In the spirit of other cycling center alumnus who I hold in high regards such as Eric Fostvedt and Paul Kronser this blog is simple and to the point. Its a list of everything I'm going to miss in Belgium. I'm pretty sure everyone knows what I'm NOT going to miss so I'm just leaving that out. Here goes...

I'm going to miss shopping runs to the GB and the Delhaise, almost dieing in the fun bus on those trips, early morning sober rides through the fog, omlettes in the morning, pre-race day pasta fests, cleaning my bike with the guys, just looking at all of the bikes in the garage and thinking about how beautiful they are, the cycling center "internet cafe" (Eric's words, not mine), the Senseo maching coffee after rides, beautiful paradise evenings before it rains, getting lost, the cycling center pancake world championships, waking up to emails from home, rocking the stars and stripes, angry kitchen, going from town to town until you find one you recognize then finally being able to ride home, 2 hour rides becoming 4 hour rides, solo on the canal roads thinking about life, sandwhiches from the butcher, being dubbed the waffle monster by Alvin, talking with my homeboy Aaron Pool about life, the beer, day trips into Brugge, evening spins into Oostcamp to have a good sit with Aaron, the 55 white H, making Wilson go on scavenger hunts for his shoes, getting lost on my first solo ride only to run into a teammate I hadn't meet yet, Nate pulling me back to the field, riding by castles, seeing more bike routes painted on the roads than I'll ever be able to follow, Tea Time with the best teammates a guy could ask for, the Senseo Machine Coffee in the morning, the night, and everywhere inbetween.

But, most of all, I'm going to miss all of my teammates. Aaron for being a friend for 5 years, getting lost and breaking spokes with Alvin, Whit's wisdom, Ron for being a cool mofo, Kiel for some bad ass talks that helped me get a hold of life, Dominique and Brett Stewart for sharing the same dreams as me after cycling but still holding onto pedaling for a little longer, Bret Glemboki and his great opinions, and Nate Fields for keeping me in line when I needed it and helping me skirt outside of it when I needed it even more.

Most of all, I too am going to miss the teammates who have become more than just teammates over the past 45 days. Remember that cycling is fighting? At the risk of sounding stupidly romantic (aw, what the hell, I already do) I'd fight with these guys any day. Thanks to everyone who has made the past two months a life changing experience for me. My parents for getting me here, Doug at the shop for keeping me in line and MAKING me eat that burger every once in a while, Katie for putting up with me seeing more of my bike that her and being crabby at races, Greg for his guidance and reality checks, Dale Brigham for being such a great coach that I will always remember him, and Brian Reilly for all of those long miserable training rides where we dreamed about kicking some euro ass.

This is my last post from Belgium. Thanks for reading, keep the rubber side down, and remember:

If you're not afraid of what you're about to try, then you're not challenging yourself enough.

No excuses; train like a champion,
Justin