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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 03-05-2007 |
 Meerdael Singletrack Heaven |
Damn, had the finest ride today. I decided to do the first part of my Secret Meerdael loop. This consists mainly of narrow trails and singletracks, only occasionally taking bigger tracks and just a few hundred metres of cobbles and tarmac. The trail conditions were absolutely perfect and the twisty trail had my spirits high. So high in fact that after 20K into the ride, when the hilly bit is about to begin, I decided to turn my bike around and ride the trail again, in the opposite direction back to the start. The dry conditions really make these trails stand out now.
I was curious about my rear wheel, a Mavic Crossmax SL , which had been making 'funny noises' during the Nandrin ride. Noises I recognized from my first SL wheel, when the inner freehub body axle was worn and I had to replace it, which meant replacing the whole wheel. I only have this new wheel for 14 months, and didn't use it during the winter, so I was prepared to be very bad tempered toward Mavic. But I tightened the tension on the bearings somewhat and they didn't give a peep during this ride. Still, if the wheel does fail, I will not replace it by another Mavic wheel but opt for a Shimano XTR wheel instead. I have an XTR wheelset that has been rolling since 1992 and is still going strong. Mavic Crossmaxxes are essentially roadwheels that have been adapted for offroad use, making them light but the design is bad and the inner freehub body axle wears out , causing play on the freewheel hub that cannot be fixed.
The only option is to replace the whole wheel since Mavic policy is against selling only the hub.
Oh well, enough of that, I want to end on a positive note, I thoroughly enjoyed my home trails today and the wheel was fine. Lets hope it stays that way for some time.
Ride Stats : 40K and 420 heightmeters in 2h09mins
3840/31935
03-05-2007, 19:26 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 01-05-2007 |
| Nandrin trails special |
I had promised a dear friend of mine to take her around my beloved Nandrin trails. We also invited some other acquantances and we were 6 to take the start from the little narrow church at Scry.
I changed the starting venue because there a was a car-happening at the normal starting point, the Place Botty at Nandrin.
I have to admit I was feeling nervous because- even though I like these trails very much and have been riding them for 10 years now - I was really curious as to if and how they would please my friend. I have guided many groups here and always got good reviews from the participants, but this was a special ride for me as I value her opinion very much. The first few K - which were actually the last few K of the normal ride - provided a nice warmup and brought us gently to the Place Botty where parking space was indeed rather limited. We spent some time checking out the route map displayed there and then got started on the White Loop. At first this climbs together with the Red loop along a trail that changes from tarmac into gravel and then into a forest track that is normally very muddy but now looks great and feels cobbly due to the many tracks of biker, horse and man that remained when the mud dried out . The White Loop has a few very nice sections in it, and thats why I keep including it. The landscapes we were riding through were beautiful, very colorful with the yellow rapeseed contrasting the deep blue sky and the lush green of the forest. One rollercoaster downhill followed by a steep uphill set us in the right frame of mind for this kind of terrain. Its very dry now so there are no extra mudtraps to look out for, but even so it cannot be taken for granted . The trails at times look deceptively easy but can change very quickly, especially in the downhill sections. One time you are coasting over a nice clear forest trail, avoiding some branch when suddenly gullies appear or rocky patches and stones knock your bike around and make things technical . "Keep on your toes" thats the message here.
The high Condroz isn't the Ardennes yet, but at times it comes very close at times . The trails already have a rocky aspect and even though the hills are more gentle, the ondulations are plenty and every metre uphill saps at your strength.The sun was shining full force and a dry wind was blowing from the east, clearing out the skies to the nicest blue I've seen in a while. After some 22K, the White trail brought us nicely upon the Red, and here the terrain started to change. Less open landscapes, the valleys were more deeply cut and the trails become even more treacherous but remain very beautiful and changing all the time ; ranging from a narrow singletrack alongside a little river, a wider forest trail leading us next to some rocks and then bumping over a rocky trail with some wet patches in it , a tarmac section taking us further down into the valley ,a sharp right turn onto a forest track again, over a bridge and next to a fence and we start with the longest climb of the day. One kilometer upwards over a steep and rocky track. Each is set into his own pace and even in these dry condtions our wheels are skipping over loose stones and we have to wrestle our bikes over little gullies, some roots and even more stones. I so love this climb. At the top we have our 3rd rest stop to allow everyone to stock up on food and drink. A narrow singletrack leads us back down to the top of the rocks we saw earlier. We are now some 42K into the route and fatigue is beginning to seep into our muscles. But we're not home yet. A couple of nice descents along narrow trails followed by steep ascents on a grassy and gully singletrack between two fenced fields . One down, one more to go. We arrive at Villers le Temple and only one long climb through a little forest is left. A few backroads though Scry and we're back at the church. I got the impression everyone was happy with the ride, and I believe the pace we made was enjoyable for everyone. We had some drinks and a snack at Huy before saying our goodbyes.I had a great time - as I always have on these trails - and I can only hope that my friends enjoyed it too. I am already playing with the idea of returning here soon and do the trails in the reverse direction. Ride Stats : 49k and 805 heightmeters in 3h16mins3800/31515some pics CLICK (password protected)
01-05-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 30-04-2007 |
| Scary stuff (non biking) |
Wanted to prepare my # 1 bike for the ride tomorrow when upon turning the wheel I noticed a clicking sound. Mmm? Clicking? Lets look - whats up.. And then I saw it , one loose spoke , torn at the inside of the nipple. WTF ?!? .. damn, there is another one and a third one.. "poinggg" a 4th spoke disconnects when I take the tension out of the tyre.HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
My mind started reeling back to the last ride I did with the Moots, exactly 2 weeks ago in Nandrin. I remember hitting "something" quite distinctly with my front wheel. At the moment I thought it was a rock thrown up by my wheel, or a stick. Still, nothing more happened then and I completed the ride, another 35K at least of tough terrain
Back home I cleaned the bike and noticed that the Mavic quick release had been pushed against the side flange of my front Chris King hub (rubbing off the black color as well ). But there was nothing wrong with the wheel at that point . The bike has been sitting in the garage since.
