Ask and you shall receive (a few days later)

You wanted them, you got them. . . . .

These are the first 1/2 day at Paris pics. Our train got in around noon. In that afternoon, we managed to hit the Lourve, the Champs, the Arc de Triumph, and the Eifel Tower!!! There was a lot of walking going on everyday.

The Parisian Hangover

Today I am coining a new term. Yes, I am allowed to do this. I will call it a "Parisian Hangover". Here is how it will be defined in the dictionary.

Parisian Hangover n.
1) The combined headache and tiredness of returning to the United States after repeatedly drinking espresso during your extended stay in Paris.
2) The combined headache and tiredness of returning to the United States after repeatedly drinking too much wine during your extended stay in Paris.
3) The v.d. and combined headache your life turns into after dating Paris Hilton for an extend period of time.

I am currently suffering from the first and most formal definition of the Parisian Hangover. Thanks to the Lavazza espresso you see pictured in the left.

My head will not stop hurting. I know it is a lack of caffeine because every time I drink a cup of coffee it goes away for 20 minutes. It is going to be a few very painful days as my body readjusts to lack of caffeine. If anyone has any tips to cure me, please let me know. One home remedy I have found is Stoudt's Winter Ale replaces the headache for about an hour. After the hour I need to grab another winter ale.

I should not have had so much coffee (un cafe, merci bo que) but it tastes really good and with an ad campaign like this how could i resist?

10 Things I learned at Cyclocross Worlds.

Thats right kids, my first international escapade is in the record books. I've been up since 6:30 am Paris time, so pardon the extra spelling and grammatical errors. Here are 10 things I learned going to 2007 Cyclocross Worlds.

1. Belgiums love cross. Ok, I already knew this one but I didn't know how much they love cross.



2. Mud. Lots of Mud. Did I mention there was mud? I have a pair of running shoes that have died at cyclocross worlds. I will try to save them but it might be too late. Everyone was wearing knee high duck boots.

3. Hooligans show up even for cyclcross worlds. This was the first year that world championships had tickets, but people still bought tickets for the only purpose of drinking Primus (Belgium lite beer). Need proof?


4. The american cyclocross present and future is amazing!!! Page, Kompton, and Summerhill. You did already read about the races at cycling news!

5. Cyclocross worlds is a dood fest. The male to female ratio on Sunday was 9:1. Not that I'm there to pick up chicks, but I do like girls.

6. Belgins are actually quite shocked to hear an American accent cheering, especially when the American guy is leading the race.

7. Pros warm up on the course just like you and I do. Only faster. That blur is Sven Nys.

8. Belgium course don't look super technical but did I mention the intense amount of mud? There aren't that many off-camber turns but that just means the pros ride faster.

9. When the Flemish flag is flying, just go with the flow.


10. Italy is gonna rock in 2008.

bonjour!!

thats right kids!!! I am blogging from Paris.

Cyclocross worlds was AWESOME!!! When Page was leading for almost 3 laps, I nearly pee'd my pants. INCREDIBLE!!! I also got the "holy crap what is an American doing here" look when I cheered him on. That was really funny. Three second places finishes ain't bad for America.\

Yo, Matties, there is a world cup race in Vegas next year!!! We are there!!!

Last Post Till Belgium

All right kids, I'm gonna miss you!!! Make sure you behave!!!

I'm off to Belgium tomorrow night. All packed and ready to go. I might not post anything till Super Bowl Sunday (February 4th for the International readers). I think I might find an Internet cafe to check email, so there might be a post at some point.

Don't think I'm addicted to email, the lottery for the Chesapeake Bay Swim opens on January 25th. Need to check mail in case I win a spot.

So what do you read in the mean time? Here is my little go find a blog you might like pitch.

Through, blogging, I definitely have a new found respect for all the bloggers out there. There are tons of blogs out there. Some are much better than others. Personally, I think my blog kicks ass but I know there are people that put a lot of work into their blog. The work shows!!! No doubt!!!

Google on something. Or go over to a site like Stumble Upon or Google's Blog Search. If you are really lazy like me, Go to Ravi's Blog, and check out his blog roll. Lots of great blogs there!!!

Wish you were here, before I even leave . . .

The real title of this blog post is Great Cycling Vacations.

In 48 hours I'll be headed on a jet plane (to Belgium) as my boy John Denver once wrote. I hope they are stocking up on beer in preparation for my arrival. I would be really upset if I managed to kick the keg.

This vacation was not 100% my idea. My boy Matteis and I have definitely shared the idea of going to Belgium and watching cycling races. Our ideal was to visit Belgium during the Spring Classics and sit in a fine Belgium bar that is along the route of one of the races. Of course leaving the bar to go cheer on the racers as they fly past. Then re-enter the bar for continued beverage drinking and to see the finish on television. Rinse, wash, and repeat for the week. It would be awesome.

So I took that idea and applied to Cyclocross. Hence, I'm going to see Cyclocross worlds. It will rock. Although, the ideal Belgium cyclocross experience would probabably be to go during the week after Christmas. There is nearly a cyclocross race everyday. It would be sweet.

This got me thinking, what are some other great cycling vacations . . . .

• Seeing the final day of the Tour de France. Sure there would be crazy crowds but you are guaranteed to see some nice cycling action on theChamps-Elysées and you get to hang out in Paris on a summer day. You could even do it without taking too much time off work if work is something you are into.
  
• I would love to see the Tour of Georgia. You don't even need to leave the country.
• Obviously seeing any truly classic mountain stage of the Tour de France would be amazing. The Galbier, Alpe D'Heuz, Lou Arzidan.
• I read an article about doing a cycling tour of California wine country. Riding 50 miles a day to be greeted by great wine and food at the end of each ride. I can't complain about that.
• My ultimate cycling vacation would be to do the Tour de France, one day before the tour does the tour. I believe you need to qualify for it, but I read about cyclists riding the tour stages, a day before the tour does the tour stages. Full bike support, full food support everything. They ride as a team drafting off each other. Hotel stays. The works. That would be incredible.

Well, enough blog posting I need to research some quality brewers in Belgium.

Belgium, be prepared!!!

All right, anyone who read the previous post gets to punch me in the stomach as hard as they want. "Why am I bitchin?", is what people should say. I got no real reasons to complain. So I apologize for the last rant. I'll try to keep things positive here at Leave The Fan On.

I'm travelling to Belgium on Thursday night!!! I'm spending 3 nights in Brugge, 2 in Brussells, and then a little 4 night get away in Paris. I will no longer be the guy that has never travelled overseas. Man that is embarassing. Especially when you are hanging out with a bunch of foreigners. They look at you like you have some kind of strange disease. But now, I'll have an answer.

A few months ago, I made a promise to myself to travel more. My little trip to South Beach Miami, in December was part of that, and so is this trip. Moreover, I had a more specific goal of traveling somewhere for every month of the year. This was something I take seriously. I want to see outside of suburban Philly. (which is funny cause recently this area has grown on me a little. grown on me like a fungus perhaps, but grown. ) I've decided to count this trip as both January, and Febuary since I will be travelling to Paris on Febuary 1st.

What is on deck for March? I am thinking a trip to New England to go skiing. It would be nice to ski in deep powdery snow and not the ice in the Poconos. I am going to focus on Belgium and Paris first, I'll worry about March when I get home on Superbowl Sunday.