Last Thoughts

I am sad to leave this place. I love the simplicity of my life while here. I love walking to the bakery for fresh bread and pasteries. I love hopping on my bike to explore new roads in the beautiful countryside here. I enjoy the cute brick homes, modest-sized cars, farmland and the roads that lead from village to village. There are so many roads to explore! And of course, the racing is incredible.

I had fun being the only American in a house of three Canadians, and being helped by Jos and Tim, who are British. It lent a nice international flair to my trip, but without a language barrier. (Well, once I got past hearing "eh?" all the time!) Thanks to Vicki, Mark, Shaun, Jos, and Tim for helping me so much! If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be looking for registration at Scheldecross... if I ever found the race!

Sadly, I have several regrets about my time here. Maybe I shouldn't say "regret," that's probably too strong a word, but there are a few things I wish I had done while here. First, I can't believe I'm leaving without ever having had a beer. It's tough to fit in a leisurely drink when you're racing and staying with racers who are racing just about every day. And I wasn't about to go out for beers before racing in a World Cup! There's a tavern near the bakery, across from the church, and I saw three road bikes leaning up against the front this afternoon. It would have been nice to stop in for a beer after a ride with friends, something we don't get to do enough in our fast and exhausting world as racers.

My second "regret" is that I never really went out to eat, and for the same reasons as I didn't get to have a beer. You get home, wash, clean and lube your bikes, wash your clothes, wash youself, cook dinner, eat, and then get packed for tomorrow's race. There was neither time nor energy for dining out. I would like to have learned more about the food culture here than chocolate and frites. We went out once, to the Sultan in Herselt, on a rest day, and there I had some meat (not sure what kind since I could hardly read a word on the menu) fried with mushrooms, peppers, and onions with half a plate of frites and my choice of sauce - curried ketchup. Delicious, but possibly not the best pre-race meal....

Finally, I would have liked to stay longer and to have shared the experience with Ward. It's hard to share everything through emails and Skype calls, and I would have loved to have had his support and shared the whole experience together.

I have left myself wanting more, and I hope to be back again in the future. I'll miss Belgium!

In the town of Westerlo.

The beer aisle in the nearby Carrefour, a big store with everything from clothing to electronics to books to groceries. Most of the left side consists of specialty beers like Trappist ales (although I spot some Corona there).

The road back into Blauberg on my ride today. The surrounding forest had lots of trails that would be great for cross or mountain bikes. I saw lots of riders out on this beautiful day. It was 7 degrees (about 45 F) and partly-cloudy today. I really lucked out on the weather while here!

A road leading out of Blauberg.

Azencross - No Fight Left In This Dog

If you're looking for my name in the results, I might save you a moment by telling you to start your search at the bottom of the results page - assuming they list finishers that deep. A last race of a long season, and I had nothing at all left for this one. I lost my heart rate monitor over a month ago, but had I worn it today, I can assure you it would never have registered much above my easy zone. I was going so slow it felt like warm-up pace, and every time I got out of the saddle, I slowed up more. I just had nothing to give, and I wouldn't have raced if it weren't my last chance over here. Oh, and I really wanted to try those whoop-dee-doos!

The start was crazy. As I was taking my leg-warmers off at the start, I heard my name paged to report to the start/finish area to sign in. I knew nothing about it - when have you ever had to sign-in at the start/finish for a cross race? Apparently, I missed some sort of rider presentation. I had been off searching desperately for a porta-john. They do not make that easy here. I missed most of my warm-up time weaving through massive crowds of people on my bike looking for the plastic thrones. Eureka - right next to the open outdoor public urinals. (Well, there's at least one thing about Belgium I won't miss.)

Fast forward to 1:30 pm. We were staged, I was bare-legged, the official gave the "une minute," and then said, "Wait for the light." Huh? Light? A few seconds later, everyone jumped. Then I noticed the traffic light ahead above the road. Green. Aah. That light.

It was another crazy start on a very long stretch of road into a right hand turn. I didn't have a good start, mostly because my legs had no jump. There was an enormous mud field that probably nobody rode, even the amazing Hanka. It was a long slog of a run for me through deep mud and up a fly-over. I could barely run up the ramp due to fatigue. The whoop-dee-do section was at the end of the lap, and would have been much more fun if I could have taken it with more speed!
Check out the men's leaders through that section:



I rode around hoping not to get lapped. I thought about pulling out, but I just wanted to get to the bumps again to see if I could ride them faster! It's hard to end my season at the bottom of a long slide in my performance, but I know it's all about the experience for me and I have a lot of racing ahead in my career. It was absolutely worth coming here to Belgium, even though I didn't perform my best. I hope to return next year with my 'A game.' I love it here, the country is beautiful, the racing is intense.

* * *

Here is my favorite picture I took today. Bart! If only the light were better - the sun is so low at almost 4 pm.

It's hard to explain how many people were at this race!

Jeremy Powers had an awesome race today! He is so strong. Here's a really poor video of him through the bumps (sorry, I was doing my best through hordes of fans):

I have one more full day here. I may do the Begijnendijk ride for the experience, otherwise certainly I could do without riding tomorrow! Maybe Sven will be there... I heard he joined the ride the other day several kilometers after it passed our house.

Begijnendijk Ride

So I was sitting here at the table, eating my lunch of a ham and brie on fresh bakery whole grain bread and tomato soup with Marscapone cheese, when Mark alerted me that the Begijnendijk group ride would be coming by momentarily. I dropped my sandwich, grabbed my camera, and ran to the door. This local ride passes our house on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The clip is actually only of half the group. There are two groups of 50 riders each, and the second group followed a minute after (but I had returned to my sandwich).



This is just a typical group ride here. On the way home from a trip to a bike shop this morning, we saw a group ride of about 25 older people, not racers, just normal people, out together on their cruisers enjoying the day. I love this country!

