Planning for the trip ...
This is an important aspect of your trip and will happen well before you ever leave to Belgium/Europe. There are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself first before leaving to help determine the direction you will be going:
-- Are you at a level of fitness / experience to handle Belgian racing?
For most cyclists you will need to be at almost the top of your regions area to be competitive in Belgium, but your will to do well can be the biggest factor in being a success. I have seen US professional riders come to Belgium and do worse than Cat. 3 riders in the same races. So it’s all about your drive, your passion and some talent. Be sure to have a good base before you show up and if you are coming for 6 months, don’t do too much too quickly, it’s a long season.
-- Do you have the budget to handle living away from home for 3 to 6 months?
The cost to live in Europe can be a large part of your decision to come and also how long to stay. The way I always looked at coming to Europe was this. First, I wanted to come to Europe and race for the long term in Europe, so that was my initial reason to come. Second, in the US I spent on average 35 dollars or more per race, plus travel and hotel fees to go to races. Sometimes I had a team to cover these costs, other times I didn’t, but it was a large cost.
In Belgium the cost of a race is 8 euros, with 5 of those Euros returned when you give your number back. So I was going to pay MUCH less to do races in Europe (and free when you go to the larger races, ie Interclubs). Most of the time races were within riding distance so there wasn’t a gas cost involved and if there was a car used the race was usually no more than 50km (30 miles) away. There is also racing all week long during the summer months and at least three races a week guaranteed from the end of February till the start of October. If you still want to keep racing there is always Cyclocross from September till February.
I looked at the cost for me to pay rent and food as not really a factor as I was always going to pay rent and food where ever I lived and the cost of food wasn’t much more than where I lived if you shopped at the right places. Plus when I was in Europe I wasn’t paying for my car insurance, which saved me a large sum of money. On the other hand I wasn’t able to work, so I there was no income coming in (but I was here to race, not to work).
You can also make some money at the races here, but much less than what I was able to win while in the US. The race win here in Belgium usually pays only 70 euros, but you can also “sell” the race to a break away companion for anywhere from 100 to 500 euros depending on what they can offer and various other factors. Primes can be as much as 25 euros a lap over an 18 lap race, so there is some extra cash to be had.
-- Can you handle being away from home (friends, family, girlfriends, etc.)?
This is one of those factors that affects everyone quite differently. Some people can handle the separation from what they know much better than others. I will say this question has become a lot easier in recent years with the advances in internet communications. If you have access to internet, you have e-mail which you can make things much easier. With internet at your house and a laptop there is Skype and Video Conferencing to make it even easier on you (plus cheaper). Give some good thought to how this will affect you and how you can cope with it during your stay.