Packing Fails and Checklist Protocols

I'm not even to yet Italy, and I already know I've forgotten numerous things (some more essential than others). Total rookie move on my part, and it annoys me. 

When people do highly stressful tasks where operational failure isn't an option, they follow routine checklist every.single.time. Think of pilots. Even if they've flown tens of thousands of hours, they always go through several checklists before take-off. During an emergency, they follow a checklist. No matter how experienced you are at something, you'll never be perfect 100% of the time. 

When it comes to packing, I've created my own form of the checklist. First, I have doubles of many things so that certain essentials never leave my suitcase. Think glasses, makeup, chargers, and world plugs. Other items, such as medicine, running shoes or my computer that I can't have duplicates of fall under the checklist protocol. So I put little reminders in place so that I can't forget them: laptop case next to my backpack, empty medicine bottle on top of my bag, empty shoe bag in my suitcase, etc. Keeping all these things consistent helps me avoid forgetting anything.  The same goes at a hotel; you put everything in the exact same place, every single time, so you minimize the risk of leaving something behind.

I also take time and only focus on packing. And that's where things went wrong today. I'd run out of time and found myself multitasking. I took a conference call, tried to put away laundry, clean the apartment and pack all at the same time. Instead of focusing on packing and doing that well, I probably did none of the above well.  

What annoys me the most is that the things I forgot, I reminded myself to grab them moments before walking out the door. I just happened to make the mental note in the middle of the call instead of going to do it right away or writing it down. 

Oh yeah, and I just realized I never watered my plants! Ugh. At least I took the trash out..... 

Feeling Wrecked

I’m wrecked today. Similar to the travel out to Abu Dhabi, the travel back has left me spent. I get frustrated with myself when I’m this tired. I don’t want to slow down; I don’t want to take a day off from working out. But my body is so tired. I’m achy and sore in a way that doesn’t even make sense.

Mentally, I’m shot. I think I’m firing at less than 75%, which makes me concerned about the quality of work I’m putting out. This is all a great example that relates to yesterday’s post when I said that business works during the week. I can’t take today off to recharge like I need to because there is too much work that needs to get done. I'm not complaining; this simply is how it is. There was a fair amount of regular work that I put off while I was in Abu Dhabi. When I’m at a race, I do triage and only deal with the things that are critical. This means I always come home to a backlog of work I need to tackle.  

It’s crazy what complete exhaustion feels like. Looking back, I can understand that waking up at 6 am and working until 11 pm for 10 days caught up with me. I shouldn’t be surprised or frustrated with myself. Right now, the best use of my time is finding ways to recharge and recover. Today that might mean not working out and not getting my 12,500 steps. Already, I let myself work from the couch instead of sitting at my desk. As soon as I can stop working, I’m going to watch TV, maybe take a bath, eat an awesome dinner and see if I can make it until 8:30 pm to climb into bed. If I do all the right things today, I’m hoping I’ll wake up tomorrow feeling a little more renewed and with enough energy to truly tackle the day.

Showcasing Life

I go back and forth when it comes to social media and posting photos of my life. I never want to come across like I'm gloating, but I am fully aware that I live a very fortunate life. 

I find myself in places I'd never expect to go, like the middle of the desert. I want to share these experiences because I know not everyone gets to see the world. I want to write about it so that I remember it. But I never want it to seem like I'm bragging. 

It's not always romantic and beautiful. Yet, as a rule, I try not to focus on the negative in life. So I rarely mention details like the fact my hotel here is on the direct Abu Dhabi airport flight path. From about 2-3am, it seems like ~40 jumbo jets flyby the hotel. This meant my sleep was far from ideal. Or how many hours of a day that I spend crammed in the middle seat in the back of a car. Or that I don't stop working until 11pm....11:30pm....or 12am.

All of that is basically my normal. Those challenges add color, so maybe I should mention the less than ideal aspects of this lifestyle occassionally, but at the end of every day, I know I'm getting to live a pretty charmed life. 

