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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 29-06-2007 |
 Climb-It |
One of my goals each year is to get
a 100.000 heightmeters. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes not. When I saw
that I was approaching the 50000 mark and also the end of June - thus
mid-year - I decided to go for it and get me some heightmeters today.
The weather was great, 15 degrees and a slight drizzle. This is great
weather for climbing and it also keeps all the nasty bugs out of the
air. I developed some hives overnight - possibly due to the antibiotics
- and instead of going crazy with the itch I took an antihistamine pill
and got on my bike. It could also be an allergic reaction to some pecan nuts I ate yesterday, I believe someone told me to watch out
with pecans . Anyway, they are there, tiny red blotches covering most
of my body, itching when I think about them.
On yer bike. The rain was my ally
against the insects and once in the forest I hardly noticed it. As I
said, it was a light drizzle and the trails were hardly wet, except in
the open spaces between trees. I have a nice little hilltraining track
in Meerdael near Nethen , about 2.6K long and just shy of 80
heightmeters. It starts at the bottom of the valley behind 'De Kluis',
goes up the steep hill on the left, then cuts to the right, straight
into a technical descent with lots of roots - which were wet today -
and some drops. All the way down to camping 'La Hetraie', to the right
in the sandy road and then left through the camping towards the big
road from Sint Joris Weert to Nethen. Follow that road to the left -
and take your time to recuperate - until on your left you take the
small singletrack ascent that starts between two driveways. People who
know Nethen will know the spot. Very steep climb in the beginning with
some roots you have to roll over just right or you end up walking .
After that it is mellowing out a bit but is still steep enough to make
you work hard. At the top just go straight down the gravel road, sharp
right turn at the bottom and I start again for my next lap.
I did this lap 10 times. People who
bore easily might probably be rolling their eyeballs right about now
but I can assure them, this track is never boring to me. If I had the
legs I would have done it 20 times. Each lap I am looking to find the
perfect line, braking at just the right spot, avoid the snails, try going a
little faster downhill , brake a few centimeters later and deal with
front wheel slippage when you are getting tired and less concentrated.
The track being moist made it a great challenge, as well during the
uphill as going downhill. I thoroughly enjoyed it. At the end of those
10 laps I had 26K and 781 heightmeters. Thats a Hill Factor of 30 thank
you very much.
With this little ride there remain
only 170 heightmeters to go to make it an even 50000 this month. With
one day left that should be feasable.
Ride Stats : 37K and 860 heightmeters in 2h45mins
5376/49830
29-06-2007, 20:06 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 28-06-2007 |
| Love the wind |
Yesss , the weather was great today, 20 degrees C and a bit of wind but no rain. So I set out for a ride outside. I only had a limited time so I decided to follow the Haasrode tour up to the Goudberg Geosite in Hoegaarden and loop over the little Chapel to take the same route back towards home. I managed an average of more than 25kph the first hour, but the wind had some part in that as well. Upon returning it blew in my face a lot but I still felt strong enough to hold on to more than 24kph when I got home. It felt great to be outside again.
Ride Stats : 51K and 445 heightmeters in 2h07mins
5339/48970
28-06-2007, 17:48 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 27-06-2007 |
| Linden |
Ah, how wonderfully complex this Covenant story is. I took a huge chunk out of it again today, whilst sitting on the rollers. I first read this double trilogy some 25 years ago , and re-reading them again now makes me enjoy the subtleties of the writing even more than when I first discovered the magical world of The Land. Stephen R. Donaldson has been compared to J.R.R. Tolkien at his best and even though Tolkien is without a shadow of a doubt in a literary league of his own, Donaldson has such a mastery of language and such an uncanny way in which to unravel his personages' deepest feelings that one cannot but being swept as through a rollercoaster of emotions whilst being plunged into the abysses and pinnacles of this literal valhalla. I cannot but thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has the openness of mind, childlike yearning for fantasy and last but not least a huge chunk of free time necessary for this kind of story. I am re-reading it because - nearly thirty years after the last Covenant book was written - Donaldson is finally coming forward with the First Book of the "Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant".
I felt a lot better today, as if my body is being aided in its healing by the biking I did yesterday. At first I was thinking of taking a day of rest but I decided to get on my bike and just let my legs taste some more of what they have been lacking this last week. My pulse was steady and low throughout the ride which gives me good hopes for the next days.
