Yippee, the weekend is back among us so it is time to ride outside. Took the Litespeed Obed out for a mixed ride today. Starting out on tarmac towards Egenhoven and Bertem, adding some offroad bits as I turned towards Leefdaal and Neerijse. I stopped at the old Roman church of Bertem to capture it with my Galaxy SII.

My hands and feet were feeling frosty by the end of the ride. I had an average temperature of -1 degree C and with a cool wind blowing from the north I'm sure the ambient temperature dropped a lot lower than that. It was a good thing that the sun was out and it felt good to feel it on the little bits of skin that were exposed.
Coming back over Sint Agatha Rode and Sint Joris Weert I rode a section of the Green BLOSO in Meerdael to join the Weertse Dreef. The Bosprotter statue is still missing. Back into Blanden along the Naamsesteenweg I completed my ride for today.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 37K and 330 heightmeters (Garmin) in 01h41mins

596.5/995

12-01-2013, 13:30 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

11-01-2013, 18:53 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another walk at work during noon recess yielded me 2.4K . When I got home I got on the Tacx for a good workout going up to resistance 2 for 40 minutes. Legs felt a bit tired still but I managed to battle my way through.

Ride Stats : 52K in 01h11mins

506/665

10-01-2013, 18:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

After work I rode to check out a red Mitsubishi Evo 9 , I have been interested in getting me one of these for a long time now and then this one popped up in the ads. It turned out to be a well-kept and very powerful specimen. Might be worth following up.
Home I decided to add another hour of Tacx training and I kept the resistance on 1 to help recovery from yesterdays' more intense ride.

Ride Stats : 46K in 01h01mins

455/665

09-01-2013, 19:58 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Had a walk at noon at Work, totalling 1.9km. More than doing nothing and it settles the foord in the stomach just fine.
When I got home I got on the Tacx for a ride taking me through 20 minutes of Resistance Levels 2 and 3 and then up to Level 4 for 5 minutes before cooling down on Level 1 for another 5. This gave me a good workout.
There is talk that the annual B.Strong against Cancer initiative at KBC will consist of a ride from Leuven to the Mont Ventoux. In 6 or 7 stages averaging 120K a day. I have shown an interest and look forward to taking part should I be excepted.

Ride Stats : 48K in 01h10mins

409/665

08-01-2013, 18:44 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Had a 3K walk at work over Noon and when I got home I decided to do an hour on the Tacx Satori. My muscles were cramped from the weekends' rides and there is no better way to loosen them up than a low-resistance stint on the Tacx.

Ride Stats : 45K in 01h01mins

361/665

07-01-2013, 18:38 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Still no sun this morning, but at least it wasn' t raining when I left home under overcast skies. I decided to ride the Obed on the roads again - pending the delivery of the new Moots  - and set off along the Naamseseteenweg towards Hamme Mille. Onwards toward Pietrebais and then left to Melin and the cobbles of Saint-Marie-Geest and Zetrud-Lumay. No sweat with the Hutchinson Python Air tyres and the front suspension on my Litespeed . From Zetrud I took the Ravel into Hoegaarden and then rode to the Goudberg geosite. A little bit of mud on the narrow tarmacs roads here before I came into Oorbeek and was on my way to Kumtich. Met up with Jan Vermaelen - father of nearly-world-champion Francis Vermaelen - and I let him ride behind me to keep him out of the wind. After all, Jan must be almost 80 by now. Amazing that he still is riding a bike and very commendable that he still does. We rode together over Willebringen and Opvelp and into Bierbeek. When nearing Haasrode our ways split up. I followed the Geldenaakse baan while he took a left into the Dassenstraat. Riding into Blanden along the Expressweg I could look back on a solid ride. Another 48K . There was a little bit of wind today but as I said before, the 100% humidity from yesterday was gone, it remained dry throughout the ride.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 48.5K and 350 heightmeters (Garmin) in 02h02mins

316/665

06-01-2013, 13:42 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning saw a dreary and wet looking land. The high barometric pressure has landed us in a swamp-style , low-clouds and high relative humidity landscape. Still I wanted to ride out so I took the Obed and made my way towards Hoeilaart and Filip Sport. Filip had told me the Psychlo-X was ready to roll and I wanted to take a look at it and also take along the official Moots decals that should go on the frame.
The bike looked fantastic. Well worth the wait. I was so dazed that I forgot to take a picture.
Riding back home in the light drizzle I was musing about riding the Moots Psychlo-X. I have it equipped with Schwalbe Marathon 32c tyres. They offer more security than all-out road tyres and are also virtually puncture-proof. I have ridden them for years on my Hilset and have never ever suffered a puncture with them.
The roads were moist but not too much and the warm temperatures made it not too bad to ride out today. I got in a solid 2 hours of outside fun on the bike and was pleased that my left hand was not hurting too much.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 48K and 315 heightmeters in 02h02mins

268/315

05-01-2013, 14:13 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another Tacx Satori evening. I got on and decided to make this some kind of recovery ride. So I stayed on resistance one and let the legs zoom through high speed circles. This kept the speed high and the heartrate low.

