After yesterdays' mixed ride I could not resist doing a proper mountainbike ride today. And obviously Meerdael Forest has been beckoning for a while now for me to get back in. I did not spray for horseflies - I sprayed enough yesterday - but I did wear long sleeved trousers and jersey. It looked to me that the horsefly season is truely coming to an end, opening up the offroad adventure box for me.
I settled on doing the Meerdael Bloso routes. Starting out with the Green, then hopping on the Blue, then the Red and finishing off with the Blue again. The tracks were super, dry and fast and only a hint of mud here and there. It takes some getting used to the bumpy offroad again, and of course to a bike that is suspended, as opposed to the road bike. But the technical prowess is still there and I felt confident in myself and the bike on the downhills.  The forest was still bearing the scars of the heavy august thunderstorms as there were some new ruts in the descents and some parts were cleaned out by forestry workers. But the legs still felt surprisingly good and I managed to maintain a solid average of just above 20kph throughout the entire ride. Also my heartrate average was pretty low which to me means that my heart was a lot stronger than my legs. Legs that have been building up fatigue throughout the last 5 days of riding, there is no way around that. But the 2XU compression pants seem to work since the overall feeling of my legs is that they feel less fatigued than one would expect after all the training work they have endured.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 56K and 470/565 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h38mins

9912/82480

17-09-2011, 14:43 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

"1-79-78-90-91-37-68-67-85-86-87-73-75-76-1" , seems like the combination of a very important vault and indeed, in a way you might say that those numbers represent just that. The way in to the vault of treasures that is the region South of Leuven and then to the east towards the Brabant Plateau and into the region of Haspengouw.
I discovered this interchange route - that takes you from one node to another following arrowed signposts  - in the latest edition of 'Grinta'. I chose to ride the 48.5K version. There is also a 70K version but I decided to go for the shorter one today because my legs have been doing a lot of kilometers already this week AND the forecast called for possible rain in the afternoon.
The rain didn't come but I had a fine ride along these numbered nodes. I picked in on the route where the Weertse Dreef crosses the Naamsesteenweg and the next kilometers take me through Mollendaalbos straight east. By the way, this route is absolutely not suited to ride with a road bike. A mountainbike - or citybike if you must - is your best option. Big forest roads and when I reached Mollendaal long sections of cobbles that take me to Opvelp. From there I follow the Hoeveroute alongside the river Velp towards Neervelp and Vertrijk. Crossing the Tiensesteenweg and I ride towards Lubbeek on small tarmac roads. Sometimes another section of cobbles or field road make me glad I chose to ride with a mountainbike today.

16-09-2011, 20:22 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Felt magically recuperated from yesterdays ride - must be those 2XU compression pants - so I was eyeing the disappearing cloudcover with anticipation. Around 11AM I rode off and even though the temperature was only 15 degrees C it promised to be a fine day for cycling.
And indeed, as it turned out, it was. I wanted to ride to Longchamps, making my way over the Zoete Waters, then Sint Joris Weert and Nethen and from Nethen to Pecrot and Archennes. Passing Grez I could already remove my armlings since the sun was starting to bring some warmth to the earth. The long climb to Heze followed and then I passed Longueville on my way to Sart-Risbart. From Sart-Risbart I rode to Opprebais, Maleves-Sainte-Marie-Wastinnes and Thorembais-les-Beguines and then I saw the little tower of Perwez appearing in the distance. The sun was out now and this brough a big smile to my face. It turned out to be a glorious september day, ideally suited for cycling. The wind was almost gone, just a slight breeze from the north-northwest.

Passing Perwez I then set my wheels towards Aische-En-Refail and Mehaigne before reaching Longchamps, the furthest point of todays' ride. From Longchamps I got on the Ravel 2 which nicely brought me past Eghezee and Jodoigne towards Hoegaarden. Great, this was turning out to be another 100K ride. Riding onwards past Kumtich, Willebringen and Bremt I reached the Haasrode Industrie where I did a lap and then followed the Expressweg back into Blanden. I really enjoyed this ride and my legs felt great. My average heartrate was a low 110bpm and even though this was a long distance ride it almost felt as a recovery ride.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 105.5K and 660/680 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h00mins