Ride Stats : 22.5K in 1h1min
5288/48525
27-06-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 26-06-2007 |
| Survival |
At last I was able to get back on a bike. This last week has seen me struggling with the aftermath of the horsefly bite I suffered last tuesday. Apart from a violent allergic reaction, the wound also became infected and I had to rush to the doctor to start an antibiotics cure. 1200mg of Dalacin C a day. The shock on my intestines was great, and even though the infection in my arms' lymphatic channel disappeared like snow in the sun, I was to suffer diarrhoea, nausea, itching , stomach cramps and general uncomfortableness over the weekend. Add to that my growing restlessness due to lack of biking and you can imagine what kind of company I was to my peers. Even though after a few days I accepted the fact that I had just to grit down and bear the burden, letting things take their course.Then when monday came I began to feel better, my resting pulse was going back down where it should be, my core temperature was almost normal and with the help of some Enterol I got my bowel movements more or less under control.And today I felt strong enough to risk a short ride on the bike. Not outside, that would be too much of a burden, but on the rollers. It felt good to feel my legs remember the movement. They have had a weeks' rest so they felt good and strong. I still have to take the rest of the antibiotics up till thursday so my aerobic fitness will not be up to par but at least the strength in my legs looks to be there - still.One good side to all this lying down and resting is that I had ample time to finish the First Book of the Second Trilogy of the Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever Chronicles and am now tackling number two in that series - The One Tree.
Funny enough Thomas is also stung by an insect and the venom is trying to take over the moral power over his White Gold.
I have pre-inscribed for the Meerdael Gold Classic - a 100K mountainbike ride in and around my home forest - next sunday so that will be my first challenge after this dark period. Ride Stats : 22.5K in 1h00mins5265/48525
26-06-2007, 19:23 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 19-06-2007 |
| Twice Bitten |
Today I felt strong enough to get
back on my bike again. My intestines have been giving me trouble since last
saturday, but a sparse diet and some serious windletting saw me recover
over the weekend and through yesterday. Don't know what caused it, might be
something I ate or a bug that tried to settle in my digestory track.
Anyway, I was fine today and the weather was great - nearly 30 degrees
C and blazing sunshine coupled to a nice breeze. My legs were still
feeling strong from the Vosges weekend and I set off for some climbing
in the Meerdaelwoud and the Bois de Laurensart near Ottenburg. That last one has some
steep climbs which made me reap the benefits of the long steep climbs
in the Vosges. I nearly didn't notice them, sure they were steep but so short compared to La Bresse and environment. It was nearly a breeze today.
I got
bitten twice by some insect, once in the upper left arm and once in the
left buttock. I sprayed my legs with 30% DEET before I left - since I am allergic
to certain insects' bites I'm not taking any chances thank you ! - but the buggers
just stab me through my clothes instead ! I have to get me some
serious afterbite stuff to take along because this really is a big problem for me. The outdoors are swarming with all kinds of insects, probably due to the lack of freezing in the winter and the hot April month. When I got
home the swelling was not too bad so I think I might be lucky. Whatever
bit me was not on my immediate danger list. I quite enjoyed the ride , riding some
very singular and overgrown trails in the Bois de Laurensart - some might be private
but I'm not sure - and then the obligatory tricky downhill on the Red Overijse
BLOSO followed by all the uphills I could find in the region. The
breeze made it not too hot and I made sure I drank regularly. And now excuse me please. I
need to get some pasta food into me, I'm hungry like a wolf.
Ride Stats : 41K and 535 heightmeters in 2h17mins
5243/48525
19-06-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 12-06-2007 |
| ZoomZoom |
At last, after 5 months of waiting, and one holiday while it was already in the garage, I took possession of my new car yesterday. It was well worth the wait, I really enjoy driving it. It's a very powerful car so I have to watch it but I like the way it purrs along while cruising in sixth gear and 90kph at 2000rpm. I took some pictures from it which you may view HERE.I went for a bike ride as well this evening, after taking a few days off of the bike due to a insect bite I suffered on the last ride of the Vosges. It was on top of my knee and the resulting swelling took a few days to settle. At least I got most of the poison sucked out so the allergic reaction was minor.My friend Roger had read my Vosges report and wanted to know more about the biking over there, as this is one of the options he is contemplating for a future shortbike trip. So I went for a ride with him talking about the Vosges and lots of other stuff. As was expected, my legs felt good , well rested and strong after the Vosges trip. On the uphills it felt as though I could push one gear heavier than I usually did.I am still contemplating on which ride to do next weekend, lots of great rides so a lot of choice. We'll see how the weather behaves, that will be a major factor in the decision process. Ride Stats : 48K and 390 heightmeters in 2h08mins5110/47135
12-06-2007, 22:16 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 09-06-2007 |
| Hautes Vosges Mountainbike trails |
Hautes Vosges Mountainbike trails 03-08 June 2007
I set out with my friend Moster Blond (MB) towards La Bresse , Hautes Vosges in France , where she had rented us a gite from June 2nd to June 9th. We would be riding the multitude of Routes VTT in the area from June 3rd up the June 8th. Since I hadn't been on a real holiday for a couple of years now, I was really looking forward towards this trip. I was not going to be disappointed. I include a brief description of the rides I did during this week to give you an idea of what is offered here.
