Friday was epic. One of those days it will take a while for me to forget.

Made the trip to Sint-Niklaas to cheer on Marc and Ed and to work the pits for them. Pretty good racing. Though the organizers decided to have all three Masters categories on the course at once – this made for frequent traffic jams and hold-ups for the racers. The pit was jammed packed. So packed I could barely see Marc and Ed when they came by. Luckily I saw Marc at the right time and saw him raise his arm to signal that he needed to pit. I recruited a guy to catch his bike and the bike exchange was flawless. Marc had a tough day on the bike – he crashed a few times – but he still came in for an admirable 16th place finish. Ed was strong and finished 6th – battling his way through the back of the Masters B and A packs. So far so good.

I had decided to ride from Sint-Niklaas to Westmeerbeek. This way I could watch the guys race and still get in a good day of training. Worked out a route with Tim and Jos. Looked like it would be close to 60 km. Pretty good. I set off at around 1:30. The trouble started about 20 minutes in.

Stomach cramps. Really bad ones. But I blocked them out and focused on the ride and making sure I didn’t get lost. I was essentially supposed to follow the N16 (a major road) bike path and then in Mechelen pickup the N15 (another major road) bike path. There were a few twists and turns due to road works but I made it to Mechelen in good time. I got a bit lost so I called Jos and then set out. Well, I messed up and ended up in Zemst. Zemst is in the completely wrong direction. Not only was I now lost, I also had a flat tire. Oh – and my stomach was getting worse.

So I did what any modern bike racer does – pulled out the cell phone and called Marc. He and Ed were still in Sint-Niklaas and would be in Zemst in 30 minutes or so. Thanks to the power of the GPS they found me huddled in a bus shelter frozen to the bone and hunched over. What a relief to see that white van pull up. I got in the van and off we went. Well, sort of.

My stomach finally rebelled big time. Suffice it to say – I was very ill on the side of the road. Poor Marc and Ed – I felt terrible about dragging them away from the race and then to be sick in front of them. Made it home finally and I went straight to bed. Marc was awesome – brought me hot water bottles, checked in on me, got me a Fanta and some bubbly water. Verdict – food poisoning. Not sure from what.

So that was my epic day. According to Tim: “An epic is needed once in a while. Only thing that toughens you up.”

Well, this isn’t the post I was planning to write. Certainly didn’t think at 8:00 a.m. this morning when I set off for Petange with a fully-loaded car that I’d be returning to write this: I did not race today. Don’t worry – I’m fine. I made it to Petange without incident. Found the permanance (registration), found the race start and course. Even got a good parking spot right next to the other Canadians.

Chatted with D-Rock about the course – he gave me some ample warning on the conditions… Got kitted up and set out. Well, lets just say this course was well outside my skillset. Wet slippery leaves covered frozen rutted mud. Many high speed twisty descents on said wet leaves and rutted mud. It seemed like every other tree was covered in padding to protect the innocent racers. I did one lap.

That’s it. I tried to convince myself that I could race the course. But I could barely ride it. It was beyond me. So I packed it in. Packed up my bikes and gear. Got changed. Called Marc – cried a little bit. Said good luck to D-Rock and Natasha and hit the road back to Westmeerbeek. The real drag about the whole ordeal was that I really wasted my entire day. I spent 5 hours driving. All I got in one was an hour on the trainer.

How am I feelng? Okay I guess. No excuses can be made or said. No reason for not racing can be produced. Honestly – the course was beyond my skillset. Next year I’ll be back and I’ll race on that course. But this year I can’t do it.

Is it a new year for you? It isn’t for me. Just because the calendar is rolling over, this doesn’t signify a new year for me. My new year starts in April. The start of a new racing season. I suppose if you don’t race ‘cross, you are well on your way to your new year…

It is hard to remember that it is New Year’s Eve here in Belgium. I’m really used to the “way” New Year’s Eve is celebrated at home in Canada – with mass commercialism. It is easy to forgot that something “big” is happening when you’re not listening to the media. Maybe since I’m tuned out of the language here, I’m missing out. We didn’t really do anything to celebrate – went out for some food at Sultan’s in Herselt. Now Nikki and Matt B. are over for a glass of champagne and a chat.

