So, here I am again on European soil– my first time back since this time last year, which wasn’t a great experience (basically, I sucked) so I am hoping that things will go a little better for me this time around.

Today we rode/drove the race course and all I can say is…INSANE! Although I have raced in Holland many times, re-familiarizing myself with Dutch roads is always a shock to the system. Racing on Dutch soil means you have to be prepared for roads that are laden with road furniture (that would be all the medians, posts, signs, and curbs that are inconspicuously situated at random spots along the way) and described best by narrow winding roads, wind, dikes, and bike paths. And let me tell you, no one gets through these races without a lot of luck on their side. So, keep your fingers crossed that my next entry will be telling you about how I survived Ronde van Gelderland.

Contrary to the racing here, Holland (actually, I should say the Netherlands since Holland is a province so the name does not properly encapsulate the entire country) is actually an easy country to feel comfortable in. For example, the Van der Valk hotels – they are nice, clean, they speak English, and they have an awesome breakfast buffet. The Van der Valks are all over the country so you can be guaranteed to find one wherever you go – there always seems to be one close enough to whatever race we are doing. And what might you find at breakfast to satiate your hunger pangs? Sprinkles. Yes, I said sprinkles, like the kind you, well, sprinkle on cupcakes. Here you find them in little boxes sitting next to the jams, honey, butter, and other bread toppings, which is appropriate since the Dutchies like to sprinkle them on bread, after they have coated each piece with creamy butter, of course. (Europeans like their butter, which was made clear to us when Thomas picked us up from the airport and kindly offered us Nutella and butter sandwhiches! Eek!)

And bike paths. You might not always know where you are going but one thing is for sure, you can always find yourself a bike path to get you here or there (that is unless you are too lazy to ride a bike). The paths are well marked so if you know the town you are looking for, you shouldn’t have much of a problem pointing yourself in the right direction. You might have to navigate your way through a few roundabouts and around all the Dutchies on their bikes (and there are a lot of ‘em), but with practice it becomes easy enough.

We made one shocking, new discovery today, which is that the red light district we all associate with Amsterdam is not only in Amsterdam but in some city outside Apeldoorn as well. Yessiree, we found ourselves lost at one point today and as we were taking a detour down some side road, Lara noticed several women standing butt ass naked in the windows. Lara was so dumbstruck at this spectacle that she wasn’t able to get the words out of her mouth in time to tell the rest of us to look, but then again, I don’t know who was luckier, her or us.

So, yeah, Holland is a cool country. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned stroop wafels yet. These are some tasty treats!! They are thin, round waffles about the size of your hand filled with chewy caramel (or syrup as they call it here) and they are perfect to eat during or after a race…or every hour of the day. Sad thing is, I associate these treats more with Holland than I do windmills or clogs. I guess that tells you what’s mostly on my mind…food!

I am off to dream about dodging road furniture now….

I’ll post some pictures tomorrow.

-Meredith