Day 1 La Bresse route Nr 1 + Gerardmer route Nr 2
Started out at the Gite around 9.30. The weather was fine, dry and cloudy but with sunny intervals which would lenghten during the course of the day. The first stretch, on the La Bresse route Nr1 a blue beginner route- was mainly tarmac. The routes range from Green (très facile) over Blue (facile) and Red (difficile) towards Black (très difficile)
Upon reaching de Col de la Grosse Pierre, via a short interconnection (marked as such) between the La Bresse and Gerardmer routes, we had to follow the busy D486 for a while and we were now on the Gerardmer route Nr2 a Red route, which is supposed to be more technically challenged. After a while we turned to the right and started on a long climb on gravel roads. The forests which were now surrounding us where green and lush. There were little streams running over and besides the trail and the silence of the forest was only disturbed by the babbling of those little brooks, the chirping of some insect and the grinding of our tyres on the fine-grained tarmac. Very beautiful but the gravel roads were a bit boring. Upon reaching the hut at "Croix Claudé" (1031m) we came upon more interesting tracks, with some rocks popping up between the gravel. We reached the "Roche des Bioquets" (1091m) and things went downhill from there. A very interesting loop followed, taking us along the ski slopes and through some very nice downhill bits. An uphill, wet and singletracky which started beneath the skilift "La Chaume Francis", had us digging deep into our muscular reserves. Steep and slippery, technically challenging - nice. This was definately a good part of the trail. The rest of the number 2 had some fast downhills and another steep climb waiting for us. We could feel the amount of heightmeters digging in. Upon reaching the D486 again, we interconnected back to the La Bresse trail Nr 1. This time the trail went offroad, climbing towards 1056 meters, slowly but surely. A bit in the forest was very wet and strewn with fallen trees. Quite a bit of climbing to do, both on and off our bikes. MB was taking the shortcut back down to the chalet but I set onwards on the 3K that was left of trail Nr 1. And a great 3K it was, with a very technical downhill near the end. Rocky and slippery I went a couple of meters on foot- and not something one would expect on a beginner loop. The signage was good, although sometimes the arrows were positioned a bit awkward and a good map (9.80 Euro for IGN map 3619OT Bussang La Bresse ) , is always a good thing to have with you. Or the plastic route cards which can be gotten for free from the Tourist Centre at La Bresse. These offer a good idea of the routes but cannot replace a good map in case of emergency or when you are really lost.
Ride Stats: 37.1 K and 770 heightmeters in 3h01
Hill Factor: 20.8
Pictures Day 1
Day 2 Fresse-sur-Moselle route Nr 5 + Nr 4
Bright and sunny morning again so we set out by car towards Fresse-sur-Moselle, to try out the black route Nr 5 (Très difficile). This is one of only 2 black routes in the Vosges so our expectations were high. The route started with a long climb taking us towards the Croix de Fresse. This is a crossroads where we could interconnect to the blue route Nr.3 which lead towards the Red Nr 4. MB wanted to do the Nr3, which is slightly shorter and supposedly less difficult than the Nr4, which I would ride. By now we were already sure that the difficulty level of the routes had nothing to do with their technical content, but were solely a measure of the amount of heightmeters in them as compared to the lenght of the route (the Hill Factor). Which suited me fine "an sich" , but I would have prefered more technical challenges in the downhills on the Red routes , and especially on the Black route. Needless to say, with 400 heightmeters in about 7k, the black route is a tough cookie. The Red Nr4 had some nice climbing in it, leading up to about 1100 metres at the top of the ski loops at "Haut du Rouge Gazon" . A very interesting climb leading up to it, singletrack with some roots and very steep. The Fresse number 4 connects here with one of the Ventron routes , and the two overlap for a few kilometers. Then the 4 goes towards de col de La Rochelotte where it joins the Blue number 3. I saw that MB had already passed here so I made haste to not have her wait too long at the Croix de Fresse, where we were to rendez-vous. It had rained lightly from time to time rain that didn't bother me because it kept away the heat and I was driving under cover of the trees most of the time. When I reached the Croix de Fresse we continued along the Number 5 route, which from now on was mainly downhill, on broad gravel roads intersected by much too- short smaller and more technical trails. When we arrived at Fresse-sur-Moselle we had to climb one more time along a steep grasscovered road with some wet rocks to keep things interesting. We were a bit disappointed about the low technical level of these routes, especially the black route which we expected to be more of a treat. It proved only to be a treat for the uphill lovers, a few more technical sections notwithstanding.
