It has taken two weeks

But I have finally been properly rained on in Europe.  Yesterday we drove down to the Ardennes to do a hilly loop to round out the weeks training before a Pro Kermesse on Sunday in Lede.Well, it was beautiful, but it was also wet. 4 hours non stop rain. But hey, shit happens. Still great to ride lots of bergs made famous by races such as Liege-Bastogne-Liege . Also interesting to notice some bloke named Phil had his named written in big letters up every hill. Who the bloody hell is Phil?

I was later informed that Phil was short for Philipe Gilbert, one of the local legends, ahhh ok, that makes sense then.

In other news, the previous evening was  my first taste of Belgium Kermesse racing. And boy did it taste good. It tasted tense, nervous, angry, desperate, fast and left me yearning for a second course. 176 starters, lots of people watching, music playing, frites flying, beer flowing and big winds blowing, everything felt so very euro; so very cool.

The race was 22 laps of a 5k circuit with lots of corners but it was pretty free flowing and a lot of fun. Racing wise I didn't do much, just getting into the swing of it. Baby steps I say.

And yes, unsorted photo time from pre France and beyond...

Marco Paulo? Mais oui!

Le chambre petite

Assorted stuff in the team bus

All my dreams came true when Loh's parents visited us in Geleen and made a big pot of beef rib soup, complete with classic chilli, lime coriander garnish. Aaahhh to live with a Malaysian family...

When you are short on space, why not just conduct post race massage/physio in the hallway? At least at this stage Brad was still partially clothed...

Ciao