Crazy , isn't it. I have already contacted my friend Luc , who made these wheels, and he came by to check out the damage. I wonder what caused it, it must have been the bump initiating some tension through the spokes into the nipples. I know these Sapim CX Ray spokes are tensioned very tight but still, the nipples can take this and the spokes are among the strongest around.
They have not suffered, its the messing nipples that broke. I don't trust any of the remaining nipples so they will all have to be replaced, and possibly also the rim, but that has to be assessed by Luc . I think the torn quick release must be a result from the same jolt that caused the messing nipples to snap.
I also think it's weird (and to be quite honest, I'm quite thankful to whatever angel is watching over me ) that this failure happened at home and not during the ride. I don't think I need to draw a picture to illustrate what happens if 4 spokes on the same side of a wheel fail . The wheel instantly gets twisted , locks solid and you go off - hard.
I believe I have to thank Luc for being able to ride another 35K offroad with these wheels without failure.. His wheelbuilding skills probably saved me from a nasty fall.
See some pictures HERE and HERE.
30-04-2007, 19:51 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 29-04-2007 |
| Lasne trails |
Got an SMS around noon from "Moster Blond" asking if I could join her to do some trail exploring in and around Lasne. Yes, of course I could. She set me on a very tight shedule to join her at the Groenendaal station but I somehow managed to get there in one piece, albeit not as fast as she would have wanted me to be there. Still I clocked my best time ever between home and Filip Sport I'm sure.
Another beautiful hot day and even though my legs felt not that brilliant getting out of bed this morning , once I got on my bike things kinda fell into place. My ReSkin patch is doing wonders for my bum because I did not feel anything after yesterdays' monster ride, and I would be without pain as well today. "Mr. Sensitive" definately has approved these bike patches. Get them if saddle soreness is holding you back, you won't regret it.
What great trails we visited today. MB had a map which consisted of "all trails known to mankind" - or at least so it seemed - around Lasne and its big surroundings. Basically these are hiking trails but they are also explicitely open for bikers and horses. And to make a long story short - some of these little trails were pure heaven, tricky, twisty singletrails - some very narrow indeed - posing some fine technical challenges and generally keeping you focussed on the uphills as well as in the downhills. The landscapes here are so lush and green, and ondulating nicely and in the process providing us with a lot of heightmeters. I really had a blast on these trails today. The interconnecting bits consisted of a lot of cobbles - mmm , I thought all cobbles were situated in the Oud-Heverlee area but I was proven wrong - and some one-car-width tarmac roads. Also a lot of gravel roads which suited me fine, as long as they connected to another wonderful trail.. This really is the posh area south of Brussels . I can't remember seeing a Lamborghini AND a Ferrari driving on the same street within a 100 metres of each other -ever. A knight in a Rolls Royce was very kind to grant us passage and some of the houses here are having lawns big enough to play golf in. We also passed the "Royal Belgian Cricket Club" and behold , some gentlemen dressed in white were walking around aimlessly and throwing balls around between tea-breaks .
Great stuff and I am so thankful to MB for taking me out here today. Only trouble is, I want to go back and have a look at the other side of that map.
Ride Stats : 89.5K and 815 heightmeters in 4h50mins
3751/30710
29-04-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 28-04-2007 |
| Magical Moments and Disappointments |
Rode my bike to Hallerbos today to meet with Moster Blond (MB) who was leading the annual BigM Magical Bluebell Ride. This was supposed to be a BigM clubride - although it was originally an idea of BigM founder MB - but I was surprised to see only 3 people besides myself turned out. MB had some trouble with her Polar and with the help of her friends it was discovered that the speed transmitter was the culprit. Its signal proved too weak to make it to the watch attached to her wrist, so we had her attach it to her bikes' handlebar which solved her problem. She happy - we also happy.
This ride has always been a big success in previous years so I cannot begin to understand why there were so few attendees this year. Sure, the bluebells bloomed a few weeks ago - and we were there thank you - and it was a very nice hot day, perhaps too nice to ride a bike for some?
Oh well, its THEIR loss. The ride turned out to be a great one... read on.