Ride Stats: 39K and 995 heightmeters in 3h29mins
Hill Factor: 25.5
Pictures Day 2
Day 3 : Gerardmer Routes Nr 9 + Nr 10
Got underway very early this morning and by 9 we were ready to tackle some of the Gerardmer routes. I would try the Red Nr9 first, followed by the Red Nr10. MB would start on the Red Nr10. Starting from the parking lot near "le Grand Etang" the routes follow the same trail for a while, going upwards on tarmac, and then plunging into the forest on what would prove to be the first of some very hairy downhills. Very steep and with wet rocks , roots and boulders it proved to be quite a handful - yummie. The Nr9 then breaks away from the other routes and after dropping down towards the "Creusegoutte" river starts to make its way towards the "Croix Claudé" . But getting there was not going to be easy. The uphill proved to be a singletrail, wet at times with the water that seems to spring from under every stone here. And stones could be found aplenty on todays routes. I really enjoyed this uphill. At 1031 metres you reach the "Croix Claudé". From there onwards the broad gravel roads give you some time to recuperate before undergoing the final downhill. This really is a killer, very steep, wet and rocky , I had to get off of my bike several times, due to lack of braking power, guts and skills.
Next I went on the route Nr10. The same start as the Nr9 but this route really is a very difficult one. The uphills are very steep, wet, rooty and rocky, and even on my smallest gear I could not make all of them . And when you were on top of the hill , instead of giving you a break, the trails went down, singletracky steep and again with enough rocks and roots to give you plenty to do. Some of the rocks had me walking again. The nastiest bits had a warning sign before them. The trail keeps on going like this for a while, really making it one of the best Ive ridden here so far. I climbed up the "Tour Merelle" to enjoy the beautiful view over the Gerardmer Lac, which lay 250 metres deeper along the slope. After the Merelle things slowed down a bit into the "Foret de lUrson". But yet another steep climb was waiting, bringing me back towards the starting point. A great ride this was, the weather was fine as well so really very enjoyable. I was glad I saw the car and MB who was waiting for me to finish my loop.
Today was a very fine biking day indeed and if you only have a limited time in the Vosges and want to sample some great trails , you might consider take either or both of these 2 Red Gerardmer routes, you won't be disappointed!
Ride Stats: 35K and 870 heightmeters in 2h54mins
Hill Factor: 24.8
Pictures Day 3
Day 4: St-Maurice-sur-Moselle Routes Nr 15 + Nr 13
Rise and shine very early in order to get underway by 8am. Taking the car down towards St-Maurice-s-Moselle, we are again going our seperate ways today. MB was going for the Black Route Nr14, which would yield her 22.8K and 430 heightmeters, followed by one of the shorter loops, in this case Blue route Nr16, which was 7k and just short of 100 heightmeters.
Me, I wanted heightmeters so I set out on the route Nr15 with its 22K and 615 heightmeters. The beginning of loops nrs 12 through 15 is the same, a couple of K's easy on tarmac and then into a field ,where you needed an eagle eye to spot the signage. I left my eagle eye at home so I missed it and set off on an immensely steep uphill, walking most of it, only to discover that I should have taken out the map earlier - darn !. Oh well , 100 heightmeters more or less wont matter, right? After that little mishap I paid more attention and in case of doubt consulted my map BEFORE choosing a direction. A quite unnecessary and unclimbable bit followed, over soapy green wet rocks where you had to be careful even on foot, let alone biking it. After that, a little path with another steep climb in it brought me onto tarmac. Here the ascent towards "la Chaume au Rouge Gazon" really started, quickly becoming a gravel road , but steep enough to make me walk at least once. The 26/34 combination and my legs, that did not seem to be awake yet, made this a long climb, steady but steep. About 500 metres from the top, I turned on a tarmac road, which allowed me to recuperate some. At the top, around 1100 metres, I had 13K and 670 heightmeters already. Wowza! The official starting point of the Red Nr 15 is here, but after a few hundred meters, the signage was gone, nothing to be seen. So I got out the big map, compared it to the little trail map, and sorted out my direction quite quickly. All downhill now, at one point going straight through a meadow where a broke sign had me puzzled as to which way to go. I finally figured it out and the descent went on, over a nice little trail this time. After that the trail became wider, took on gravel road proportions and I was zooming down with my hands on the brakes to control the speed. Some of the stones are rather big and I wasnt looking for any snakebites. A bit further and some 300 heightmeters lower the trail was joined by Nr13 so I could practice this section bit for later. It went up again, dropping down and passing through a river, and then steeply up again. That really hurt after the long downhill section. Before long I could see St-Maurice-s-Moselle on my left and after a few switchbacks and some lovely bits of trails I was on tarmac again. I passed the car and left a little note with my time of passage and my intention to do the Nr13. That way my companion would know I was allright and how long it would approximately take me to be back again.
