Into a solid week of training. Nothing like a few hard back-to-back days to keep the pistons firing and the brain alive.

On Wednesday I set out for a longish road ride with a bunch of different intervals. Tempo intervals. Start intervals. More tempo intervals. A good hard ride. Love those start intervals. They’re getting better. Now just need to translate this to the race. This will come as well. Back to the house for some food and a bit of a sit down. Then it was out for the afternoon ride. ‘Cross ride in the woods was on order. Perfect. Put the trusty Stevens Super-Prestige in the back of the car and made my way to Kasterlee. Kasterlee is the cyclo-cross training mecca. So many trails. A specific cyclo-cross training loop that has everything – fast descents, tight twists and turns, sandy climbs, a definite run, some power stretches. Really everything. My goal was to go out and push my limits.

You see, Kasterlee and I have some history… Last year I cracked at Kasterlee. This was the scene of my second crack of the season. I scared myself at Kasterlee last year. Convinced myself that I couldn’t ride the trail. Was all over the brake. Was super stiff. Then I crashed into a tree. That did it for me. I put the bike and the car and told Marc I was done. But that was last year…

Well, yesterday I rode at Kasterlee… And I loved it. Had a blast. Wish I could have gone there again. I started out by just getting a feel for the training loop. Then I started to test my limits – working on staying off the brake, taking corners faster, pedaling more, looking ahead. You know – really riding. I was having a blast. I could feel myself getting better. Then the best thing happened. These two old guys adopted me…

I was running up a sandy climb and about to hop on my bike when the two guys started talking to me. In my broken Flemish and their broken English we managed to sort out who they were and who I was then. They then both gave me lots of tips. The one guy (provincial coach of the little little kids) tested my tire pressure for me and then told me to come out every Wednesday at 2:00 for training. The other guy looked at me and said “you follow me – I’ll show you how to ride”. Well, what a fast couple of laps – it was awesome. This guy was most impressive – I don’t think he touched his brakes once and man can he run! After the two laps we stopped – he gave me more tips and then said he would follow me. Alright. Off we went – I was doing my best and he was riding behind me shouting at me and giving me tips. It was awesome. Rode around with him for a bit more and then we parted ways. I really had a good hard training session. I was able to break the course down into sections and practice specific sections and just keep trying to get faster and more smooth.

It was a great training session. I could have stayed there all afternoon practicing. But my legs were pretty wiped out and there was the small matter of a broken front derailleur. Yep, snapped the front derailleur when I tried to shift to the small ring. Ah well, who needs a small ring? I rode around for a while with just the big ring and then called it a day.

Funny, this ride really showed me how far I’ve come. I had a blast. There was no fear. There was only – how much faster can I go? Get through this section without touching the brakes. Put your wheel in the track and pedal. Look up – pedal, pedal, pedal. Here comes the hill – sprint into it, hop off and run.

So that was my Wednesday. A most excellent day of training on all accounts. Great time in the saddle for my legs, lungs, head, and heart. All translating into some improved skills and a bit more confidence. Can’t ask for much more from a day of training.

Today was another day of intensity. But with only one session on the bike. Today was all about threshold intervals. Ya, exactly. Threshold intervals. Suffice it to say, I’ve pretty much just lazed around since that ride. I had intended to get out on my bike for a little roll in the woods because Marc replaced my chain and brake pads on my “red Hudz” bike. But it was raining pretty hard this afternoon… So I’ll take it tomorrow for a nice ride along the river in Westerlo.

Marc and I hit up the bike shop in Geel for some bike bits. New black bar tape for me and new leg warmers for Marc. (Couldn’t convince him to take my red ones!)

