Redemption...

Without much time or energy to type right now, I just wanted to report that our, and especially my, situation has improved here.

After my last post I spent a long day dedicated to regaining my health and it worked. When I woke up in the morning I was up at about 95% wellness again. The bonus—the rain was letting up. I bundled up and set out with Evan and Judd determined to get a good ride in no matter what. It worked. The ride was amazing. We rode out to the coast and back on some of the best roads I’ve ridden here. We rode on the beach too, that was fun. It did downpour twice, but we were lucky enough to time perfect coffee stops that were just long enough for the cells to pass. It was a really good day—Evan, who’s only been here since the weather has been nasty said it was his $3000 ride as it seemed to make his trip over worthwhile.

To make a great day even better we all headed back to Brugge for the afternoon. The bonus was that the sun came out. We had our second meal out for the trip, going to an awesome restaurant for a sampling of traditional Belgian dishes prepared by a real chef. I loved whatever it was that I had. Some stew with fish, potatoes, carrots, some different greens and something similar to a creamy chowder base. I also had some muscles as a starter. It was the first meal I could taste in almost a week and really put the finishing touch on bringing me back to life. After dinner we walked the canals on the less crowded back streets and stopped for coffee at a café. Then home for sleep.

Today we raced. I rode to the race on more fabulous roads - a 24 mile ride just to get there. The race was crazy. A field size of over 100 riders on the tiniest Belgian roads we’ve seen with the nastiest winds that we’ve seen. It made the whole loop a killer. Ryan and I hung strong until about 10 laps to go, Ryan dropping off a little before I did. At least as far as my experience was concerned—the lights just went out, and all at once. No more pedaling. I think I got around 30th place. The field was down to about 25 as soon as I got a chance to count the remaining riders. Then, because I was still looking to make up for some lost mileage, and the sun was out, I also rode home from the race the long way. All told I rode over one hundred miles today and while I was completely shattered for the last 20 or so I was also in complete bliss.

I’ve been eating for the last two hours but apparently I need to keep going. Not quite feeling conscious yet.

Mitch