Zuli makes it to Belgium...

we arrived yesterday- after a long flight- into brussels. it was a long travel day, but my flight was actually really good. i had gotten up at 3AM on tuesday to catch a 6AM flight to DC- then had a 4 hour layover and then an 8 hour flight to brussels, getting in at 7 or 8 in the morning. both flights were undersold- so i had the luxury of not having seatmates next to me and could spread out a bit. i tried to not sleep on the first flight and sleep on the second- so that i could escape too much jet lag. it worked. i felt pretty good when we touched down in belgium.

unfortunately though- a 4 hour layover was not enough time for them to get zuli off the DC flight and onto the belgium flight... so no zuli. that was a bummer, but i was not too worried. they at least knew where she was. last time they lost her... they had no idea where she had gone too and it took several days to even FIND my bike. and when she did arrive this morning- she was in one piece. only minor scratches. lauren franges was not so lucky as her rear chain stay was destroyed and her bike ruined. she is riding a team bike until a new frame gets here. what a bummer!

yesterday was uneventful other than that. to get over the jet lag, we all stayed up and did not go to bed until 10. that was a challenge... we took a few walks, got a massage from jessie, our soignier, and just milled around a bit. we are staying in izegem, which is just west of brussels. not much here to see, but it is just still SO cool to be in europe. i can hardly believe that i am here and am going to be racing my bike here! the roads that we are going to be racing on are narrow (about 10ft wide) and cobbled. riding on cobblestones is not super fun... racing on them?! it will be epic, for sure!

the team had some last minute changes before we got here- now, it is lauren franges, alison powers (my roomy), rebecca larson (not here yet, gets in tomorrow), katheryn curi and kristin armstrong. so far, we are all getting along well and it seems like it is really going to be a great group. i really like all the women a lot and am just so happy to be a part of it.

today- we got out and rode for the first time and just explored a bit. nothing too exciting, just an easy ride. i am going to head out again for an hour to get a little bit more intensity in to wake my legs up a bit. but this morning, it was just easy. anyway, i am setting up a page for pics, so click on the picture above to get to belgium pics of the day. i am going to try and bring my camera as much as i can!