Ding Ding, We're Back!

I cannot describe the great feeling I have right now to be writing this at a desk, with a keyboard, monitor, and proper office chair.  It is a gorgeous sunny afternoon here in Ettelbruck and while I should be out riding my bike or strolling around town, I had to sit down and update the blog because, as of this morning, we have internet in the house.

What a process!  As you know, it took almost three months to have it installed.  Apparently, the new high-speed system is in great demand in these parts and the (government operated) cable/internet/telephone company only had two installers working in the area.  After seeing how long it took them to install (3.5hrs), I can see why it took three months.  Our cable TV isn't quite working yet, but that's not a big deal for us.  We haven't had cable since we've been married and the only English channels we get are a bunch of children's channels, Mtv, fashion channels, ESPN, and BBC News.  I did discover we (randomly) get Turner Classic Movies which was the only station I ever watched when we had cable, so I'm pretty pleased.  We also get the English Eurosport channel so I can watch lots of cycling races live and in English.  But, since it cuts out every few minutes I don't suppose that will be much better than an English online feed.

Oh well, such are the dramas of the technological age.

Anyway, yesterday was also beautiful and I did ride my bike. A lot.  My husband made his first bike commute to work EVER yesterday and I accompanied him on the 15 minute spin to the office.  I then returned in the afternoon so we could ride home together.  We also took the bikes to a new restaurant in the next village for some delicious and cheap sushi.  All in all, I was able to get in about 21 miles (33.8km) outside, in the fresh air.  It was glorious. 

Between the temperature plummet of February and then our travel/work schedule over the past several weeks we hadn't been able to ride very much.  Of course, it is still quite cold in the mornings so I opt to use the trainer in its heated environment most of the time.  It was still pretty cold at 36F yesterday morning, but it warmed up by 30 degrees by the afternoon.  It was fun to bust out the cold commute clothes because I wanted to, not because I had to.  It was much more fun to go in shorts later in the day.

Of course, during this time of year it's a bit foggy in the mornings.

As I've said many, many times, the bike path system here is just incredible.  It was such a pleasure to ride at an even, easy pace instead of always dodging cars and who knows what else on the road.  Of course, the few times we did have to ride on the street, the drivers were very courteous and patient.  It was before rush hour, so maybe the mentality is different, but they all gave us plenty of room and no one treated us like our existence was a huge inconvenience.  When we arrived at the office we discovered that the Mr. wasn't the only one who opted to leave the car at home.

Well, they are street legal here...

The return journey around 5:00pm was not so relaxed.  Obviously, it was at rush hour, but the real stress came from all the people walking on the cycle paths.  I still haven't quite figured out the trail etiquette here.  Some people walk on the right, others on the left, some stand still in the middle and talk and won't move out of the way.  I don't know.  It's a little trying at times, especially when you make a sharp right out of a tunnel, making all sorts of noise to warn people you're coming and you practically cream a child walking on the wrong side of the trail.  Seriously, the pedestrians here act like enormous squirrels.  No none seems to watch where they're going.  If there is a magic word, I haven't discovered it yet.  None of the variations of "Excuse me, please" in French or German seem to work.  Of course, nothing works on teenagers with headphones.  I've noticed other cyclists using bells, so as much as it pains me to add yet another item to my handlebars I think I will be picking several up at the LBS in town.  Without them, it will only be a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.  If that doesn't work, I wonder where one can purchase an air horn...?  One the positive side, all this people dodging will greatly improve my handling skills.  Once we get away from the towns and schools, the trail clears out.  The only other folks I see are the Lycra clad crew.  They, thankfully, all ride straight and on the right. 

After our tasty snack of sushi last night, the sun was gone and the stars were out.  So, we had a very nice night ride home on the pleasantly empty path.  It was chilly again, but the sheer joy of passing silently through the Luxembourgian countryside in the moonlight far outweighed any discomfort.

Now that I have been comfortably reconnected with the world, Detours will be getting more predictable updates.  There is plenty of exciting things coming up that Spring is approaching, like Cavalcades and bike races to attend.  We've also figured out the public transportation system, so I will be posting on that next week.

Until Monday, have an excellent weekend.  Enjoy the freakish warm weather, Akron, while those of us in Lux experience more seasonable temperatures.  Have fun (but not too much fun) on St. Patrick's Day tomorrow.  Everyone, wherever you are, pedal safe (and use a bell ;-)