It was not going to be easy though. A very popular annual Hallerbos athletic event was taking place today and some 1000 runners who were spread over some 9K of circuit. They had a great time I'm sure, but we had to make sure we stayed out of their path.. so we had to improvise a bit but in the end we got there, doing the trails we set out to do. The bluebells were still there but only at a fraction of their usual luster. Only a sheen of blue was to be seen, but the smell was still there - coupled to the smell of the pinetrees and some wild onions (or more probably flowers that smell like onions - or perhaps some weird mushrooms after all ??) made me inhale my lungs with the fresh forest air. The loop ondulated nicely through the forest, some big trails, some narrow trails. What a great forest this is.
The loop turned out to be a little shorter than previous years due to some trails being blocked by lumber, but we still got a good 20K and 350 heightmeters before we decided to give the BLUE BLOSO route of Braine Le Chateau a try.
Aargh, what a disappointment this turned out to be. 90% of this route is going over tarmac, sure, through some nice fields and next to (NEXT TO as opposed to INTO ) some nice forests. Moreover, there were a lot of cars trying to pass us on essentially one-car roads, sometimes leaving us in the dust - yes, there were some gravel roads as well - sometimes just having to squeeze by .
There was one very nice bit with a fine downhill section but that couldn't have been more than about 1.5K long. And at one point the road passes through the Hallerbos, albeit on big roads, so that too has to count for something. But as a whole, this 17K easy route is not something I would recommend. Perhaps we need to check out the longer - and supposedly tougher - RED route, but to be quite frank, I don't think I'll bother. What a contrast with the nearby Braine L'Alleud routes, those are really good and well thought-out.
After returning to the Hallerbos we finished with a very fast Yieeehhaa stretch and then returned happily to the Sept Fontaines starting point. Three of us continued by bike going towards the Middenhut were one left and Moster Blond and myself continued together until Jezus-Eik were our roads separated.
Ride Stats : 121K and 1195 heightmeters in 6h06mins
3662/29895
28-04-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 27-04-2007 |
| I use ReSkin |
So, yeah, I needed some ReSkin patches. Went to my local pharmacy who contacted the ReSkin factory, but the factory was out of them and they were not available (yet) on the ReSkin website. But, Verbinnen Sport at Wilsele had them in stock. Oh, thats what I needed, a reason to jump on my bike and do some K's.
So to Verbinnen I went and surely enough, they had them stocked. I opted for a 5-pack and they sold those at 27. Money well spent, I can advise them to anyone who bikes for more than 2 hours on end . The patches are wash-able and re-usable and you can use them 3-4 times before they are 'spent'.
Warm day so I went for an extra little loop over the hills of Kessel Lo and Hoog Linden. Keeping the speed and effort down of course, long weekend coming up and lots of biking planned the next 4 days.
Ride Stats : 37K and 265 heightmeters in 1h30mins
3540/28700
27-04-2007, 19:02 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 24-04-2007 |
| Speed King II |
Another fast ride this evening. Legs felt good, which is normal after 2 days of rest following some tougher rides. Halfway through the ride I felt my rear tyre running flat but I managed to ride on until I was home. The temperature of 23 degrees C felt good. Now I have to upload some more pictures from this weekends' Women Elite Race to my Houffalize Fotopic site. Check them out, but please remember you can only use them on websites or for other public purposes with my explicite consent.
Ride Stats : 29K and 175 heightmeters in 1h06mins
3473/28250
24-04-2007, 20:29 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 22-04-2007 |
| Houffalize - Mountainbike Mekka |
Friday April 20th:
I arrived in Houffalize around 1pm. I had to wait until 5pm to check in at the hotel, so why not do a mountainbike ride in the meantime. Yes, please. Unloaded my bike and started out on Houffa trail number 2. This starts out by taking the road in the direction of La Roche and then steeply disappears to the left on tarmac, later in the forest. The trail shares the first few k's with the number 3 and also the number 1 trails.A quick downhill into the forest, followed by a wet uphill - wet because of a little stream the trickles down along the trail - yiehaa.. Another downhill, this one tricky and dark due to the heavy coverage of the pinetrees.
Some gullies here so watch out, steer carefully and easy but decisive on the brakes. I was on my Litespeed so had to re-adjust to the lesser brakepower of the XTR V-brakes as compared to the strong Hope Mono Mini diskbrakes on my other bike.
Another steep uphill follows after which the trail mellowed out a bit, but rest assured , in Houffa even the mellow trails are tough . I noticed that the signage was IMPECCABLE and it would remain so during the rest of the ride.
After a long drop from the crest of the hill down to the river Ourthe I crossed the la Roche road again only to disappear into the forest again for another 3k climb, another 200 heightmeters. After that the trail loops towards the North of Houffalize.
Trail number two turned out to be around 29K - I had briefly incorporated a bit of the WorldCup circuit in the beginning which accounted for an extra 3K or so - and it was close to 660 heightmeters. Hillfactor 22.5 , yeah, this is Houffalize allright.
After trail number 2, I decided to do the number 3 trail next . This I had also done the last time I was here and I knew it covered 34K and a little more than 700 heightmeters.
The first bits were the same as the number 2 trail but then number 3 veers anticlockwise to the East - as opposed to trail number 2 which loops clockwise to the West and later to the North of Houffalize. It could be my imagination but I noticed that some tarmac bits had been cut short, opting for offroad tracks instead.
That is a good thing, one can not have enough singletrails. The tracks were dusty and dry, but the wind was cold so even though the sun was blazing, it was not really warm. After a little less than 4 hours riding I arrived back at the hotel.