All in all, a couple of pretty darn good days of training. Next week is a bit of a heavy week as well. Good. I love heavy weeks. Have to get them in now because soon enough I’ll be back in the UCI C1 and C2 races and World Cup mode. This weekend I’m chasing the junior boys around in Lotenhulle and Averbode. The Averbode race is literally a ten minute ride from our place. It will be nice to stay nice and close to home on Sunday. I’m thinking this will leave me some time to go chill out at the cafe in the afternoon…

I have a new article up on Cyclocross Magazine. Click on over and give it a read…

Balint Hamvas of cyclephotos.co.uk was out at the Koksijde World Cup on Saturday and snapped some pretty great shots of me racing. Many thanks to Balint for the great photos. They photos give you an idea of how insane the sand is!

Thanks again to Balint for the awesome photos! Be sure to check out his site for lots more Koksijde World Cup photos.

Four weeks in. Yep, I’ve been here for four weeks now. Amazing. Crazy. It doesn’t really seem possible. The time has whipped by. Yes, there were some quiet days when I just rode my bike, came home and didn’t do anything or talk to anyone. But this is the life of a bike racer living far away from home.

I admit that it is not easy. Some days after a tough race or even a quiet day – I would question my decision to be here alone. I used to scoff at riders who said it was so “hard” to come to Belgium and live and race. In the past, I couldn’t relate to this sentiment… But now that I’ve been here alone – I totally understand where these guys are coming from. It is one thing to come here with your spouse, best friend, team mate, etc – and a completely other thing to come here alone.

But, I’m glad I did it alone for a bit. It has made me a stronger person and bike racer. From getting the flat tire on the first day, to being responsible for all my own bike maintenance, to getting to the races, finding pit help, and just simply getting on with the business of racing my bike – I’ve learned a lot.

Really, it has taught me that, I can do this. I can race my bike here in Belgium. I’m not winning any races. But I’m not out-of-place. I can think on my feet to adapt to the race conditions and most importantly recognize when things aren’t coming together. I think this has primarily come from not having a “shoulder to cry on” after the tough days. I’ve simply had to learn to suck it up, listen to the hard advice “your starts are terrible”, “you’re too tense on the descents”, “yep that was a bad day”. Truly these are all things that have been said to me after races. Tough words to hear, but I’m really thankful that people took the time to give me this advice.

I think this is what can make or break a stint of racing ‘cross in Belgium. You really have to be ready to have some hard days and to hear the sometimes brutally harsh words after a race. There is no coddling here. You have it. Or you don’t.

I like to think that I’m on the path to getting close to having it. I’m learning each and everyday. Now the next big step is to make these things second nature… For example: always a high cadence, don’t grind through the mud and sand, look ahead, don’t use the front brake, light on the saddle, sprint out of everything, start wide, go slow to be fast, don’t stop pedaling when you’re thinking/nervous.

I’m looking forward to a good couple of weeks of training. I’ve got two weekends of smaller racers happening. Looks like this weekend I’ll be chasing the junior boys around. The following weekend I’m off to Holland for some races with the girls. Then the big races happen with Scheldecross, two World Cups, Azencross, etc. Fast times indeed.

I have a feeling the next four weeks are going to be just as good. My head is ready for more lessons. My heart is feeling strong. My legs are fresh and want to keep pushing on the pedals.

And in typical Vicki fashion, I’m already thinking ahead to next season and how I can swing coming here in September… Yes, September. I need to be here racing and training to reach the level I want to be at. Just need to work on that money tree! All kidding aside, I am serious about coming in September – so if you have any ideas/suggestions – I’m all ears.

Oh, Marc brought some goodies with him yesterday. Most importantly my Fatcyclist.com cycling hat and socks. Lets just say both items are super hot. Love the pink detailing on the cycling cap. And the socks – perfect height – not too high and not too low -black with the Fatcyclist.com logo on the back. Very cool. Marc, also brought me a super gift for achieving the UCI points I need – a Sony eBook Reader. This is the coolest gift ever! I am a book lover. I can’t get enough books. And now with Sony eBook Reader, I can cart around up to 350 books on my handy little device. Perfect gift for a book loving bike racer living far away from home. Thanks Marc!

