Today saw another cold start, with the sun peeping through the clouds sparingly. I set out on the Psychlo-X over Vaalbeek and the Zoete Waters towards Sint Joris Weert and Nethen. Following some orange arrows which brought me over Hamme Mille and Tourinnes to Beauvechain. Here I took a left towards La Bruyere. The wind was bothering me and it was a cold wind. Into L'Ecluse and then onwards to Oorbeek along the Waversesteenweg. From Oorbeek things were looking up wind-wise but the climb to Kumtich still had me dig deep. Luckily I was protected from the side by a earthen wall. From Kumtich to Willebringen the wind was more or less in my back and with the sun out I actually felt elated . Over Neervelp and then up to the Bierbeek globe. Down into Bierbeek and alongside Haasrode to the Expressweg which I followed into Blanden.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 51.5K and 430 heightmeters (Garmin) in 02h03mins

As usual these days upon arriving home I got on the Tacx Satori for half an hour of cooling down. Fast revs and low resistance suited my legs fine.

Ride Stats : 22K in 00h31mins

3679/9310

31-03-2013, 14:02 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning I waited a couple of hours more before riding out. Temperatures were above zero by then but there seemed to be more wind than yesterday. And it was blowing from the cold East-North-Eastern corner. I started out along the Weertse Dreef and then rode through Sint Joris Weert and Nethen towards Pecrot. From Pecrot I rode to Archennes and then started the long climb up to Ottenburg. Down into Basse-Wavre - the road was flanked by snow in the left bank - and then another long climb up to the Chaussee De Huy. This big road has a terrible bikepath and ondulates up and down towards the south-east. This meant that the wind was picking on me from the front left side. When I turned towards Maleves I had it full in my face. Through Maleves and Sainte Marie and Wastinnes towards Opprebais. Here I took a right turn, full in the wind again, to reach the N91. I started following this big road towards Pietrebais and ultimately Hamme Mille. The wind was blowing from my right now and I was struggling with it in the exposed areas on the plateau. Dropping into Hamme Mille provided some shelter and following the N25 through Meerdael Forest I also was protected from the wind by the forest. A little loop into Blanden ended this ride. It turned out to be quite a difficult one. My legs did not feel fully recuperated from yesterday and the aftermath of the cold I had last week is still leaving me a bit weaker than I would have liked to be at this stage.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 60K and 600 heightmeters (Garmin) in 02h31mins

Arriving home I added 4mm to my saddle height on the Moots Psychlo-X. The Brooks saddle will give when it becomes broken in, and I already felt like I was sitting a bit too low. Hence the adjustment. Comparing it to my other bikes it looks like it should be OK now.
On to the Hilset next for half an hour of cooldown on the Tacx Satori. The legs felt full but I was able to maintain a good speed and with the resistance on 1 I could keep the revs high.

Ride Stats : 22K in 00h31mins

3605/8880

30-03-2013, 15:05 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yesterday saw the demise of a brave and joyful companion. Our cat Rambo finally lost the battle against diabetes and old age. He passed on at the age of 19. He was a great cat, always friendly, not a mean bone in his body. He will be sorely missed but it is comforting to think that he is already chasing mice in cat heaven. He weighed more than 6kg in his prime. When he passed away yesterday morning he barely made 3kgs.
Fare thee well, Rambo. You will be in our thoughts forever !

29-03-2013, 12:12 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This evening I was home late due to a party at work. But I wanted to  do a ride so I got on the Tacx Satori for an hour of sustained effort. The last 10 minutes were done at resistance 2, the rest on resistance one. Legs felt Ok but they needed a little stretching when I go out of the hot tub after the training.

Ride Stats : 46K in 01h01mins

3469/8050

27-03-2013, 21:15 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

26-03-2013, 18:47 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Last week my newly acquired used car - the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX - was at Wax-it.be for a detailing job. They scrubbed, cleaned and protected the paint, cleaned the engine bay, the wheels, revitalized the interior and coated the front glass with a nanocoating that should allow me to ride through the rain without using the wipers. At the end it nearly looked like a new car. Some pictures of the finished car can be seen on their Flickr account.

Riding it to and from Oudenaarde proved to be quite an experience. The cars exhaust note -  a 3" Milltek - is not something that is easily disguised. It emits a low growl at normal paces, swelling to a dangerous level each time you hit the accelerator . Things start happening very fast when that happens, the turbo pressure shoots towards 1.7 bars and the car becomes ballistic. A steady hand and a lot of experience and control is demanded from its driver to keep things on the right side of the law. It's big fun to drive, but you need to be able to remain in control all the time.

I did not ride last week, caught a throat-ache that evolved during the week and also invaded my sinuses. Nothing much but just enough to take away any desire to ride a bike.
By last friday things seemed to be clearing out but I decided to wait until after the weekend .
So today I got on the Tacx Satori to check out my legs and my health. Both turned out to be reasonably good. I could maintain a good speed and did not suffer any short of breath or excessive sweating, things I usually experience after a cold.
I just have to wait now how my body will react and hope to pick up my daily routine of riding a bike. The only thing that can be improved is the weather. This weekend again saw some snow falling and today it was cold and windy.

Ride Stats : 45.5K in 01h01mins

3378/8050

25-03-2013, 19:17 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf