A little bit of rain fell last night and this morning. The clouds were prominent but every now and then the sun was peeping through fro a short while. The wind was blowing cold from the north. I decided to do an easy ride in the forest and set out on a combination of my secret meerdael loops and the trails I discovered last winter. The forestry works were still going on and a lot of the beautiful narrows trails have been changed into big boulevards of broken wood and deep gullies by the forestry machines. It is a bit ironic to see the 'do not disturb' signs at the start of many a trail that has been ripped open and lies there like a festering wound, waiting for time to heal it back into the beautiful trail it once was.
Another phenomenon is that the forestry leaves a lot of fallen trees where they have fallen over the trails, thus making it impossible to ride them. Having to dismount is very frustrating and breaks the rhythm.

I did however persist and rode the trails anyway. On other places the tracks had been cleaned of fallen debris and trees so on the whole it evens out. I was still feeling yesterdays' ride in my legs so on the whole I was taking it very easy , trying to enjoy the forest and the meandering little trails through it.

I noticed some arrows and upon inspection they belonged to the VLI - Vlaamse Liga Paardensport. So they are organising rides for horses as well nowadays. No problem, as long as they stay on their alloted trails. Nothing but a couple of dozens horses to mess up a good trail and make one wish he was riding on the cobbles of Paris Roubaix instead.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 26K and 365 heightmeters (Garmin) in 1h35mins

2558/25900

07-04-2012, 17:08 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Bank holiday today so I had a day off from work. The front tyre of my Moots YBB suddenly decided to refuse to hold any more air, so that means I either put in an inner tyre or I take it to Filip Sport for a No Tubes refill. I decided to go for the latter option which meant I had to take out the BBW again for what was going to turn unto quite a solid mixed ride.
Starting out at an easy pace following the Haasrode Tour towards Bierbeek, Neervelp, Willebringen, Kumtich, Hoksem and Hoegaarden. When I passed the Goudberg Geosite I decided to ride towards the Ravel 2 and then following the cobbles past St Remy Geest until I reached Jodoigne.
From Jodoigne it wasn't very far from Dongelberg. I crossed the N91 , rode through Incourt and then took a left towards Opprebais. Here I followed a narrow tarmac road that is mainly used to water off the surrounding fields. I have been here before and then this road was a stream with 20cm of water flowing through it. Today, due to the drought that has been going on for almost a month, there was nothing but nice but rough tarmac under my wheels. I resisted the urge to ride into Maleves-Sainte-Marie-Wastinnes, turning to the right towards Chaumont Gistoux instead. The wind, cold and from the north, was blowing into my face now and it was a good thing I dressed for the occasion. Even though it was sunny it was rather cold. Stopping at the church for a bite to eat.

Riding onwards I quickly passed Gistoux and then made my way through the beautiful Train valley into Bonlez and onwards to Grez Doiceau. From Grez I crossed the N25 and climbed towards Bossut. Riding through La Malaise and a bit of offroad taking me to Rue de Pecrot and into Nethen. From here I closed my loop riding past Sint Joris Weert, the Zoete Waters and Vaalbeek. When I reached Blanden the nice weather made me decide to add another loop towards La Chasse and then past the Commonwealth Cemetery back towards Blanden. A nice solid ride at an easy pace.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 85K and 680 heightmeters (Garmin) in 3h47mins

2531/25535

06-04-2012, 15:54 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This evening saw the first KBC MTB club ride of the new season. There was a good gathering with 10 or more men and 3 women at the start at 6.30pm at the Heverlee Sports Center. The first couple of kilometers were at a leisurely pace and then the decision was made to split the group up in a fast and not-so-fast group. Most men and all of the women chose to ride in the latter group and that left only six of us in the fast group. I took the lead as the guide and we started out on the fast broad trails of Heverlee forest. After a while I made for the Zoete Waters were we crossed over into the Kouterbos and a couple of kilometers later we were in the Meerdael Forest. The pace was fast and the dry roads made for an excellent ride. In the Meerdael forest we sampled some long steady climbs, nothing too steep or difficult. About an hour and 15 minutes into the ride I looped back towards Blanden and through Vaalbeek into Heverleebos. Darkness was falling and the overcast weather wasn't helping. With an average speed of 22 kph overall I was very pleased with the training stimulus this ride offered. Riding in a group is always more challenging than riding alone. With an average temperature of 7 degrees C it wasn't exactly warm.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 40.5K and 310 heightmeters (Garmin) in 1h51mins

2446/24855

05-04-2012, 20:48 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Good news yesterday. After a month and a half in transit between Hampshire, MA and Blanden, Belgium, the Moots Psychlo-X finally cleared customs. I could go and pick it up today. Which I obviously did.
When I arrived home from the Postal office I first wanted to ride out towards Filip Sport. Checking how my wheels and Obed were coming along. Turned out the No Tubes wheels were ready, the 1992 XTR hub received a new Mavic rim and spokes, but the bearings of the race face crankset in the Litespeed Obed were still not in place. No worries, I plan to pick up the wheels tomorrow. I also discussed the upcoming Psychlo-X buildup with Filip. I bounced some ideas off of him and we would have a meeting later this spring to go over the final build.
The weather was great, with 15 degrees C average temperature and almost no wind. I felt good and the ride went well and uneventful.
When I got home I was curious to have a look at the frame. It was exactly as specified. A quick weigh revealed that it was not too heavy for a 54cm frame . It is a cyclocross frame after all. 1675g with incorporated seat collar, disc-prepared adjustable dropout sliders and a thick chain guard from Salsa. A good base to build up a minus 8 kilogram bike.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 50.5K and 425 heightmeters (Garmin) in 2h09mins

2406/24545

03-04-2012, 20:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

After seeing Tom Boonen clinch his 3rd Ronde Van Vlaanderen victory I was motivated to ride out in the late afternoon. The sun was still out and during the first part of this mixed ride that took me through Mollenfaalbos to Mollendaal, Beauvechain, Sclimpre towards Melin I had the win nicely in my back on the mix of cobbles and dusty field roads. Turning to Lathuy and then arriving in Dongelberg where I switched onto tarmac for a trip to Jodoigne. Here I had some difficulty finding my way towards Saint-Marie-Geest. 2 roads were blocked but the third one proved to be a good one. Offroad again and before long I was in Sainte-Marie-Geest and on the Ravel 2 which took me into Hoegaarden.
From here I began noticing the wind as I turned towards the north. Riding through Oorbeek and Kumtich and then turning to the northwest until I reached Willebringen and Neervelp. From there another stretch in northern direction brought me into Bremt where I turned west for a last stretch to Bierbeek , Haasrode and into Blanden. Good ride .

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 60K and 500 heightmeters (Garmin) in 2h37mins

2355/24120

01-04-2012, 20:41 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf