Disconnected

Most of the time I feel pretty connected to the people back home. We have so much technology available with Facebook, blogs, and email that I don’t realize how much I am missing. Today, I was surfing some blogs connected to MJ the Ironman. I clicked on Run Bubba Run, not even knowing who he is. His post was about a triathlete friend of his named Michelle who died from cancer. Even though I don’t know who Bubba is, I knew immediately who he was talking about.

I googled Michelle Chaput and found her obituary from June. I was sad that it took me over a month to find out that she died. Michelle was one of my first triathlon friends. She had started the Human Racers Triathlon team about the same time that I started racing.

The team was in Orland Park, quite a drive from Downers Grove – but I went for the weekly runs and Sunday morning bike rides on the Old Plank Trail. The bike rides were great fun. Dennis was always a little bit shocked and awed when Michelle passed him on the rides when he was going all out! Michelle taught us tons about riding and triathlons.

One year, Michelle had signed up for her first iron-distance race in the fall. You always have to sign up a year in advance for the long races. That winter, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Knowing that she couldn’t do the whole race after going through all the cancer treatments, she called the organizers and asked to change her registration to a team instead of individual entry. She asked a couple of friends to do the 2.4 mile swim and 26.2 mile run and she would train for the 112 mile bike ride. I got involved shortly before the race when one of her friends dropped out. I stepped in to do the swim. It was the closest I’ve been to an ironman and I was glad it was over after the swim! Most of all, it was inspiring to watch Michelle race after the mastectomy, chemo, and radiation. I can’t imagine where she found the energy to train!

Dennis and I gradually drifted away from the Human Racers team as we found training partners closer to home. We still ran into the old gang at some of the local races and I had heard that Michelle’s cancer had come back. But I hadn’t heard that it was back for a third round or that it had spread. She was only 41. Even though we had lost touch, she left a lasting impression on me. I’m sad about her death and I’m also sad to realize how disconnected I’ve become.

Delft

New Church


Old Church - see how it leans?




One of the more creapy tomb stones on the church floor.



The weather this weekend was pretty yucky for biking or kayaking so Dennis and I decided to do some sightseeing. We took the train to Delft – about an hour and half ride from here. Delft is close to Den Hague and is known for the blue and white pottery. I had also heard that it’s just a really cute city center and nice for a day-trip.

Armed with our guide book, we arrived in town in time for lunch. We stopped at the recommended pannekoeken restaurant and sat down next to the Red Hat ladies. Apparently the Red Hat craziness extends beyond the US borders because this was definitely a Dutch-speaking group. For those who are unfamiliar, Red Hat is a club for women who are over age 50. The group is based on a poem about a woman who stopped caring what other people would think and said she would wear a red hat with a purple dress if she wanted to. So, the Red Hat ladies all wear purple clothes and red hats – they are unmistakable.

After lunch, we visited the Old Church and the New Church. The New Church is still very old by our standards, but it houses the tombs of the Dutch royal family – the House of Orange and Nassau. You may not have noticed, but orange is the unofficial color of the Netherlands even though their flag is red white and blue. In the Tour de France, the Rabobank team wears orange uniforms. Dutch people always recognize each other when they are traveling because they are the only people in the world who think orange pants are cool (and can actually buy them at a store!). Anyway, the church had a pretty nice display showing the history of the royal family.

The Old Church was cool, too. The tower of the church has a 2 meter lean which you can see in the picture above. I also found the tomb of Anton van Leeuwenhoek. Two points for anyone who actually knows the historical significance of this guy… Some of the tomb stones in the churches were pretty cool. Apparently, burying people in the floor of the church went out of style during the plague. The clergy realized that the risk of catching the plague might keep people away from church.

There was also a nice antique market going on. We snooped around quite a bit and found a great set of Delft vases at a really unusual booth. When we walked up there was a Dutch lady teasing the sales guy about his accent. To demonstrate, he spoke in English – Texan English – to show her what it sounds like. I might add here that it was Texan English with a bit of a gay lisp. The other guy in the booth was actually Dutch. Both of them were very friendly and gave us lots of tips on looking for Delft pottery and also on sightseeing in the Netherlands. I’m sure the Netherlands is more welcoming of their lifestyle than anywhere in Texas. It ended up that these guys had the nicest vases and the best prices in town. We got a set of two vases and a matching urn for 65 euros. I’m sure they are not hand-painted, but at least they aren’t from China.

Summer in the Netherlands

Since getting home from Australia and Singapore, I've been sick twice (a cold from the airplane home and then food poisoning from who-knows-what). I've also been crazy-busy at work and being sick didn't help any. It also doesn't help when it's gorgeous outside - sunny and beautiful - and it's yucky hot inside with no air-conditioning. Last year, summer was so short-lived that we're trying to appreciate it as much as possible this year. So far, we've been pretty lucky and it's been especially nice on the weekends.

Last weekend, Dennis and I took the kayaks out on the Vecht River (see pictures above). A couple weeks before, we had looked for the kayak dock that was supposed to be near the Hemelje Lock, but we couldn't find it. I was out on a bike ride in the area and decided to look again. Lo and behold, the dock was right where it was supposed to be and exactly where we had looked. But from the car, you couldn't see the dock down the steep river bank. It's hard to find a good place to get the kayaks in the water because most of the land along the river is private property. But we finally found the right spot.

The Vecht river doesn't have any current to speak of. It sort of flows south, except after a rain when it goes north. So, it's easy to paddle out and back and not have to worry about which direction you go. We had a really warm day for paddling and there were lots of boats and kids playing in the water. I am not so sure the water is clean enough for swimming, but that doesn't seem to stop the kids. There are a lot of house-boats along the river and I'm pretty sure they dump their sewage into the water. It was really cool to see the house boats and pretty gardens along the river. The hydrangeas are in bloom and they thrive in this climate. I'm amazed at the colors of the hydrangeas - everything from dark pink to baby blue to snow white.

This weekend is a little cooler - barely 70 degrees, but the sun is still out. It's perfect biking weather. We got out for a ride today and went past a bunch of dairy farms. The cows always look so happy when they can relax on the cool grass with the sun on their backs. We keep saying that we should take the time to see the rest of Europe while we're here, but honestly the Netherlands is so beautiful I don't want to miss it.

I did manage to see a bit of Germany last week. I had a training class in Solingen, a small town outside of Dusseldorf. It's only a two-hour drive away. It was my first time driving in Germany and I didn't think too much about it until I noticed some cars going super fast. Yes, I was driving on the autobahn! Too bad I drive like a grandmother on Sunday. I had to be careful when I was passing slower vehicles because the cars would come up so fast behind me. Most of the really fast drivers were in BMWs, Porches, and Ferraris. The Toyota Rav4 is just not made to go much over 70mph.

Maybe as we get closer to fall, we'll do some more sightseeing outside of the Netherlands. We are still planning to get to Paris, but we can do that when it's cold. We are also planning to get back to the US this fall. We just need a rainy day so we can make some plans.