatures don’t dip any lower…). Thursday it all starts again. I’m looking forward to it. It would be nice to be riding outside like my Belgian friends but I know it would be impossible to limit myself right now. As much as I’d like to believe I’m “good to go”, I’m still not. So it is a bit easier to follow this ease into/ramp up plan when the riding involves the basement and not moving, rather than getting out on the open roads. Suppose there are some benefits to being a bike racer who lives in snowy Ottawa.

Off the bike I’m starting something new tonight – Dutch lessons. For two hours a week for seven weeks I’ll be doing my best to learn Dutch. I do have some basics thanks to four winters in Belgium, but I’ve got a long way to go. I’ll let you know how things turn out.

You might be wondering how I spend my days now that I’m back in Ottawa… Well, you may know that I’m a writer. I spent 15 years as a technical writer and I have a Bachelor of Journalism. I’ve transitioned myself to a telecommute/work-from-home freelance technical writer and editor and freelance marketing/SEO/web site copy writer. Yes, so basically I have the skills and knowledge to write whatever it is that needs to be written. For example, user guides, training material, blog posts, web site content, installation guides, etc. So this is what I spend my days doing. Though the thing is, I’m short on contracts right now – so if you’re looking for a whiz-bang writer – I’m ready willing and able.

Okay, that’s enough of a sales job. Sorry to have to do that but such is the reality of life. Alright, I best be off – we’re in the midst of a snowstorm here in Ottawa so the drive will be slow and I don’t want to be late for my first class! If you’re in Belgium – please no more posts/comments/Tweets about riding without gloves… (For the record I’ll be riding in shorts and bare legs tomorrow…)