The Red Nr13 shares the first 6K or so with the Nr15. After that, it turns 150 degrees to the left for a long ascent, on a doubletrack which would gradually gain me some 300 heightmeters. The track was steep in the beginning, but my legs felt better by now and I could manage it all on the 26/34 without having to walk. At the 900 meter mark I stopped to have my second Power Bar of the day, and when I left I noticed a small deer climbing up the steep bank on my right. Amazing how strong and agile they are. Near the "Fontaine des 3 Mages" I turned to the left and the downhill began. Some 2K of fast doubletrack and just before a tarmac road the arrow pointed to the right, up a steep slope. Grinding time. The slope was badly damaged by forestry works so I had to walk. But gradually it became less steep and I could ride again. A nice little track which led me high above the tarmac road and further down to the D80. This road I had to follow a few hundred meters before having to turn right again, and commence the last climb of the day, which would first bring me nicely up towards connecting with the Nr15. Upwards again before plunging into St-Maurice-s-Moselle. When I arrived I found my note had been added to by MB. She arrived about 10 mins later. Good Timing! In all, the two routes I did are great if you love climbing, there are some technical passages for sure, but the focus is on climbing, steep and long. I saw a lot of danger signs on the downhills, but they were all ride-able, Im pleased to say. At a few places on the Nr15, the signage was missing, signage was impeccable on the Nr13.
Ride Stats: 46K and 1330 heightmeters in 3h56mins
Hill Factor: 28.9
Pictures Day 4
Day 5 : Xoulcés routes Cornimont 6 + Ventron 7
Today I started from the gite, riding my bike to the start of the Red Cornimont route at Xoulcés, a pittoresque little village a few kilometres from Cornimont itself. MB was taking her car to explore some of the routes of "La Bresse East" and Xonrupt. When I arrived at Xoulcés I already had 14k and 100 heightmeters. I started out on the Red number 6 (which is marked as a Blue route in the folders but is really a Red route). This route is 22K long and offers 520 heightmeters. Some nice trails through kneehigh grass led me towards the start of a big climb, which would take me in two stages and 10K some 450 metres higher. First the trail was small, but then it switched to gravel and I had to dig deep in my muscular reserves to stay on the middle ring all the way. At the top , a fast gravel road brought me down towards the start of the Blue Nr 7, a 15.5 K long route (which is erronously marked as a Red route in the folders)
This proved to be a very simple route, a long uphill on gravel roads, then some 5-600 metres of great singletrail and after that it shared the same 5K-long downhill as the number 6. When I completed the Blue 7, I continued on the remainder of the Red 6 which had still some very nice passages waiting for me. I passed alongside a big "Jesus on the cross figure" which looked out over Cornimont . Some technical downhill bits, rocks and stones, wet or dry, and near the end a really steep climb ondulating on a singletrail which was covered with rocks and crossed by little streams.
Very nice and certainly one of the better routes Ive done this week. Pity the number 7 was a disappointment. After 37.3K and 1040 heightmeters I was back at the start in Xoulcés. This yields a Hill Factor of 27.8 ! But I still had to bike 14K back to the gite, and had another big climb waiting for me , from the centre of La Bresse at 636 metres up to our gite at 890 metres.
Ride Stats: 65K and 1495 heightmeters in 4h18mins
Hill Factor: 23
Pictures Day 5
Day 6 : La Bresse East Nr14 + Cornimont routes 2 + 4
A heavy series of thunderstorms last night made me decide to stay close to La Bresse. So I started out from the gite again down to the tourist centre and the start of the "La Bresse East" route Nr14. This took me on a long winding ascent up to the "Lac de Sèchemer" and further towards the "Lac des Corbeaux" . This big mountain lake is 27 metres deep and holds some 240000 cubic metres of water. I hade to ride around it, which was a little more than a 1000 metres. After this lake, the gravel road took me towards the "Col de Brabant" , where the Cornimont Routes 1 through 4 start. I took number 2 first, and was not dissapointed. Descending at first along tarmac and gravel roads, the road then changed into a nice little rocky descent, slippery and wet, but always just rideable. A turn to the left and upwards it went, steep on loose gravel, rocks and grass. I just made it on my 26/34. I saw the tower with the "Notre Dame de la Paix" on it, and looking towards the other side of the Xoulcés valley, I saw the Jesus figure where I stood yesterday. Another steep climb and then a nice passage through the forest and I was back at the Col de Brabant. I decided to do the Blue Nr 4 as well, which follows the track of the Ski de Fond towards the Col de la Vierge. Nothing spectacular, a long uphill on gravel roads towards the Col, and then a fast downhill towards the Col de Brabant again. There I finished what was left of the La Bresse East Nr14. Which was in fact nothing else than a fast downhill on tarmac towards La Bresse. A bit disappointing to say the least. I remember the nice Cornimont Nr2, only 8K but well worth the ride. The 3 trails yielded me 39.5K and 925 heightmeters. Thats a 23.4 Hill Factor. I was left with only 4K to go and some 240 heightmeters, back from the La Bresse centre towards our gite.
