Christmas is definitely different here from the one I am used to back home in Louisville, KY. I miss waiting at the top of the stairs and run down to our presents and seeing all of them nicely wrapped.
Having the house trashed with wrapping paper as we go and have an awesome English breakfast with eggs, toast, bacon, tea, crepes, raspberry sauce, etc… What I miss most of all is my family but it has been super nice making a new family with all the cycling friends I have made here.
The day started off with the usual getting woken up by Mr. Proctor but little did we know Santa had come (aka Drew Dillman) and brought everyone presents! It started the day off on the right note and everyone was laughing and having a good time. That being said, today was another chill day at the house for most of use. Some guys went to race at Balagem, while the rest of the gang went on easy rides and hung at the house.
From what I heard Balagem was a pretty hard course with some super hard core drops and some long straights. One of the USA riders cracked both his frames so it wasn't the best Christmas he has had.
For the rest of the day after lunch we pretty much hung at the house with each other. We ended up watching an old Christmas movie on one of the only American speaking channels. All of use had a great pasta and ham dinner with some crepes for desert, Thanks to Els for going out of her way on Christmas to make the dinner for us.
After dinner the athletes that didn't race today started getting ready for the Zolder World Cup. I can't wait to race it tomorrow even though we have to wake up at 4:45 in the morning.
Christmas is a very joyful time of year. For some it means going on vacation, others love it because it means they're off school and a ton of people love it because it is a chance to visit with family and friends. One of the reasons I love Christmas is because we get to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ who came into the world on this day. He later died for our sins so that we did not have to pay for the punishment we deserve. Why I am over here I want to race my bike as hard as I can for Him and let His strength and light shine through me. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a nice time hanging out with family and friends. Merry Christmas!!!