Being the Biggest Adult

I'm sure shifting into being a real adult is more recognizable for people who are raising children, but the fact I'm typically the main, 'real' adult keeps catching me off guard. 

When situations go astray, like when my flight to Italy on Sunday was rerouted to a different airport and all the taxis were on strike, my first reaction was to look around for someone to solve the problem. Then it dawned on me that I was the biggest adult and I needed to figure out getting a rider and myself across Milan and quickly.

I've had a variety of these scenarios over the years traveling with athletes. Their duties are to perform in a race. For the staff, we each have our own roles and responsibilities, but at the end of the day, our jobs include making life as easy as possible for the riders. 

This means problem-solving on the fly, often in foreign languages and with limited knowledge of the area. While my first reaction when problems arise is to look around hoping that someone more senior than me is around, I've learned things always work it. It might not be pretty, you'll probably be exhausted and need a few glasses of wine, and it will cost something, but things always work out. And humans are much friendlier, kinder and more helpful than we give them credit. More times than not, random strangers help. 

Remembering that helped me stay calm while trying to navigate across Milan late at night without any clue as to what was going on. And guess what....it all worked out.

Delta Meltdown 2016

The Tour of Utah ended on Sunday and the following day, I was scheduled to fly from Salt Lake City to Prague, Czech Republic for a press conference. Going straight from one race, into another race, followed directly by a press conference is always challenging. Throwing in two transatlantic flights makes it nearly insane.....and really increases chances of travel issues.

I don't think I've ever been to a smaller airport than the Provo, Utah airport. It was an experience but thanks to Allegiant Air, I was able to make it to California.

The first thing I do any morning is look at my phone. That Monday morning, I woke up to so many missed calls from unknown numbers, text messages and emails that I assumed something terrible had happened. Instead, I just saw that Delta was having some issues. At that point, I had no idea what those issues really meant.

When I woke up last Monday morning, absolutely zero part of me expected to see the San Francisco Bay Bridge, even a brief glimpse.

I had until 11am to get my next steps figured out because I was supposed to take a shuttle from Park City down to Salt Lake City. I tried calling into Delta and was told the hold was between 3.5-4 hours and that they would call me back. Then I got a message saying that my flight was cancelled. I figured there was no point in heading to the airport, so I went out for a run/walk on the trails around Park City.

It was such a strange day with no flow or rhythm. I aimed to just keep moving. This meant basically no meals and lots of bars. Also, I was officially working and really needing to catch up on emails and tasks after the back-to-back craziness of Denmark and Utah.

Eventually, I got a call back from Delta and they said I couldn't get rebooked to fly out until Wednesday, which meant my trip to Czech Republic was obsolete. I needed to be there for a press conference by Wednesday morning. Instead of sitting in Park City, where life is fairly pricey and I didn't know anyone. I looked into all the options that could get me from Utah to California that day. I knew I had a free place to stay in Northern CA and it didn't seem too sure that Delta was actually getting me out of the US anytime soon.

It took a few buses to get from Oakland up to Santa Rosa, including a stop through San Rafael.

I looked into renting a car to drive to CA. Nothing available. I looked into flying from Salt Lake City to any Northern CA airport. Either nothing available or insanely expensive. Eventually, I found a ticket from the Provo Airport to Oakland through Allegiant Air. I knew I could get up to Santa Rosa from Oakland on the Airporter, so I booked a ticket for a price cheaper than a hotel in Park City. The next question was getting from Park City to Provo. Thanks to Uber, I got a lovely ride to Provo through some stunning parts of Utah. I reached Oakland and then started working my way north to Santa Rosa. 

My first meal of the day was one of my favorite plates of food on Earth: Pollo al Horno with half rice and beans and half sweet and fried green plantains from El Colqui. I crave this when in Europe.

Tuesday, Delta still wasn't operating correctly. Wednesday, my first flight was delayed for over five hours, so I would have missed my connection. Fortunately, I already assumed there might be issues so I had called Delta (only a 90-minute wait this time) and asked when they predicted I could fly out. She said that if it didn't really matter (I had a free place to stay, friends to enjoy and access to a car), that I should wait until the weekend. So she booked me SFO-->SLC-->AMS-->BRU on Saturday. 

