Coming crashing down from my high in Belgium!

Yesterday I raced in Kieldrecht on the Belgium- Netherland border, my final race out here before coming home. I have been on overload these past 2 weeks learning so much from racing here, but things just hadn’t quite clicked in races. I was eager to end the trip on a high… Getting to this race was somewhat eventful to say the least; we only just made it onto the start line. My lack of warm up didn’t really matter because the stress of the journey was enough to get the adrenaline pumping and heart rate elevated. The first few laps were a bit sketchy, lots of gravel, tight corners and potholes with attacks going all the time. After about 8 laps (of the 15) a break got away, I managed to jump across without bringing the whole peloton with me as per usual! Most people in the break worked apart from a few lazy buggers that just got towed along, the 4 words of Flemish in my vast vocabulary didn’t quite stretch to shouting at them to work! 

With 3 laps to go we were easily going to stay away, I went for a counter attack following a prime, but that was chased down. I knew that if I wanted to be in for a chance of winning I had to get around the final corner on the front. So I attacked hard with about 1k to go, got a decent gap so just kept pressing on. It was such an awesome feeling looking over my shoulder with 200m to go knowing that the win was secured! 

Sadly my high was only to be short lived. This morning I went out training on my own; pedalling along minding my own business, I failed to notice the mother of all potholes. Before I knew it I was flying over my bars. In the past when I have fallen I have always landed splat on my face as it seems I lack the innate reflex needed to break your fall with your arms! However this time my teeth were saved, my arm, leg and hip took the full impact instead. Next thing I knew I was being carted off to hospital, leaving my battered new bike with some random Belgian man (it wasn't allowed in the ambulance!) I think they slightly overreacted insisting I wore a neck brace and speeding off with the sirens going full blast, just to administer a few lifesaving stitches! A few hours later and the botch job of stitching me up was complete. I had to get a cab home dressed in a nurses uniform because my shorts were so badly cut up leaving me a tad over exposed!! Resting up now for a few days which is frustrating, but shit happens and I am lucky because it could have been a whole lot worse!  There is no point moping around!  Saying that I am pretty bored housebound on my own (hence why I am writing another blog) after I have finished sieving through my muesli picking out all the nuts and raisins I might even do some cleaning! 

One spotless kitchen!