Ride Stats: 48K and 1155 heightmeters in 3h22mins
Hill Factor: 24
Pictures Day 6
Totals: 270.47 and 6615 heightmeters in 21h08mins
Total Hill Factor
: 24.5
Bottom Line
So, did I enjoy myself? Yes, I most certainly did. The region is beautiful, with hills ranging from 500 to 1200 metres , green and lush . The area breathes an air of calm and cleanliness. There is water everywhere, rivers, brooks, gullets, trickles.. most of France's "eaux" come from this area. The marked trails are great for those who like to climb and the effort the region has made is certainly to be commended . The more technically challenged may want to consider hiring a guide though because, even though some of the trails I did include some very fine sections , nasty downhills and certainly very difficult and steep uphills, most trails seem to focus on providing at least one long climb on gravel roads, followed by a descent on the same type of road. There are exceptions, but the difficulty of the trails seems to be determined NOT by their technicality but by the amount of climbing they include. So this basically leaves you to try all routes in order to find those you like, or you might strike lucky like I did a couple of times. Another point of note is - even though the signage is generally good - some signs are at awkward places or angles, so you need AT LEAST the little plastified trail maps you can get for free at the Tourist Centres of La Bresse and, to be completely safe, you might want to get a copy of the 1/25000 IGN maps of the area. The people you encounter are very friendly and clearly used to seeing tourists most of the year. We went in June and the best time of the day to bike was early in the morning. Temps were high around noon and chances of thunderstorms increased past 1-2pm. Thunderstorms can be violent here, but the trails are not that much affected by the rainfall. Except that the rocks and roots get wetter at some areas, the water is channeled effectively away from the trails, or absorbed by the fine gravel , with only the exceptional muddy area or puddle remaining. You might wanna try the following links for more information on the area and the activities:http://www.hautes-vosges.net/http://www.ffc.fr/a_VTT/a_SitesVTT/
5061/46745
09-06-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 29-05-2007 |
| Compulsive |
One of my sisters once called me a compulsive biker. We were having an argument at the time and she meant it as a derogative remark, a sneer, mainly because according to her I tended to shy away from my responsabilities and hide in my biking. At the time I tought she could not have phrased it better. Except for the responsability bit she is ab-so-lu-te-ly right.
Sometimes I am praying for rain, because that is the only sure-fire way to keep me off of my bikes. Or at least to keep me from riding outside, because I have a bike set up on the rollers in my garage, of course. It seems the only days I don't bike is when I'm ill (rarely) or when the snow is too high (never) or when it rains hard (yep, this is Belgium, it does from time to time) Today I swear I was trying my best to stay at home, grab my Covenant book and drop myself in a comfy chair to read a few chapters. I really need to take a day off from biking to allow my body to fully recuperate . I almost succeeded in my plan . Upon returning from work I found some stuff to do around the house, made some appointments , watched the Giro stage where Stefano Garzelli grabbed a hard-fought and well-deserved victory but around 7pm I found myself with idle hands and caught a glimpse of sunshine. Yep, so I got on my bike and did a quick ride before darkness started to set in.
I have little sympathy for those people who always find excuses NOT to go biking. In my mind, if you really want to, you will always find a way. I know I do. Being out on a bike helps me to order my thoughts, helps me think about stuff and usually when I get home after a good ride I have figured out a way to deal with most issues that have been bothering me throughout the day. I had a lot to think about today and being out there, feeling the chilly wind on my cheeks whilst pedalling at a recovery rate 106bpm average, really helped me to straighten my mind and iron out all the wrinkles the day had put on me.
Now tomorrow I need to do a lot of stuff and I am most certain I will not find the time to go out. I need to get up early , go to the doctor to have my blood sampled, need to take the car in for an emergency checkup and I also need to work and have an appointment at the dentist in the early evening . Hmm, I will probably skip the dentist which will buy me an hour. Hope it rains.
Ride Stats : 26k and 195 heightmeters in 1h08mins
4791/40130
29-05-2007, 21:41 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 28-05-2007 |
| Great stuff |
Predicting the weather in Belgium must be a very difficult thing. Before the weekend the forecast looked as if we were going to get rain all through saturday, sunday and even monday. Saturday? Hmm, yes a little moist in the morning and some rain after 5 o'clock in the evening. Sunday? I don't remember it raining, it might have rained a bit during the night.
And then today, rain predicted, but what happens? Great weather - no sun, but dry - with just a few drops. I cannot tell what happened in other parts of Belgium and I'm sure it can be a matter of a few kilometers, but in the Centre it was a GREAT weekend weather-wise.
That also had some consequences on my mileage. I thought I would have a few days off of biking, but it turned out I biked on all 3 days.
Today saw me on part 2 of my Secret Meerdael loop, a succession of hills and singletrail, only leaving the forest on 2 occasions.