I’m racing tomorrow. I’m right back on the horse. I cracked but I’m over it. From what I hear, a crack is normal every once-in-awhile. Suppose it is normal. Just didn’t really think it would happen to me. I really did have a lot of fun at Azencross yesterday. I loved the course. I loved the conditions. I had a blast. Don’t know what the course will be like tomorrow in Luxembourg. I’m just looking forward to another race and to putting the bad feelings behind me. I don’t really have many more races left here. Next week is quiet because of the national champs happening everywhere except Canada and the U.S.

Had a solid ride today. Close to two hours. Picked up on some of my old summer routes. We had a trip planned to visit Math Salden – a pretty good cycling shop just an hour from here. If it wasn’t for this trip and the cold, I really could have stayed out for 3 hours. I was in the biking groove – legs felt good, head was clear, a perfect route, and some excellent tunes on the iPod. Loving my new super hat that I bought a few weeks ago. Okay, I best jet. Time to wind down and hit the sack. Have an early start tomorrow.

Happy New Year! Remember, don’t make any resolutions. You’ll only come to regret these later. Set some goals, make a plan, and work towards achieving your goal. Baby steps. And you’ll get there. And take it from me, there will be bumps along the way – but stay focused and remember why you set the goal.

I suppose I should flash back two days ago. Two days ago, I quit racing cyclo-cross. Yep, I quit. I had a rough time at the World Cup. The course scared me. I didn’t ride well. I finished second last. I really had decided that was it. I was done.

I had a couple of mopey days around the house here. Marc did his most to convince me to keep racing ‘cross. We made a deal – I would go out and pre-ride the Azencross course today – if I wasn’t comfortable or not having fun – that was it – I could leave. But wouldn’t you know it – Marc was right. I had fun on the pre-ride. The course was perfect for my “comeback” ride. Rock hard. Frozen ground. Lots of long stretches. Technical but not uber-technical.

I have to tell you that I was really ripped up inside about deciding to stop racing ‘cross. I felt guilty. But relieved. I felt guilty about all the people I was letting down. But I felt relieved to not have to put myself out there and risk being afraid on the bike. I realized though after listening to Marc that it was one race and one race course that had made me feel this way. I couldn’t let one experience erase everything I’ve worked for. So a big thanks to Marc for making me “get back on the horse”.

I’ve written a race report and posted it. I had a good ride today. An early crash set me back a bit but I just put my head down and turned on my diesel engine. I had fun. I would see girls. I would catch them. Then I would pass them. Not a bad way to spend 40 minutes. Last year I was lapped on this race course. Not today. Nice. I must say it was nice to ride the frozen ground as compared to squishy slippery mud.

After my race I chatted with Nikki H. and Matt B. for a few minutes. Had to congratulate Nikki – today is her 22nd birthday and she was 7th in the race. A pretty solid day for Nikki! Then it was back to the super van for some cool-down time. I’m a big fan of the cool-down now. I’ve learned I like/need a long warm-up and really benefit from a long cool-down. Today I cut the cool-down short since my toes were frozen ice blocks. Made a rookie move and put on cold shoes right before the race – I thought it would be smart to put on dry shoes – but these dry shoes were also freezing cold – my toes started the race cold and were still cold when we left the race! Another lesson learned. We made a quick detour to the Sven Nys tent/booth so I could buy a Sven Nys souvenir – picked up a pretty cool painter’s cap. Then we were off.

We made a detour into Antwerp to hit up the Decathlon and Saturn. I was finally able to buy Marc his birthday present – some windproof bib tights. Happy belated birthday Marc! Our tummies were rumbling so we went for some fine-dining – the Ikea restaurant. Actually it was pretty good and the price can’t be beat. One more stop on the way home at the Carrefour and finally we made it back to Westmeerbeek.

Just chilling out now watching the men’s race on the television. Extra bonus today was the footage of the women’s race. Bed will be very soon. Next up is Luxembourg on Thursday – got some logistics to sort out for that one. I’m back on the horse. And ready to go.

I am slow in posting this – my sincerest apologies:

Marc was 3rd in his race at Balagem on Sunday! Congrats Marc on an awesome ride. Your improvements from last year are really showing.

Racing and training are coming together perfectly for Marc. So nice to see.