Yes, I CAN

After my strenuous weekend, I thought it is probably time to start climbing out of my sink-hole of luxury and laziness. My bike is very sparkly at the moment, having spent 2 hours chipping off mud/cow plop and so clearly it was time to go for a ride. I thought about waiting around until the weather was nice, but then remembered where I live at the moment. I had one last thing to do with my bike before I could go, so I set to the business of cleaning the chain. gross. and yes, I did it IN MY ROOM, for spite. screw you guesthouse. in the process, I clumsily managed to get the thing wrapped around the pedal (i should mention I don't do bikes normally...these are all big steps for me...). I fixed that, then went to find my heartrate monitor, which had for reasons unknown, turned itself off and erased all my settings. grrr. So i reset that, then started the fight with my booties. It went surprisingly well mostly because there are giant tears in them now, so i thought I had better do something about that. At a loss, I just switched the feet so my cleats would dig in somewhere they didn't normally. I might actually have to sew though. yikes. By now I was starting to get a little wary of all the clues saying "don't go" but told myself I was being silly and yet again successfully snuck the bike out of the guesthouse without being seen. I hopped on and tore off down the lane, hopped a curb, and..........blew my back tire. wha?? well by now the sun was kinda pushing through and there was no way I was backing off now. so, I did it. I changed my very first tire, all by myself, with no coaching and absolutely no points for time either. There are all kinds of challenges associated with this process, let me tell you. not the least of which is getting the damn thing off. Of course it was the back (i was taught the front...much less complicated), and my newly greased chain made things really pleasant. I also had an audience on the tennis courts which made it even more enjoyable. I prevailed, got it off, got that sucker out, got the new one in, and felt altogether pleased with myself. It was now 3pm. oops, time flies when you are having fun. So I stopped at the bike shop, picked up a new tube, just in case, and finally started on my way.
I rode out of town towards Tongeren in Belgium, but almost as soon as I crossed the border, I deked down this big hill and followed a road along a canal for awhile. There was a dead deer floating there, and Belgium drivers who occasionally flew by me made me wonder about how it got there, so I decided to get off that road. I started following numbered bicycle routes that made my afternoon altogether enjoyable. Some went through woods and farmers fields with nothing to see but pasture, cows and chickens, and others took me along drives with some of the biggest houses I have seen here yet, all with immaculate gardens and pretty cars in the drive. the time flew by, and about that time, I realized I didn't know where the hell I was other than "somewhere in Belgium". I tried not to worry. I didn't have anywhere to be, the weather was warm and holding, I still had lots of water and even a snack, but that feeling can still get to a gal. I started working on a route home. Just when I was starting to panic, I found a sign for Maastricht and lo and behold, I had been close by all the time, and it was only about 10 km away. I almost missed the sign though, but a lucky shoulder check and it caught my eye.
Back on track, and back along the Maas river, I saw a crew. They had Saurus blades, were obviously HM, and rowing like shite. I was excited anyway....I tracked them for a little while, for where there is a crew, there is a boathouse, but I couldn't find the boathouse, therefore couldn't persist in my rowing push, and so continued home.
Dinner time! well deserved too, I thought. So I made my version of honey dijon chicken with rice and broccoli with cheese on it. I got some funny looks from the Europeans, but I think it was envy. bwa ha ha ha.
Later on, Fenna came over and we had a mango and some tea. The girls come home tonight, so who knows what the rest of the week has in store?

***

So far today has been pretty productive I might say. I got up and started mulling over the idea of an erg, but when I finally got my eyes open, sun was POURING through the window. that's it, I thought, I am riding instead. I got all suited up, and made a run for it before the cleaning staff arrived to catch me with the bike. I think I made it. I rode to the other side of the river to try and stay in the netherlands, since I have a map for those routes, but belgium, not so much. On the way, I got hit. Yes, I got HIT by one of those retarded scooters. No harm done and in fact I was quite impressed with how my body/reflexes handled the whole thing, because my mind had certainly checked out. The scooter jerk decided to pass me while I was passing another cyclist and caught the underside of my left forearm with his scooter thingy. i was pulled across the bike lane hard and fast, kept my balance and had the presence of mind to hop the curb as oppoed to crashing into it. I slowed to a stop safely on the grassy boulevard between the bike path and the road just in time to shake my fist as he drove off. Dick. Just when you think you get some allowances as a cyclist, some motorist or other comes along and takes up space again. Why can't the scooters ride on the road with the cars?? they go almost as fast and are three times as annoying in the sound department.
the rest of the ride was thankfully uneventful. I saw some horses, some crazy chickens, some really big hills considering this is supposed to be flat... and the whole time the sun shone and the temperature climbed. It was glorious. I only rode for an hour and a half in the interest of getting some work done, which I did, and now I am at the library to continue said work, so that's all for now.