GP Stad Roeselare

-135k and two times up the Kemellburg climb here in Belgium.

-Today I rode cobbles

There were a couple bumpy brick sections (what I imagined cobbles to look like) when the race passed through small towns, but the Kemellburg and a flat stretch at the end of the race were actually cobbeled, which were much harder to ride than I ever could've imagined. Up the Kemmelburg, which reached 22% at it's peak, the cobbles were so slick and bumpy it was almost impossible to stand up.

The cobbles absorb any effort you put out and you're left to creep up it s l o w l y. But at the same time, it was so, so cool. Despite being off the back (I'll get to that later) crowds were screaming in my face like I was winning the whole race. It was awesome. The flat cobbles are a whole different beast. So bumpy, you have to cling to your bars till your knuckles ache. So bumpy, your helmet and head and eyes shake and you can't see what's in front of you aside from a blur of color and foreign voices screaming WOAH WOAH WOAH

- Today I learned the importance of positioning. It wasn't that I doubted people before when they'd tell me how important is is to be at the front, but the 60-100 person fields we race in the US are so, so different than the 200 person ones here. Mostly:

200 girl fields are scary.

Crashing the day before made me a bit sore, but mostly really nervous. All the aggression I tried to race with the day before had slipped and split out onto the roads of Holland. And you have to be aggressive here. Unlike back home where it's okay to take a moment to breathe, here, if you're not consciously trying to move up (and actually doing that) you're going backwards. And fast. It's a constant battle. So feeling timid in a huge field was a horrible thing, especially when the race makes a corner onto a bike path and then up the first steep climb of the race. A couple girls unclipped ahead of us up the climb and it was race over. Lesson learned, and hopefully I'll be able to htfu and move up alot in these next few races!

-Today I learned how good it feels to have a friend in the field and hear an American voice with you as you swerve through girls on a steep climb, trying to make up lost time.

-Today I learned what it's like to ride in a paceline with miles and miles still ahead on a twisty, lonely, windy road somewhere in Belgium. Riding the hardest I can and 6 minutes off the back of the race.

-Today I learned what it's like to miss every one of your USA feeds, finally get a bottle from the caravan and drop it. I've also learned how to snipe bottles from other teams when it gets really desperate (sorry)

The racing here is crazy. So different and so many challenges. But I'm really having a good time so far. Belgium was great. I couldnt figure out Holland expect that the writing looked like gibberish. But I fell in love with Belgium.