Ride Stats : 64.5K and 1385 heightmeters in 3h47mins
Saturday April 21st:
A good breakfast and at 8.45 am I left the hotel. It was fiendishly cold - just above freezing - in the ourthe valley and I wore every bit of bike clothing I has with me. I had an appointment with "Moster Blond" and a few other gentle bikers from the Brussels BigM group. MB had procured a map from the La Roche trails and we were about to do one of the new trails. She chose the #2 trail and for me it was a hit. It started a bit boring but at least uphill with a long tarmac climb out of La Roche all the way to the Parc de Gibier. From there on the climb continued, taking us in 7k from 237 to 572 heightmeters, with a little downhill drop in between but we just lost 30 heightmeters in that . Gasp, that was 365 heightmeters in one go. Wow, looking GOOD. After that, it obviously went downhill for a while , but mostly on bigger forest trails. Until we came at a very nice fast downhill section, with some rocks, gullies, roots and other selected nasties that had a lot of us riding back up again to do the downhill bit once more. GOOD.
This was just after passing the little village of Samrée. The downhill went on until we had to climb a long stretch upwards again. Now we were really on a typical La Roche trail. All of a sudden the trail went down, megasteep and in such beautiful landscapes that I had to stop to take some pics. We dropped into a nice little ravine with a stream crossing the trail at the bottom. After that was following a steep, long and rather difficult climb. This section of the trail was really fingerlicking GOOD . Pity there was another stretch of tarmac bringing us down towards crossing the La Roche - Houffalize road. Another steep offroad climb followed which we shared with a few hikers and which brought us nicely back on the plateau again, another good bit for me. The view from the plateau towards Maboge was fantastic. The trail had one very steep downhill up its sleeve, which dropped us back onto the big road from Houffalize to La Roche. From there another 2K saw us back into La Roche. In all, the trail incorporated some very nice uphills, with at least three great downhill sections. I must say I did not like the tarmac sections but perhaps there are no other options. If you know the area, I guess you can do that middle bit a few times in a row. At the end of trail # 2 we had 27.5K and 702 heightmeters but you must substract about 2 K and some 50 heightmeters because of the climb we did twice. But, 25.5K and 650 heightmeters still nets a Hill Factor of 25.5 .
Back at the town I said my goodbyes to the rest of the group and biked back to Houffalize. Just before entering Houffalize I saw a nice singletrail ondulating parallel to the tarmac road, which I got on and followed for 2.5 k or so. When I exited that little trail I saw the markings from Houffa trail #6 which obviously uses that singletrack. Another change to the old trails .
I had a good days biking with some great trail company (you know who you are - thanks boys and girls )
In the late afternoon I got an SMS from "Miss Piggy" , she was at the Expo area and it looked like a good idea to join her and stroll along the many stands with her and her little boy. I met up with a lot of people on the way - who are now probably wondering where I got the instant family from - and the pleasant temperatures made me really enjoy the walk, relaxing before race-day .
Meeting up with Jurgen Vanden Driessche from http://www.xcluziv.net/ gave me a chance to talk about my favorite topic, titanium bikes. Until the women got bored with all that tech stuff and we had to move along that is..
I also met Fons Moors from www.fonsmtb.be and Thierry from O2 Bikers.
Thanks Julie for coming over and accompanying me . I had a grand couple of hours.
Ride Stats : 84K and 1320 heightmeters in 4h47mins
Some pics from the Houffa and La Roche trails here (CLICK)
Sunday April 22nd:
Today I concentrated on following the Womens' Elite race, something I have been doing for 12 years now in Houffalize. Today was no exception and I went out on the track to get some pictures from these athletes I admire so much.
My Houffalize 2007 Womens' Elite Picture gallery (CLICK)
After the Womens' race I met up with "Moster Blond" and some of the BigM gang again and we had a fine time following the Mens' race. Some spectacular biking to be seen at the new downhill section at "Le Arsenal" along the La Roche road.
The beautiful weather made this a very rewarding weekend and I really had a grand time, riding my bike, checking out the Expo area with Julie , taking the pictures from the Womens' race and following the Mens' races with my friends .
I want to thank all of them for being there and making this weekend into what it has become.
