3 days to go before we hit the start at the Valkenburg Worlds. The work has been done and now the rides are short and it's time to rest. Which means, there is a lot of time to kill this week.
3 days...I am so excited that I worry my eyeballs will pop out of my skull.
So I'm trying hard to keep my cool here.
Luckily, I have good company to help me do just that. No one wants to see one of my eyeball rolling around on the ground. So instead, we just chill. We relax, stretch, read, watch movies, think, talk, nap, drink tea, and all that good stuff.
That being said, I decided to put some thoughts on paper...
Todays thoughts had to do with a very exciting subject...Laundry!
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Laundry.
It’s a basic activity. A weekly chore that we take care of without really giving it much thought. One of those things you just got to do.
Nowadays, washing our clothes is seen as a necessity, in a world where, strangely, or perhaps rightly so, nudity is not very well accepted by society, and where hygiene standards are so high.
Sometimes I think that walking around naked would be so simple… I wonder how people would express themselves, their style, and their personality if we didn’t have clothes? Would there me more or less judgment of others?
Who knows!
But then again, in the cold European climate, it could be problematic. And I’m sure I would always be dreading the long hours in the saddle. Actually, the short hours wouldn’t be much better. Even worse in muddy or sandy races…Ouch. Just awful. Come to think of it, let’s all keep our clothes on! Maybe society is on to something after all.
Back to laundry…Quite honestly, to me, doing laundry is kind of therapeutic. It puts order into my life, it clears my thoughts, makes me feel more organized. Especially when we are travelling. I make it a point that my suitcase stays relatively organized. It hasn’t always been the case (ask my teammates and my mom), but I’ve learned. It’s a question of respect. Resect for my roommates, but also respect for myself. How can I possibly have clear thoughts if I’m living in a tornado of dirty, unfolded, disparate clothes? How can I make it on time somewhere if it takes me 13 minutes to find a glove? How can I possibly be happy and positive if every time I need to get dressed I spend 15 minutes being pissed because I can’t find what I’m looking for?
Maybe I’m just anal. That’s very possible. But I find a strangely satisfying pleasure and profound calmness in folding my clothes and reorganizing my bag every few days.
Yet, when travelling, laundry can be a challenge. In Europe, most hotels don’t have Laundromats. A trip to the closest city, or a handwash in the bath is often required. In muddy conditions, dressed up showers (or pre-wash) before heading out to the Laundromat is the name of the game. Your hotel room often transforms into a giant clothes hanger.
Weirdly enough, I kind of like all that. It’s satisfying to take care of your stuff and so nice when you get to wear something clean the next day. It makes preparing for the training ride just that much more awesome, and easier. But it’s an ongoing process that truly never fully stops, except for the few hours following the trip to the Laundromat where everything is just at its basic state; clean, fresh, folded, organized…until the next training ride comes along!
I’ve got some hanging and folding to do now. Cheers :)
Waiting for the dryer.
Laundry-ing. Side note: Waldek is awesome. Yesterday, he went in town and did all the laundry for use while we watched a movie. THANK YOU! (Meanwhile, Scott was washing bikes...we are such princesses...)
Train trip to the city. Just another laundry trip!
Wasbar. The coolest laundromat ever. Coffee shop/laundromat in Ghent, Belgium.
Sippin' on beer, lemonade, and coffee! The Wasbar has it all while you are waiting for your clothes to dry.
We walked around beautiful Ghent after cleaning our clothes.
Cool looking buildings.