 Great stuff, if I say so myself. I was out with the Litespeed and I must say , I am really pleased with the 1.8 Nobby Nic tyres I put on a few rides back . Especially in these moist-but-not-wet circumstances with only the occasional mudhole , they perform splendidly. Narrow tyres yes, but with very good grip, also on the offcamber stuff. Their narrowness makes them a bit less comfortable and also the braking distance is a bit longer due to the diminished footprint but I really love them. They give me a lot of confidence on the steep downhill stuff. I made all the downhills and I also made all the uphills, except one where I was so amazed I was going to make it that I lost concentration and got stuck between 2 roots. Aargh... I descended again and rode up once more, this time passing the nasty roots with flying colors. I normally leave my chain on the middle ring but this time I decided to drop it on the small ring a lot, which made it less tough and kept my heartrate low. Had a great time today and when I consider the weekend, I am very pleased with the rides I did. Hopefully it will rain for a couple of days now so I can get a few days' rest before heading off to France for a biking adventure.
Ride Stats : 42K and 745 heightmeters in 2h58mins
4767/39935
28-05-2007, 16:06 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 27-05-2007 |
| Beautiful grace |
I just had to post this pic. I got it from the Litespeed Blog. No mention of a photographer but if anyone knows, please be my guest. I love the crispness of the shot, and the way biker and bike seem to form one whole , she really blends with the bike, grace, grit and strength are obvious .
Biker is Portugal Pro Vanessa Fernandes and the event is the Worlds Duathlon Championships in Gyor, Hungary. Bike is a titanium Litespeed Ghisallo.
Check out Vanessa's Website
27-05-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| Pannekoek |
Living on the border of Brabant Walloon on the edge of the Meerdael Forest certainly has its advantages. Lots of hills and lots of forest just next to my door. One disadvantage is that I need to really make an effort to get a recovery ride in. Either I stay on the rollers, ride at 20kph or I ride to the North. Through Leuven and then further on towards Mechelen I can follow the Vaart canal which makes for a nice pannekoek ride. For those not familiar with the term, pannekoek means flat. In the week I tend to shy away from the traffic in the city but during the weekend Leuven is a quiet town and I have no trouble riding through it on my way to the canal. Today I set out for a short recovery ride - revovery for me means an average of below 109bpm - and I got in a fine ride averaging 106bpm. Only the first and last stretches of the ride had some denivellation in them , the sides of the pannekoek as it were.
Ride Stats : 30K and 100 heightmeters in 1h18mins
4723/39190
UCI Cross Country World Cup #2 , Offenburg, Germany
Definately NOT pannekoek was the 2nd leg of the UCI Mountainbike Cross Country World Cup at Offenburg. The girls had a dry race save for the last 2 laps, and Irina Kalentieva grabbed the win with a sizeable gap between her and Canadian Marie Helene Premont. Multiple World Champion Gunn Rita Dahle-Flesjaa was third.
all pics Copyright Adri Haine 2007
The Chinese delegation , which surprised us all at Houffalize earlier this year, could not pull that off again, but still Blue Jersey World Cup leader Ren Chengyuan got a solid 7th place. Marga Fullana got in another good ride finishing a strong 4th. Full story and some pictures at Canadian Cyclist. The full result can be found HERE
Here is the moment of glory for little Irina Kalentieva, when she wins after the race was rendered very tough and super-technical due to torrential rains.
 Pic Copyright Rob Jones
 Pic Copyright Rob Jones
to end, here is a video interview with one of the sports greatest : Canadian Alison Sydor. Video was shot in Offenburg before the race.
27-05-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 26-05-2007 |
| Snail Trail |
I wanted to do one long slow ride this weekend. First I was thinking about doing the Ludo Dierckxsens Classic - or at least the hilly part of it - but then Moster Blond, who is back form a fabulous biking trip to Spain, contacted me to check whether I wanted to ride in the Dyleland area. Yes, of course I would.
So we set up to meet at the Zoete Waters but due to a last minute bug on her bike we met at Filip Sport in Hoeilaart instead. I had to get a minor thing on my bike fixed as well so we both took advantage of the little pit stop.
Upon riding towards Hoeilaart I came along this little snail, that was leaving its wet trail whilst slowly crossing the tarmac bikepath. I took some pictures before gently lifting it off the dangerous road and putting it among the green grass at the side of the road.
 It was arranged that we would ride the Overijse BLOSO's . These are not too difficult but on the other hand do offer some minor technical challenges. MB was talking about her trip and I was talking about things back home, it felt good to open the chatterbox with her. The trails were great, here and there last nights' rain had left them a bit slippery but that only added to the fun. We said our goodbyes upon reaching Overijse again and I rode off towards Huldenberg, where I took the time to photograph a particularly gnarly looking tree.
 Further I went towards Terlanen and St Agatha Rode , where I made the fiendishly steep climb in the St Agatha Rodebos. Another climb in Pécrot and then descending towards Nethen and the Meerdaelwoud. I had a little drink at the Hertebron, a spring in the forest which is supposedly clean after a bit of coli infection 2 years ago. Well, let's hope so anyways. I was thirsty and the cool water refreshed me.
 
Big Thanks to whatever angel is watching over me for keeping our ride a dry one.
Although the average speed was not high throughout the entire ride , I thoroughly enjoyed being out there and the fine company of MB and the chat we had helped me to see some things that had been bothering me in brighter light . I consider myself very lucky to have a friend like her.