While killing time in California, I decided my life needed a telescopic (collapsible) fishing rod that I could travel with. Then I spent most afternoons catching fish from lakes around Sonoma County. Heaven.

I got to the airport bright and early on Saturday morning and my first flight to SLC was super smooth. Things started going wrong again in SLC. We boarded our transatlantic flight and just sat there for awhile. Eventually, they announced there was a mechanical and we were all deplaned. I called Delta (only 5-minute wait) and was told that there was basically no other option this late in the day to get me to Europe. I waited for a few hours and called back (15 minute wait). This time, I was told that I would have to wait between 6-7 hours in Amsterdam to get a connecting flight to BRU once I made it to Europe.

Last US meal for a few weeks. I had no idea I was about to start another hellish travel day.

At this point, I was desperate just to get home. My already long trip had been extended nearly five extra days. I was running low on meds and patience, so I asked to terminate my flight in Amsterdam. I figured I could just grab a train back to Gent much faster. After a little battling with Delta, they finally agreed to this. I arrived in AMS only to find out my bags hadn't been retagged. It took quite a fight to get them but eventually I was free from the Delta system for a few weeks.

Switching off the Thalys in Antwerp for the train to Gent. Total relief to be back in the Dutch speaking parts of the world.

Now I'm home for about three weeks. This is one of the longest stretches I have had at home in months. I'm looking forward to eating my own food, actually having some hobbies, sleeping and enjoying my great city of Gent.

My next real travel (outside of one-day bike races in Belgium) is back to the States for a wedding at the beginning of September.

Passing through Momofuku

In 2008, I walked away from a decent paying corporate job with absolutely no plan. Well, I had a plan but no idea how to make it a reality. I knew I wanted to work in pro cycling but that's much easier said than done. 

Needless to say, basically everyone was horrified and concerned by this career move. Most people were confused but a few came in with good advice as I made a total leap of faith. The two things I remember the most: 1.) Don't get lazy. 2.) Don't make your hobby your job. 

Plenty of people thought cycling was my hobby. To be honest, it never felt that way. I can't exactly explain it. The energy I got at a race, or maybe just around pro sports, was so special, energizing and unique for me when it came to a work environment. Sure, I definitely appreciated cycling but it was never my hobby. I've ridden, but I've never been fanatical. I've never raced or even wanted to race.

Lunch time at Momofuku Ssam. I ate alone at the bar....how I eat more meals than I can count.

My hobby is food. Good food. Special food. Amazing food. Unique food. Anything and all food that amazes and wows me. It doesn't have to be fancy, expensive, unique, molecular or exclusive. Sure, I like trying all of those, but they aren't my motivation. I simply love to consume amazing food. Following the aforementioned advice, I don't think I'll make food my career anytime soon (except maybe for a PR function....I'm never going to try my hand at creating it.)

Maybe it was lunch, but I was about hour 47 into a trip that should have taken 12. At this point, I needed booze to avoid going insane. And let's be honest....Grüner Veltliner is perfect with spicy food on a hot day.

And that is what leads me to my unexpected trip through Momofuku Ssam. There is no better way to put it: I love David Chang. His food, his approach to food, the people he hires, the ways he views food. The list goes on. I consume all media related to David Chang, but sadly, my life up until this point hasn't let me overlap with his food. Until earlier this week. (And note: I still haven't eaten David Chang food...simply David Chang-crafted food.)

I began with the shrimp rolls with daikon, green mango and peanut. The peanut was all on the outside, so I tried to avoid. My fabulous server gave me the Ssam sauce (not gluten-free) and it was a total add. This was delicious and added a lovely spicy. My only takeaway is that I wish I had people to share this dish with so I could have enjoyed another starter. 

This week was a travel nightmare that will need to be a whole other post. I began here but that was only the beginning. Fast forward to a 24-hour unexpected layover in New York City and thanks to some amazing advice, I knew Momofuku was in my future. Several places were open for lunch, but a 2008 New Yorker article lingered in my mind and I needed to go tp Momofuku Ssam.