3444/28030
22-04-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 16-04-2007 |
| Miss Piggy meets the Big Bad Wolf |
With the glorious weather still holding on for at least one more day I decided to try out the Nandrin trails. With not a single drop of rain this month they were sure to be dry, fast and of course tricky. While everyone was returning back to work or school after the Easter holiday it felt a little perverse to take a day off and go out biking.I had asked Julie (aka "Miss Piggy" at a certain mountainbike forum ) if she wanted to accompany me.Julie has promised me to guide me around in her neck of the woods later this year so I thought I would return the favor by showing her some of the trails I like.Nandrin lies just south-east of Huy, and the trails over there are certainly not among the toughest around but the constant climbing - sometimes very steep - and descending sometimes fast, sometimes a little bit more technical - makes it a great training area, with some lovely views of nice countryside. It also incorporates some nice little singletracks and because the trails are relatively unknown, they are at times almost overgrown, especially in the summer season.We met up at the village center and set off around 9.30. The sun was already well out, painting the "High Condroz" landscapes in full technicolor. Picture a mixture of the young green on the trees and in the pastures , the bright yellow fields of Rapeseed (canola) and the browns, grays and whites of the trails that meander through it.I usually interconnect two routes here, the White and the Red. These routes are remnants of some marked trails in the area. There is a map at the start of the routes and there used to be a little shop where you could get an A4 with the trails on them. I have heard the villages library still carries copies of this map.I made a roadbook of these trails some years ago, roadbook which can still be found HERE (click)The White route takes us directly onto a long steady climb passing through a forest. I usually skip this section because of the mud but today there would be no problem riding this trail. A stretch of wet grass follows, we cross a tarmac road and are plunged again into a forest. A little further we get a nice rollercoaster ride - a fast downhill followed by a steep uphill section. And so it continues for the first 15K, up and down, with some nice landscapes to feast our eyes on. After that the trail mellows out a bit as we stay more or less on the plateau. Around 20K into the ride we join the Red route and things get more interesting again. Little overgrown trails alongside fields bring us into the forest again and the track undulates once again up and down, up and down.We have a little break just before we attack what I consider to be the best part of these routes.A great loop that starts out with a beautiful singletrack alongside a little river soon followed by a wider track with some nasty stones protruding from it- takes us gradually down in the direction of the Meuse valley. At our right we see a high rocky outcrop we would meet again, but not without some effort.A stretch of unavoidable tarmac (Ive checked all sideroads are either private or cul-de-sac) brings us deeper down into a lush and green valley . Suddenly a sharp turn to the right onto a forest road and after crossing the stream we are at the bottom of a long and steep uphill. About 1.6 K and it brings us some 100 meters higher. Nice, rocky and steep. I have seen a lot of people walk here but Julie is a strong climber and the pace she sets is just right for me. After that we come onto a bigger track which still goes upwards but not as steep. Right turn, some forest tracks which soon becomes a singletrack that drops down towards the rocky outcrop we saw before. Here we stop to take some pictures and admire the view.Another singletrack follows which brings us back within some 150 meters from the entrance of this fine loop. Anyone up for a second round? Not today so we continue along the red trail. The trail works its way over two more hills, dropping down along a small track and working its way upwards again on an even narrower track between two fields. Room enough but you have to concentrate on the trail and forget about the barbed wire that keeps the cattle into the fields and us away from them. We come into a small village and surely enough, after a downhill stretch there is another climb waiting, this time in a hollow road into a forest.We have been keeping quite a good pace throughout the ride. Julie is a strong rider and her pace suits me very well. The tracks were dry, the occasional puddle notwithstanding. Still our attention was needed, as usual in the descents, but also there were gullies that lay in wait under the high grass or some roots or timber which demanded us to keep alert at all times.So I think Miss Piggy and this Big Bad Wolf had a good day out together. Our speeds were very well matched, both on the uphill and on the downhill stretches. I am really looking forward to see what nice trails Julie has to offer me in her neck of the woods.
16-04-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 14-04-2007 |
| Magical Bluebells |
6.30am.. ouch, there is not much light as I set out with my bike to ride towards 7 Fontaines near Hallerbos where "Moster Blonde" was waiting for me to do a reconnaisance of the Magical Bluebell ride she organises each year. She had lots of other stuff to do today so we planned to meet up really early. It's nice and quiet in Meerdael Forest and the Foret de Soignes as I bike through them, the first rays of the sun piercing in my back. Oh, nature is so beautiful this early in the morning. In the Dyle valley some shrouds of mist are being quickly dissipated by the upcoming sun. Not a lot of time to look around though.. I'm on a tight shedule.8.01am.. made it - just in time. 37.5K on the counters already and the real ride hasn't even started yet. MB is ready to roll and we set off onto the loop . The first couple of K has us following a little trail along the bottom of a field next to a little stream. A big tree that has been lying here for at least a year has us lifting our bikes over it. We continue along a wet - aargh, my bike is getting dirty - upwards trail towards the outskirts of the forest. Pretty steep but very manageable due to the perfect trail conditions once we passed the wet bit. A technical and sandy downhill follows and then its upwards again to join the Hallerbos rim . The sun is out now but the temperature in and around the forest is still nice and cool. Excellent biking conditions. This early there are but a few other people around but this would change later on. Diving into the first of the Hallerbos valleys it becomes pretty obvious that the amazing weather we have been enjoying these past few weeks has brought the bluebells ( scilla nonscripta - blue hyacynt ) out . They are blooming already.. the magic of this moment is breathtaking and I feel so priviliged to be here, with MB. We both enjoy the moment to the fullest , taking some pictures before venturing deeper into the forest. Riding along has us filling our lungs with the pure air and our nostrils with the scent of thousands of flowers. Some of the tracks are off limits because due to the treefelling they are blocked by trees. A passing horseback rider warns us about the forestry keeping a watch out for trespassers but we are not worried about that. It is not our policy to bike on forbidden roads. MB has the maps with her and has already devised some possible detour around the blocked trails. The trail meanders from one valley into another, always up and down, some technical bits, some steep trails and lots of singletrack to interconnect the bigger trails. This is such a fine forest , pity there are no marked biker trails, and lots of the trails are offlimit to bikers. Still, with the remainder of the trails, and a good guide, the loop we followed is pretty awesome as it stands. We netted 430 heightmeters in 23.5k. Back at the 7 Fontaines area we say our goodbyes and I headed back towards the Foret de Soignes.I felt good so I did a little detour around some of the Hoeilaart trails and coming back into Korbeek Dyle I rode along the Green Bloso loop before happily arriving home after a good long ride.