Ride Stats : 83.5K and 895 heightmeters in 4h42mins.
4693/3909026-05-2007, 22:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 25-05-2007 |
| Rambo |
Here is our cat. His name is Rambo and he has diabetes. A few years back he was dropping weight and drinking most of the day, which made us go to the vet. The diagnosis was chattering, at least at first. The vet told us that if he didn't receive any treatment , he would die within a few months.
But, if we were to administer him daily injections with insulin, he could live for a long time to come. We love our cat and that is why we have been doing this for 3 years now, twice every day. Since the injections need to be given every 12 hours to keep the sugar levels in his blood a steady as possible - we chose 6am and 6pm - this has taken some organising and missing out on holidays as well.
Most people don't bother or are just assuming that the loss of weight and drinking is normal - hence their cat dies. Most people suck.
Rambo was born on the 5th of June 1994. Yep, this makes him a senior alright. He has always been such a friendly cat, as cats go. I can't remember him being viscious or lashing out - ever. Lately he spends most of the day lazing around, eating and lazing around again. His hind legs have suffered from the diabetes so he cannot move for big walks, which means he just advances a few meters and has to take a rest. He doesn't suffer and has no pain. He can purr so sweetly when he is being stroked . He has never been outside since we live close to a very busy road. The closest he gets to beng outside is during the summer months when we open a window and he can sit , smell hear and watch the outside world from behind a mosquito net. He obviously enjoys these moments very much.
I hope you like the little collection of pictures I included here. It took me a while to figure out how to include pictures in this blog but now I found out you can look forward to more pictures popping up in the text from time to time.
Some of these pics are without copyright notice - at least none visible to the eye - but that doesn't mean you can download them and put them on other media without mentioning the author . Copyright Adri Haine 2007
25-05-2007, 21:52 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 23-05-2007 |
| Pruneaux d'Agen |
Met up with Christine Vardaros, former Lotto-Belisol and current Pruneaux d'Agen professional cyclist , to do a little exploratory ride towards Wezemaal. She had posted a story concerning a collectors' item bike that intrigued us by its age and I found out that the shop that had it made - Van Den Eynde - still existed , in Wezemaal indeed. So we got together to check that out. The weather was gorgeous - sunny and a little windy next to the canal, and we set out on a leisurely 103bpm pace - less with held breath - over Wijgmaal and Rotselaar to our destination. Christine had a real cool bike as well - I should've made a picture I know but if you click on the mascotte picture you will see a pic Christine made some time ago..
We found the shop and it turned out to be a glossy place with lots of cool bikes - none as cool as the collectors' item though - and the guy at the shop actually knew the bike as well . We looked around a bit for other peculiar stuff but apart from some flashy golden-coloured Campagnolo wheels we didn't find any more collectors' items.We had both a little more time so we set out back towards the Leuvense Vaart to chat our way up to Kampenhout, where we U-turned a couple of times while we decided which part of the Vaart we wanted to ride on to in order to catch as much of sunrays as possible.
Christine had me enthralled with her stories and deep knowledge of food and supplements . I find myself eating too much of the same stuff all the time , and I'm hoping to get some more variety. So I have to check up on some of her writings on that subject.
Anyways, I had a great ride and am looking forward to a next occasion. Gee , I might even consider taking my trusty non-titanium road bike off of the rollers (gasp ! kapow ! ) or - more likely - put on some 1.0 slicks on my Hilset because I have the feeling that when she really puts down the pedal and goes for Mach speed I will be hard pressed to follow her on my fat-tyred bike.
Thanks Peanut for the fine company today, I really appreciate it . Be well and lets meet up again anytime soon.
Ride Stats : 63K and 140 heightmeters in 2h46mins
4562/37770
23-05-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 22-05-2007 |
| Transportation phase |
Yess , at last some news from my new car. Remember ? It has left Production Phase and has entered Transportation Phase. Whether that means it just boarded the boat from Japan or is on a lorry in Antwerp harbour is to be seen. I opted for a cool recovery ride today, and my average heartrate of 106bpm was cool enough I would say. Legs felt good but not yet fully recovered from Sundays' marathon ride. The weather was not great but still with 17 degrees C it was just about right for a slow ride. Tomorrow it will be sunnier which is nice because I will start a little earlier then today. Upon returning from work at 7pm , I jumped on my bike and after my hoth tub I jumped back in my car to have my hair cut. At home around 10pm , grab a bite to eat and get ready for bed. Been feeling pretty tired these last few days - weeks actually when I think about it. My morning pulse (42-43 ) , body temperature and weight (69kg) are normal yet I don't feel great. Could be I suffer from pollen since I cough up some flumes from time to time . I am taking it easy on the rides and we'll see what develops.
Ride Stats : 34K and 210 heightmeters in 1h29mins4499/37630
22-05-2007, 22:33 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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