Sorry, not much of a post today. Today has been a very busy and good day… Marc arrived today! We got home at around 12:30 from the Brussels airport – and luckily the bikes arrived.

Bit of lunch. Some unpacking. Some bike building on Marc’s part. Then we hit the fresh air for a little roll around. I had only a recovery ride on the schedule today so it worked out nicely for Marc. We pedaled around some of our favorite training roads – enjoy the bright blue sky and the sun. Not too shabby for late November.

The rest of the day went by in a blur.

I’ll have something more thoughtful about the bike racing life tomorrow (I hope). But in the meantime, click on over to Pedal Magazine to read my article about the UCI Cyclo-Cross Training Camp.

I’ve received many kind and thoughtful emails and comments from you guys the last few days. Greatly appreciated. Your support really does help me keep the pedals turning. I hope I can do the same for you!

Had a super ride on the ‘cross bike today. Inspired by the on- and off-road we did on Thursday, I decided to link up my own such route. What a fun time. I pumped up the jets to a solid 40 psi and rolled out the front door. Quick pedal later and I was in the Averbode nature preserve. This is an awesome place to ride. It has everything – big heavy muddy fire roads, sandy climbs/descents, twisty muddy singletrack that traverse a pretty sizeable hill, uber-fast descents. I rode around in this cycling heaven for an hour or so and then popped across the street to the Averbody Abby.

The Averbode Abby is a popular riding choice for a lot of mountain bikers. It also offers a wide range of terrain with a pretty good network of linked trails. There is a ‘cross race at the Averbode Abby next Sunday so part of the course is already marked. I rolled around on it for a bit and then headed off deeper into the forest. Ended up riding on some pretty deep and muddy fire road/horse trails. Popped out eventually in a little community called Veerle Laakdal. Picked up the forest trails again and roamed all around. Then did a bit of road riding ending up on the edge of the Blauberg Forest. Dove into the Blauberg forest and roamed all over the place – some more singletrack combined with deep muddy roads and a bit of sand thrown in. Eventually popped out onto a road and rolled home.

All in all, an excellent two hour romp on the bike. It was so relaxing to be out riding in nature. I saw the odd cyclist, a few horses, some runners, and a few dog walkers. It was super stimulating to be surrounded by nature. Perfect opportunity for me to clear my head and focus on getting better technically. At times I found myself reverting to my old ways of grinding through the mud… Luckily I caught myself and reminded myself to get my feet turning over and repeated the “pedal, pedal, pedal” mantra over and over in my head. I also worked on riding on the tops of the bars – this helps me keep my hands away from the brakes and allows me to practice pulling up on the bars to help get through the heavy conditions.

Bit cool today with some sprinkles of rain, but in the woods I didn’t notice the weather. Just me, my bike and my trusty iPod for company. Could have stayed out longer but I got a couple of serious soakers and my feet were a bit cold – as well my stomach was rumbling.

Really looking forward to doing a similar ride again this week – I hope I can link things together so well again. Really it isn’t a problem living here since there are forests and trail networks all around us. Guess the bonus is that each ride is probably going to be a bit different. Fun stuff.

I took a couple pictures after the ride. One of my muddy Stevens Super-Prestige and the other is a muddy photo of myself (I’m not so good at the self-portrait and yes, I do need a haircut – but what do you think of that jacket???).

As for the rest of the day. Well, I’m going to see if the Super-Prestige race in Gieten, Netherlands is on television. I’ll chill out and watch it and then I’ll head to my favorite watering hole (cafe) in Westerlo for some decaf cappuccino and a bit of writing. Pretty quiet night tonight – everyone I know is away right now… But that’s okay because the most important person is arriving tomorrow! Yay!

(Congrats to Fearless Leader for his solid 6th place ride in Sterling, Mass. Also massive shout out to Josee for her most impressive 19th place finish in Sterling.)