9801/81445

15-09-2011, 16:32 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

.. is blowing in the wind. That was the song that sprang into my mind whilst riding my bike today. The sun was out but so was the wind. During the start of my ride I could ignore it since it was in my back, giving me a good push through Bierbeek, up the hill to the water-tower and then down towards Neervelp and up again to Willebringen. When I turned more into it when I was nearing Hoegaarden through Oorbeek I understood that it would be blowing against me whilst following the Ravel towards Eghezee. Still, one of the advantages of the ravel is that it is surrounded by trees and shrubberies, thus blocking the wind most of the time. The sun on my skin felt good, but as the ride continued, there were more and more - harmless - clouds which made it more and more chilly because of - you guessed it, the wind.
Arriving in Eghezee I turned onto the N91. The wind was now blowing from my left and this made riding along the big road through open landscapes a bit dangerous and thrilling.
I passed this beauty when exiting Eghezee . A Lotus Esprit with a very nice number plate.

Dangerous and thrilling. Each time I was passed by a big truck or lorry, I moved 50cm towards them, and when a big truck or lorry crossed me from the other side, it felt like a big slap wanted to push me and my bike into the sideberm. So keeping a good hold of the guidon was a necessity. I was glad I reached Pietrebais where I could turn to the right and had the wind full in my back again. La Bruyere zoomed past in a blur and before long I was in Meldert where I had to turn left again and again face the wind from my left side. I passed another cyclist who promptly took my wheel. But I was riding fast and he had to let go before reaching Bierbeek.
I met him again when I entered Haasrode and I invited him back into my wheel but he smiled and thanked me and let me go. The last stretch towards Blanden was with the wind full in my face but I still managed to keep my speed up. Most surprisingly my average heartrate was only 112bpm. So I must have recuperated well from yesterdays' ride. My legs felt good and I wonder if the 2XU pants have something to do with that. I wore them for 4 hours after my ride yesterday and my legs felt no fatigue when I took them off. So perhaps they are actually working? I'm wearing them again today.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 86K and 500/500 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h06mins

9696/80765

14-09-2011, 15:23 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

A days' rest and a trip to Ardennes with my dad yesterday. 300Km in the Mazda MPS , first following the E40 and then the E25 to Baraque de Fraiture and then the long way down towards La Roche. A lot of beautiful twisty roads which the MPS clearly enjoys, brought us to Hotton, Durbuy, Barvaux, Bomal and Manhay before taking the E25 back towards Liege and then taking the exit towards Hamoir. From Hamoir I returned home over Huy and Eghezee. We both enjoyed this little road trip very much.

Today I felt well-rested and wanted to do a relatively flat ride, so I took the Vortex towards Leuven and Kessel Lo . Following the Vaart all the way to Coloma, near Mechelen, I had the gusty wind more or less against me .But when I turned back towards Leuven, the speeds went up a couple of K and I could hold 33-34kph until I was joined by another biker. We switched leads and the speed went up to 36-38kph. The legs felt good and the gentle push of the wind helped to maintain a good speed. At the Vaartkom we went our seperate ways and I crossed Leuven and followed the Tervuursesteenweg for a while before turning left towards Arenberg. Then coming in along my usual path, through Oud-Heverlee and left at the Zoete Waters, through Vaalbeek and then into Blanden for the last couple of K's to cool down.
I am trying out some 2XU compression tights to see if they help post-exercise recovery. They feel nice and tight, and remind me of the compression pants I got in hospital after my surgery in the beginning of this year.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 75K and 220/250 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h37mins

9610/80265

13-09-2011, 19:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning the skies were clear and with a temperature just below 20 degrees and a breeze from the southwest things looked too good to stay indoors. So off I rode for a recovery ride that would take me over Bierbeek, Bremt and Lovenjoel towards Pellenberg. Here I descended towards the Diestsesteenweg in Linden. I followed that road until I reached Leuven. Riding around Leuven and when I reached the Tervuursesteenweg I followed that and then took a left towards Arenberg. From here I rode towards Heverlee, Oud-Heverlee and the Zoete Waters. Past the Zoete Waters and then I took a left into the Meerdaelwoud to finish my ride  through the Weertse Dreef and then following the Naamsesteenweg into Blanden. Legs felt good and the short relaxed ride sure did good after yesterdays' long ride.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 46K and 340/375 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h43mins

9534/80015

11-09-2011, 12:45 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf