Race #1 done!

Hi Everyone!

Greetings from Ghent, Belgium!

We are starting to adjust to the time change, and the weather. I know that our Montana families think that we've become wimpy when it comes to the weather, but it's REALLY cold here. It was -1 Celsius in Amsterdam, very humid and windy. We were hoping that the weather in Ghent would be better, but it's even colder. During ER's race in Antwerp yesterday, it was -4, windy, but more sunny. It was a lovely day: frost on all of the trees, all over the ground, and ER's race cap under his helmut was completely frozen! He was 1 of 2 Americans in the race, and out of 17 riders, he placed 15th! He had one of his famously fast starts working his way to the front of the pack but had to pull up when he had a ride go down in front of him on one of the first turns. But he beat his first Belgian and earned 5 euros in winnings!! And considering that the first 3 riders had world champs stripes on their jerseys, plus a Belgian Nat'l champ in the pack, he placed very well! LOTS and lots of sand: 1 sand pit was approx. 20m, and the 2nd was approx. 50m--off camber and 2 run ups too boot! I'm not sure that I've seen a bigger smile in ER's face at the finish!

ER's race was at noon, and the pros raced at 3pm. In that field was Sven Nys, Erwin Vervecken, and Jonathan Page. These guys are crazy fast, and the crowds are incredible. But no where else could you get so close to your sports hero. At any given time, we were only 3-4 feet away from the riders. It was awesome!!

Today we're going to explore around Ghent. We plan on taking the train into Brussels to check out the Grand Place. Tomorrow is race #2 in Zeddam, NL. Then to Vire, France for Christmas.

We will follow up with pictures, but wanted to let you all know that we're here, having a blast and looking forward to sharing our fun with you!!

Jen & ER xoxo