Settling In

It is a strange feeling knowing that will be here until September. Last week was really busy with three races in 5 days, but now I am also starting to settle into the living part of life as a racer in Flanders. I spend a fair amount of time at Sportzone which is only a couple of kilometers from the house. They have me doing some work there, entering data for new membership accounts, cleaning etc. It is good to have a place to go to and some distractions from riding and racing as life in a Flemish village with only that on your mind can get tedious. The other day I was hanging out there after a ride and Penne, Roesems and Co. showed up. It was good to see the training partners from last year again and hopefully I can meet up with them in the next few days for some good riding. Roesems is rumored to be riding the Tour this year so that will be exciting to follow.
I didn't get into the provincial championships for today. The rule is that foreigners can compete, but they must have lived in the province since Jan 1 of that year. Because of this I did my first real training ride yesterday since arriving here. It was a great three hour rip around Flanders with lots of picturesque field roads and a bunch of sections from races I have done and the Tour of Flanders. As I descended off the Muur in Geraardsbergen and on towards the Bosberg I saw Boonen's name and others written on the road and could almost feel the energy and incredible suffering that that section of road has seen. It is incredible to be back in the epicenter of the cycling world. Even being my third time here I can still feel that incredible energy that this area generates for cycling.
Today I am going to head out for 4 hours and take advantage of what the media are warning is the last day of the great drought. It hasn't rained here in something like 36 days, but tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be wet, so I need to take advantage of the weather today. I could be racing in the French part of Belgium early next week, but for sure in Halle on Thursday in another Elite race. The proposed schedule for the coming weeks looks like this:
May 10 - Lembeek-Halle (elite)
May 13 - Oordegem (elite)
May 16 - Puivelde (pro)
May 17 - Sint Martens Bodegem (elite)
May 20 - Pepingen (elite)
May 23 - Londerzeel (elite)
May 26 - Wolvertem (elite)
May 28 - Wolvertem Nerum (elite) or Berlare (elite)
May 31 - Zaventem (elite)