My First World Cup!

Hofstade!

I have to tell you that it's going to be really difficult to put this experience in words. This World Cup in Belgium existed on a bigger scale than I even imagined. I could hardly believe the whole scene, and my pictures simply don't do it justice. Beyond that, while watching the men's elite race, I was amazed to discover perspective on just how good the Belgians are at their sport. It really is unbelievable how fast Sven, Lars, and Bart were riding. Watching gave me goosebumps. Feeling the intensity of the crowd screaming for their heroes as they flew by honestly almost brought tears to my eyes. I love this sport. They made this course look so easy, this same course where I had lost a lung, my legs, and very possibly a year off my life just an hour earlier. Watching my "hometown heroes" such as Tim and Jeremy get lapped by the three leaders racing at double the speed (well, at the moment they were lapped, anyway) has altered my whole perception of cyclocross.

After watching today's race, I am officially a Bart Wellens fan. Nys displayed amazing power and fluidity. Bart also has incredible power, but just seemed to have more heart and deep determination. (While pre-riding the course today and making my way through the end of the first long sand section, lots of people started shouting all around me. I knew immediately that a Belgian hero was coming up behind: it was Wellens. As if my heart wasn't pounding from grinding through the sand, now it was in my throat! "Make it through the sand, make it through, don't crash in front of Bart!" I made it and continued up the next rise, flat, turn around the tree, run up the stairs, and he was still there. "Ah! Bart Wellens is on my wheel!" Well, it was an exciting moment. I entered the sand again, and he disappeared. He was gone. Or maybe he passed me, for some reason I can't remember. I will be sure to take home some Bart merchandise as a souvenir, and I am hoping to get Bart to sign my "Bart Wellens Kickboxing Academy" t-shirt or to get a photo with him wearing it. We'll see if I can work up the nerve for that!

Okay, so on to my race. At staging, the announcer called my name: "From the United States, numero vignt-deux, Rebecca Wellons." Then he made some comment en francais demonstrating how my last name is pronounced slightly differently than "WellEns" (which it isn't). But the crowd and myself at least got a chuckle out of it. I rolled up to a spot in the third row. But really the second, because I played the game of jamming myself up as far forward as possible. I was right next to Christine and diagonally behind Lyne. Several other North Americans were nearby, and I felt strangely comfortable. I jammed my wheel right on up so my hands were basically on the butts of the two euro girls in front of me, and when the gun shot, I did not hesitate. I successfully started the race without being sketched out. I held my own in what was a decent start, not excellent, but a big improvement on the past 3 races. After the first corner, the track was all muddy and slick, and went into a muddy and chewed up hill that would prove to be unridable for me and most others (even the men) all race. So, there was the first dismount, and there was another short steep hill soon after that I had to run because the girls in front of me couldn't ride it. I headed into the sand, and did my best to keep my weight back. I find it difficult to drop into the sand with good speed and keep my weight back at the same time. I tend to be quite far forward like a roadie a lot when I'm trying to keep speed. I will have to work on my position for next season. The sand was hit or miss for me, and I say that to mean I would often hit or be hit by someone (and consequently crash) or I might miss riding into the woman in front of me (often going slower) and pass several others. Alone while pre-riding, I could clear it pretty consistently, but as everyone knows who has raced cross, all that pretty much flies out the window in traffic during a race.

I went down many times. One time I fell running in the sand, and I didn't trip. A Belgian woman rode into me from behind as I was running the end of the first long sand section. I have her chainring imprint in my left achilles. I was pissed and got up and ran past her and put myself right in front of her. Then a French woman dove into the next corner inside me and caused me to dab. That made me mad, too, and I wanted to catch her and give it back in a bad way, but I just had no legs today. I had absolutely no power, and such is the story of my last month. I rode the first lap okay, but that was all my legs had in them. If I had a powermeter, I'd bet it would show numbers lower than my first training rides last February. I would stand, but just couldn't pump. I am cooked, and know it. (I was actually able to fall asleep in the car, in the parking lot, 2 hours and 15 min before my _WC_ race today... not a good sign.) Regardless, this is still all an amazing experience for me, and I'm so glad I'm here. I know inside that I could have been racing 10 places higher. I know that it's possible for me. Those are just words, but I intend to make it happen in the future.

I spent the last couple of laps battling with the Japanese national champion and the Belgian woman whose chainrings are my body's souvenir. I would often gain time on them in the sand, which I rode pretty well when in less traffic. I could also consistently outrun the Japanese woman. But my power was uncharacteristically poor on the flats and pavement, and I could not match the Belgian woman today. I finished 34th in the hardest cyclocross race I have ever done, and I'm very happy to have had the experience.

I wish I could stay, rest for a week - well, I may need two, then continue racing. If I could race here more, I believe I would improve dramatically as a 'crosser. But I have only one more race here - Loenhout on Friday - and then I'm home for New Year's and back to work and reality. I'm really looking forward to Friday, it's got those washboard-like BMX style bumps where you have to push and pull your bike and you gain speed as you go through the section! I can't wait to try it.

Some pics of the race:

So many people that it was hard to see the racers go by! Some people got creative and built sand mounds to prop themselves up higher.

Powers rocks through the end of the second time through the beach where many could not ride.

Tim runs the same section this lap.

There were lots of Ridleys at the race.
Here's mine all happy after the sand:















I still haven't had any beer. It sure wasn't in the cards while doing 4 races in the past 6 days, but I'd like to have one before I leave. I haven had lots of chocolate, though! After a huge dinner tonight, I treated myself to crepes filled with Meli, which is the delicious chocolate and honey spread I am now addicted to. I think there's half a pastry waiting for me in the fridge, too....