Thanks Moster Blonde for the awesome ride ...
Ride Stats : 105K and 1015heightmeters in 5h11minsSome pictures taken today (CLICK)3218/24355
14-04-2007, 14:51 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 12-04-2007 |
| Speed King |
Marvelous weather - one can hardly believe its only Easter, it feels as if Summer vacation is here. No excuses, get out on yer bike dude. So I did and I went for a quick dash around the Blue and Green Meerdael routes, in reverse direction. The forest was vibrant with people ; hikers, bikers, horses, children and even some couples who were feeling giddy. Spring is definately in the air.My legs were feeling great and I was able to maintain a good speed throughout the ride, without having to force anything, just a quick easy pace. The trails were bone-dry and even the most stubborn of mudpuddles seemed to have dried out .. great riding and the sun and a warm breeze kept me company , the average temperature being 23 degrees C.I had that great Deep Purple song - Speed King - in my head, and it was very appropriate. I also saw that today marks the 46th anniversary of Yuri Gagarins flight with the Vostok 1 into Earth orbit. I checked some stuff out and found this big monument in his honor, entirely made of out of Russian titanium.. thats a lot of bikes.."I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing""I'm a speed king see me fly.."Ride Stats : 35.5k and 280 heightmeters in 1h34mins3113/23340
12-04-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 11-04-2007 |
| Floating |
Had a great feeling on my bike today. The last two big rides, coupled to sufficient rest have left my body in a supercompensation state, and the ride today, albeit a short one, felt like floating on a cloud. Legs felt fine and heartrate was low throughout the ride. I have been making all kinds of plans for the weekend, trying to make the most of the spell of excellent weather we are having.
Having taken next monday off of work, I plan to do another Ardennes ride, or go to my beloved Nandrin routes. For Sunday there is Paris-Roubaix, a race I love to watch, having participated twice in the mountainbike race over there some years ago.
For saturday, I hope to go out to the Hallerbos with a friend. With the current weather we might just be in time to see the Bluebells bloom.
Ride Stats : 26K and 170 heightmeters in 1h00
3077/23060
11-04-2007, 19:57 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 09-04-2007 |
| Smooth Operator in Theux |
Wow,
great weather conditions today, a perfect day to do a first ride in the
Ardennes. I had made an appointment with a good friend to meet at the
Franchimont Castle and do a combination of the Green and the Blue
Theux routes. It was her first 'big' ride of the year, so we would have to
see how she felt and add or subtract loops accordingly.
We
were not alone at the parking lot, quite a few mountainbikers were
preparing to enjoy the fine weather and possibly have a great ride.
Having
a map soon proved to be of gold value around these trails, because -
although most of the markings are up - at some crucial points markings
were missing , even at the Green and Blue loops which I noted as
'perfectly marked' last year . I noticed that at some points new
markers were added but at other points markers were sadly missing;
some lying on the ground, run over by traffic or simply disappeared
into thin air.
Bottom Line : bring a map!
The first loop, the Green
one, basically is one big climb into the majestic "Bois de Staneu" ,
followed by a nice and fast descent before looping back to Theux. I
love these long uphills and at this point the downhill was certainly up
to par with the uphill, meandering down , with some gullies here and
there, generally forcing the rider to be very attentive, be easy but
decisive on the brakes , choose the right trajectory and basically
enjoy the ride.
At the bottom of the big descent we picked up on the Blue route and immediately started on our second big uphill of the day. We
were taking it easy , since we had a long way to go. Finding a good
pace from the beginning of the climb and sticking to it was the order
of the day. Again
this climb was followed by a long downhill over a gravelly road with
some lazy switchbacks near the end dropping towards the 'Route de
Spa'. I noticed some arrow markings, left over from the Olne-Spa-Olne
ride a few weeks ago. We would see them again throughout the ride.
After
crossing the Route de Spa we came to a more technical uphill which was
thoroughly enjoyed , the landscapes were more open at the end of this
tricky uphill and we would be riding next to fields now. This as
opposed to the first 20K or so which were mainly in the forest, not
considering the first 5K which went through the fields as well.
The road was gradually working its way up towards the 400 meter mark as we decided to take the Red
loop towards the Ninglinspo area. Here we stayed on the plateau for a
while with broader roads but also a nice passage through the fagnes,
which felt a bit like riding over cobbles.
Onto the Blue
loop once again we came , with an interesting passage after another steep
uphill and mighty yummie rocky bouldery downhill which would have been
even more of a handful had it been wet. I have never seen the Theux
trails so dry as they were today , they were perfect and inviting .
At one point we came to a passage were a storm had keeled over a lot of large pine trees, and we had to go around or climb over at least
10 big trees. One biker who joined us at this stage managed to make us
burst out in laughter when he first swiftly climbed/jumped over two
trees, and then just pushed himself and his bike under
a third one. Smooth operator, he certainly was !! It occured to me how
interesting it would be to see a flock of time-pressed chrono riders
take these natural obstacles..