Wow. This was delicious. I let my server pick my main course and he went with the Spicy Pork Sausage and Rice Cakes with broccoli and sichuan peppercorn. It was AMAZING. And when they say it is spicy, don't be scared. It wasn't that spicy.  What it was was huge. I couldn't finish it, but I gluttoned myself trying. 

There is no way to add this into the conversation. I currently am gluten, dairy, banana and peanut-free. It's a whole long conversation that has to do with autoimmune issues...but I'm not quite ready to go into all of that. But let me say, I've been as completely gluten, dairy, banana and peanut-free as humanly possible for the past three months, 1.5 months of that living on the road. No hiccups. I got to Momofuku and decide none of that mattered. Sure, I wasn't going to go super overboard (yet) with the steamed buns, but I wasn't going to miss out on this moment...and I also wasn't going to have an anaphylactic reaction, which is a real problem for people.

I Milk Bar'ed. This is where I went dairy overboard. It was noticed afterwards.

The entire meal was perfect. The servers at Momofuku Ssam were personable, knowledgeable and basically exactly what you want when dining, particularly dining alone. They didn't make me feel like a weirdo. The service was spot on and the food was what I hoped for and more.

Following lunch, I stopped by neighboring Momofuku Milk Bar. This was the most obvious moment where I threw all dietary restrictions to the wind. I got a cereal milk and fruity cereal milk soft serve blend. It was beyond amazing and I don't regret a lick of it; I was even stopped on the street and asked where I got such a good looking ice cream. All I can say, I plan to tackle Milk Bar without any food restrictions at one point in life (looking at you Arnold Palmer Cake and basically anything ever made by Christina Tosi.) 

Momofuku was definitely the high point of a disrupted travel that began on Monday and didn't end until Thursday afternoon.

Travel Hiccups

I know a lot of people complain about the headache that is air travel, but to be honest, I rarely have issues. And I fly a lot. And in strange, foreign countries, on odd airlines. 

I choose to fly nearly exclusively on Delta or SkyTeam.  They've proven to me over the past few years that they rarely have, incidents, and when they do, they fix them. Also, the benefits of status aren't too shabby. 

I should have known getting back to Belgium wouldn't go smoothly. The exit hadn't flowed since the start. I was supposed to fly out over a week ago, but unexpectedly stayed an extra week to finish up on my condo purchase, puppy sit and deal with some health issues.

Is there anything cuter in life than a puppy belly?!

I finally boarded a plane yesterday heading to Atlanta scheduled to head on to Amsterdam and finally Brussels. The first flight was smooth. It was the ATL-->AMS that went wrong.  

I boarded around 7:30pm, got ready to sleep, started reading a magazine and soon fell asleep. As I fell asleep, I knew we hadn't taken off but didn't worry. They always board super early for international flights.  After what felt like a decent nap, I noticed we were still on the ground. Apparently, there was a mechanical issue, so I went back to sleep. Then I heard them announce that people could deplane if they'd like. I ignored it and slept more. Once I woke up, nearly fully rested, I noticed we were still on the ground. It was 1:30am.  

At 2am, they cancelled my flight and deplaned all of us.

2am check in to the hotel.  Feeling a little ripe. 

The next steps went fairly smoothly. As we walked back into the terminal, our boarding passes were scanned and each person was given a ticket with a hotel voucher. You could wait and rebook, but I figured calling would be faster. 

I headed to my assigned airport hotel (thanks Marriott for the great bed!) and called Delta in route. I got rebooked on a flight the next afternoon (technically later that afternoon) from Atlanta - - >New York - - >Brussels. 

But I did get to run into one of my coworkers unexpected in the airport. I look great, sans makeup and plus glasses. 

Check-in was super speedy.  I slept as late as I could and headed back to the airport. Now I'm delayed again due to bad thunderstorms in Atlanta. 

Atlanta closed down for thunderstorms. 

“​Will I ever get home?! ”