Back to Lux

Happy Friday, all!  I'm back in Luxembourg again, much to my relief as it was insanely hot in Akron when we left.  These six months we've gotten used to the lower temperatures and lower humidity over here so being back in NE Ohio kinda felt like the tropics to us.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the tropics...just weird Akron.

Car culture at its finest in the CVNP.

Anyway, it is very good to be home.  Travelling is fun and that trip back to Akron was especially nice because we were able to visit with our families and nearly all of our friends.  But, in the end home is home and that's where you want to be.  After being awake for 31 straight hours (I cannot sleep on planes or trains), I went to bed promptly at 8:00pm CET last night after realizing I was so tired it felt like I was intoxicated.  Seriously, I cannot be held responsible for whatever I may have said.  Of course, going to bed at 8pm means I woke up at 3:00am. So, here I am and it seems like a good opportunity to review last week's sojourn to the homeland.

Besides hanging out with all our favorite AKR people, we had a laundry list of things to do and items to bring back with us.  Top on my list was getting to the LBS to pick up some attire since the selection is so limited here.  I realize at some point that I will have to just start wearing men's clothing like tights since the shops here barely carry anything for cold weather for the ladies, but this chance to grab some stuff back home couldn't be missed.  One of those things I wanted was a pair of knickers.  With the chilliness and wet weather, shorts aren't always the best choice.  I had been using a pair of water resistant athletic pants the past few years for such conditions, but they aren't cycling specific.  While they handled a commute with no problem, they aren't exactly long ride friendly.  So, when Century Cycles announced they were carrying the Endura Humvee 3/4 shorts again, I put them at the top of my list.  Finally, I have a pair of loose fitting, bike friendly pants!  I haven't used them yet, but a review should be forthcoming.

I also picked up a pair of new road shoes, another item that doesn't really get stocked well for the ladies.  I have been using a pair of Avenir MTB shoes that are at least a decade old and weigh quite a bit.  They've held up well over the years and are great for mucky stuff, but they get rather hot and tiresome.  I also use a pair of Pearl Izumi X-ALP Seek IV's that I bought before we moved.  Love those shoes, by the way.  They are perfect for casual riding and commuting.  I mean, I can actually walk around like a normal person off the bike.  But, I still wanted something a little lighter and stiffer for other occasions.  So, Doug at Century Cycles pointed me in the direction of the Pearl Izumi All Road shoes, which have a little more grip in the sole than a traditional road shoe.  Grip is good, especially if you have to dismount and walk around on cobblestone stairs or any sort of incline in congested parts of town where riding isn't a good idea.

Beside the shoes and the pants, I also picked up a spare pair of gloves for when my current pair passes into the great beyond, some jerseys (I will be sporting some CC and Great Lakes Brewing pride in Lux), and some tools.

Additionally, I had ordered some lovely Stomach of Anger shirts that were waiting for me.  I now have the Original, Schleck Bros. (gotta have local spirit), L'Enfer du Nord, and (my personal favorite) Lion of Flanders.  Of course, you could create a significant hole in your bank account collecting their awesome t-shirts, so I had to draw the line.

Combined with some items from my sock collection, I have some sweet cycling ensembles going on.

Making a visit home also meant we could pick up some items at a cheaper price than we could in Luxembourg, especially electronics.  I now blog from a MacBook Pro instead of our ginormous PC and we have a Canon Rebel T3i with which to better capture these beautiful places we've had the blessing of seeing here.

Needless to say, we basically covered birthday and anniversary gifts on this trip!

However, the real gift was spending time with all those we miss from home.  We were able to do a lot of that while visiting some of our favorite local haunts like Thirsty Dog Brewing Company, The Winking Lizard, The Lockview, Diamond Deli, and Crave restaurant.  We had some great conversation and laughs and it didn't take long for it to feel like old times.  We look forward to visits from many of all these wonderful people soon.  The first one will be next weekend, just in time for the Tour de France!

We'll be taking our houseguest up to Liege for the Sunday start.

No matter where life takes you, it is the relationships we build that really make the journey worthwhile. Even if you aren't close or even on the same continent, good friendships last the distance and pick up right where they left off like nothing has changed.  


And that's something we should never take for granted.