Some more interesting bits were to follow, but now they were few and further apart. This is were the Blue differs from the Red
for sure. The Red route doesn't "mellow out" near the end , it just
keeps on getting tougher and tougher. I don't think this is altogether
a good thing, since mistakes are more easily made near the end of the
ride, and when this 'end of the ride' is as tough as the Red routes'...
well, you take it from there.
As
it was, we still had an interesting loop going round the Chateau de
l'Ourlaine, with a mean downhill with rocks which was very ride-able
today in these dry conditions, followed by a steep uphill section which
brought us back upon tarmac.
The
last 12K I would like to call 'boring', mainly on tarmac roads gently
meandering though the valleys. But the views were at times
breathtaking. With the sun hiding from time to time behind the clouds,
the hills were alternatively brightly lit or in the shade. There were
lots of flowers along the route which along with the fresh green leaves
were not thick enough to hide the underlying outline of the forest floor. I think this time of the
year - and certainly in conditions like today - is, together with the
fall, perhaps the best season to ride these trails.
The last uphill towards the castle was at least another offroad bit which put a nice icing on the cake for me.
Ride Stats : 50K and 1075 heightmeters in 3h44mins
Ride Profile (CLICK)
3051/22890
09-04-2007, 20:53 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 07-04-2007 |
| Tour de Flandres |
Rise and shine at 5.30 after a very good nights' sleep , eat something - bike and biking stuff were already in the boot from last evening - so I was out at 6am and on my way to Ninove. The sky was slightly veiled but still the waning moon kept me company during that precious moment before dawn.
Arrived at Ninove at 7am, the crowds were already pulling in. The Police made a good effort to lead us to a parking space in the local Industrial Area. Very well done and only a few hundred meters from the big road so getting out later would be no problem. But, first I have to ride this "Tour de Flandres" thingie. Set up the bike and myself and at 7.22 I was on my way towards the start and from there onwards. The plan was to do the 140K ride. There was also a 75K ride on offer which skips all the hills save the last 2 or 3 ones.
The first 30k or so is a connection between Ninove and the real "Tour de Flandres" parcours, which we enter just before the first 'real' hill of the day, the "Molenberg" .. Ok, here we go again.. let the mountains come to me (or something along those lines.)
I took it fairly easy, as I usually do this soon into a ride and just before entering Kluisbergen, having stocked up on some Isostar at Oudenaarde, I strayed from the 140K route to ride onto the 260K route because for one reason or another the 140K "misses out" on two hills, the "Kluisberg" and the "Cote de Trieu" , also known as the "Knokteberg" . This part of the race is in the province of Henegauwen, so not really on Flandres territory.This excursion into Walloon area means an extra 16K loop, hence perhaps the reason why the 140K gives those a miss.
During the ascent of the Knokteberg someone comes riding up next to me, says 'Hi Adri' and introduces himself as Berthold. I knew Berthold only 'virtually' until today . He posts a lot of interesting stuff about Ardennes rides at the 4Bikers.be forum. It is a pleasant surprise to meet him here and now, because next Monday I plan to ride in his favorite playground, the Theux area. We were to stay more or less together during the entire remainder of the Tour. More or less because I soon discover he is a very strong climber and I have to let him go on every climb. He has the courtesy to wait for me at the top and we ride the connection towards the next climb together, talking about lots of stuff. I really felt happy having him around, so thanks Berthold for the company and for waiting for this old man after every climb.
In all, I believe there were 18 marked climbs, the only one I couldn't ride - because of the masses - was the famous "Muur" of Geraardsbergen. By then the 75K had joined the other distances and the crowds were really overwhelming and sadly not everyone can climb these hills. Some were at the end of their forces . Sadly but I don't really mind putting a foot down because someone blocks the road. Not unlike some others who were yelling all kinds of nasty things because they could not pass. Darn a-holes , why don't they enter the race tomorrow if they are THAT good !
In all, the weather was just right, a bit frisky at the start but during the first 4-5 hours the sun was warming things up nicely. The last 2 hours or so there were some more clouds - some really menacing with rain as well - but not a single drop of rain fell.
The Tour is a bit different from earlier years, and I think it is a bit tougher too. Arriving at Meerbeke and crossing the finish line felt really good, like it should. This is no mean feat .
This is surely my longest ride ever on a mountainbike - my 158K ride in Bouillon in 2000 had that honor up till now - and I was feeling pretty tired but very happy with the accomplishment.
Oh, the perineal patch from Reskin I tried out proved to be working very well, no skin abrasions at all. Very interesting, I might have to stock up on those , they seem to work wonders on longer rides.Now the only thing thats left today is relax, get some food into me and go to bed early.
I'll watch the Pro's tomorrow fly up the hills we struggled on, and hoping the race brings all the excitement of earlier years.Ride Stats : 163K and 1635 heightmeters in 6h53mins
Ride Profile (CLICK)
Flandrien.Be pic of me on the 'Muur' (CLICK)3001/21815
07-04-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 06-04-2007 |
| Check |
Last little ride today to check my bike. All seems to be in good working order, front brake was not adjusted properly but I could fix that during the ride. Legs are good, bike is good, weather looks to be good, so not much else to do but wait and go out there tomorrow and ride the ride.
Put all my biking clothes in the machine as well, to make sure all is clean and fresh. Will try some bi-elastic bike-patch for the perineal area tomorrow, something new Reskin brought out. Sitting on a saddle for 6 hours you need all the help you can get.
Ride Stats : 24K and 160 heightmeters in 1h02mins
2839/20180
06-04-2007, 12:08 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 05-04-2007 |
| Relax and Choose |
Wow, 3 full days without biking.. I thought I was gonna go mad. But it has been worth it. I feel relaxed and pretty well recovered. Today I did a ride to check out another wheel combination on the Hilset to see whether it would be suitable for the Tour de Flandres. But the Crossmax SL did not quite give me a good feeling and the XTR cassette on it was just a tad out of line , making the gear changes not as crisp as I want them to be. Furthermore I am still feeling some pain in my wrists so I am now convinced I will take the Litespeed , in exactly the same configuration as I did the last time.This bike weighs 1.5 kilos more than the Hilset (10.5 against 9 kilos) but the suspension in front makes the ride a lot more pleasant , especially on the cobbles. Had a very relaxing ride today, averaging 24.5 kph without really having to push on the pedals, another sign that the form is great. Just clean the bike this evening, check it out during a short ride tomorrow and then I should be ready for saturday.Ride Stats : 40.5K and 240 heightmeters in 1h40mins2815/20020
05-04-2007, 18:20 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 01-04-2007 |
| Overijse in Reverse |
Did not feel like getting up this morning. Yesterdays ride left me tired and even though I recuperate fast I still felt the toll of this heavy week. So I stayed in bed till 10.30.
Having gotten up at last I decided to take out the Litespeed once again and do the Overijse '3 valley route' in the reverse direction. This route is some 34K and 490 heightmeters with some nasty uphills and descents. It is very well frequented since I crossed more than 20 bikers today. Doing the route against the flow of course gives you a nice opportunity to guage the amount of bikers on it, and Overijse is very popular. Of course it lying very close to Brussels and offering some very nice challenges and beautiful landscapes to boot, makes it a hit with the Brussels crowd.
Not too many difficulties for me, I can ride this route at 60% without any trouble, the one or two really steep uphills I took purely on routine. The wind was blowing fiercely again which did not bother me too much since the route zigzags all the time, never having the wind from one direction for too long.
This has been a very tough week bikewise . I totalled 357K and 3645 heightmeters , most of them offroad. There were some days I thought I had pushed the envelope too hard, went too deep, but the human body is an amazing thing. Yes, I am tired and I need to take it slowly the next couple of days, in order to be well rested when next saturday comes along, with the 140K Tour de Flandres.
I have been lucky so far to not have any major pains , illness or injuries. The only thing that keeps bothering me is the saddle soreness. I cannot remember the last time I rode without any form of saddle soreness and that is alerting.
Ideally I should stay off of my bike for a few days , better still a week to let "things" heal. But not biking is something I normally only do when injuried or ill.
Ride Stats : 54K and 605 heightmeters in 2h49mins
2774/19780
01-04-2007, 19:13 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 31-03-2007 |
| Century |
My first century this year. I did not know when I started how long I would be out for, but my plan was to do another attempt at following the 'C' tour and see how that went. So I did, and between the Smeysberg and just past Wavre it was pretty hilly..40K out and I already had 450 heightmeters, nice. One hill in particular, just behind the Walibi park had me struggling , it started rather easy and gently sloping upwards on a narrow tarmac road but then came a 200 degree turn to the left and the road was going upwards like a wall in front of me. I had to dig deep to ride it. It went on for about 250 very steep metres before the slope lessened . That is a hill I must do more often when I am around. I later learned that it is a 20% slope. That is why I like to follow these marked trails, you often discover some hidden pearls. I had passed here so many times before, not knowing about this hill.
I was in Wavre now - Limal to be exact - and the arrows pointed towards Perwez. Just past Chaumont I decided to leave them and loop back over Incourt and Opprebais towards home. The wind was again a major player and when on the high plains around Incourt I was really stuggling. At that time the plan began to form to make it a 100K ride, which would fit in nicely just one week before the Tour de Flandres and mentally I was reviewing possibilities for loops to get me over the century mark. I also had to take the wind into account and decided to make sure the last 10K or so I had the wind in my back, so that I could recuperate a bit before arriving home. So I looped over Longueville, Grez Doiceau, Hamme Mille and Meldert. Behind Meldert I followed the Haasrode tour in reverse - knowing all these tours is really a great bonus - and I also noted some yellow BLOSO markings with one distance of 80K marked . This could be an interesting ride for the future. Behind Meldert the wind was blowing from my right side and when I arrived in Bierbeek it was in my back.. oh the joys of biking with the wind giving you a gentle push cannot be described to the uninitiated but those of you who bike will know exactly how wonderful that feeling can be.
So I passed the 100K mark for the first time this year, and with a very nice amount of heightmeters as the icing on the cake. Tomorrow I won't go to the Ardennes or Namur area, opting for closer-by Bertem instead. The longest distance over there is 70K but I will have to wait how I feel tomorrow .
Ride Stats : 100.5k and 845 heightmeters in 4h11mins2720/19175
31-03-2007, 17:45 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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