Ride Stats : 60K in 01h21mins

220/0

04-01-2013, 19:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I seem to be keeping my weight down these last couple of days. Not overdoing it on New years' Eve and eating only the strict minimum lets me stay on or around the 70kg mark. Not being able to ride outside during the week doesn't help. The kcalories burned on the Tacx Satori are nowhere near as high as the kcalories that are being burned K for K on a bike riding outside. But until the weekend arrives I will have to make do. At least I get in a nice amount of kilometers and I can keep my legs fit whilst still letting my hand rest as much as possible.
Today I kept the resistance on the Tacx on 2 for almost an hour. This elevated my heartrate but it also got me a nice workout.

Ride Stats : 61K in 01h25mins

159.5/0

03-01-2013, 18:37 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This evening saw me on the Tacx Satori for a ride that took me for 20 minutes on resistance 2, followed by 20 more minutes on resistance 3. This kept me busy but still I managed to keep the average heartrate just below my aerobic treshold at 117bpm.

Ride Stats : 39.5K in 01h01mins

99/0

02-01-2013, 19:16 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another year, another Tacx ride. Unfortunately the weather outside was wet and windy, otherwise I would have taken another bike and ridden outside. But it only started drying out way past noon and by then I already had a solid Tacx ride behind me.

Ride Stats : 59.5K in 01h21mins

59/0

01-01-2013, 13:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

First off I got on the rollers for the last ride of 2012. A little more than an hours' worth of Tacx Satori bliss whilst I kept the resistance low and the speed high. A very good average speed and a low average heartrate. I am ready for 2013.

Ride Stats : 47K in 01h05mins

11151/84540

31-12-2012, 18:45 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning saw rain, showers and windy gusts so I decided to have another ride on the tacx Satori. Keeping the resistance on 1 I had a very good recovery ride from yesterdays' outdoor escapade.

Ride Stats : 41K in 01h01mins

11105/84540

30-12-2012, 11:52 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

More than 2 months after my fall on the wooden bridge in the Doode Beemde, and with just over 1200K on the Tacx Satori rollers under my belt, I felt strong and confident enough to take my Litespeed Obed out and brave the outside world again. My hand has gradually become stronger again and the pain in fingers and wrist is almost gone. Almost, not completely. So I was curious and anticipated some pain during my first ride out again.
Following the new bikepath along the Naamsesteenweg and then turning into the Weertse Dreef towards Sint Joris Weert I was pleased to notice that holding the handlebar did not entice any kind of pain. The wind was blowing noticeably when I came out of the forest and rode towards Sint Agatha Rode and Ottenburg. I took in some climbing along the Burgemeesterstraat in Ottenburg and then set towards Eerken and Pecrot. Another long climb and a second one out of Pecrot towards Nethen. I could not resist the call of the Tienne Vincent so I tackled that when I rode through Nethen towards Hamme Mille.
The hand felt good, only shifting position brought a pang of pain in the fingers. But that would subside immediately when I gripped the grips again. Good. Out of Hamme Mille and back to Blanden along the Naamsesteenweg I felt happy and satisfied with my first ride out in a long time.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats  : 33K and 350 heightmeters (Garmin) in 01h28mins

11063/84540

29-12-2012, 12:08 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today was the day I reached the 11.000K mark for 2012. I would have preferred 12.000 and more importantly 100.000 heightmeters but the muscle troubles I had in september and then the fall on my hand deciced otherwise.
I got on the Tacx for a ride that would take the resistance up to level 2. I kept at it for an hour and felt a little tired in the legs but nevertheless could keep up a good pace.

Ride Stats : 42K in 01h01mins

11030,5/84190

28-12-2012, 19:08 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This evening saw me on the Tacx Satori again for 1h15 of good solid recovery riding. I started off for 20 minutes on resistance 1, than upped the resistance to 2 for another 20 minutes and finished off on resistance 3 to complete the hour. Dropping down to 2, then 1 I rounded off another 15 minutes . Turned out to be a good ride with my legs feeling OK and only near the end I felt tired.
Filip Sport meanwhile informed me that the Moots Psychlo-X is nearing its completion.

Ride Stats : 50.5K in 01h15mins

10989/84190

27-12-2012, 19:40 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

While the days are slowly becoming longer again, I took another swing at the Tacx Satori for another hour of easy spinning. My legs felt heavy from yesterdays walking-cycling combination and I settled for a moderate pace keeping the resistance low.

Ride Stats : 40K in 01h01mins

10938/84190

26-12-2012, 13:11 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I felt a little restless this morning so I decided to go for a hike in Meerdael Forest. I could feel my legs from yesterdays' intense Tacx ride but they were just fine for walking. It was quite warm with nearly 10 degrees out there and there was a menacing sky but it remained dry most of the time. I went towards Mollendaal and then followed the Walendreef all the way to the Springputten. It had been since my childhood since I last saw them so I decided to wade through the dense shrubberies and fallen trees. They are some kind of nature reserve now and the time when you could see all the craters is long gone. Trees have grown in the couple of decades since I last was here. The craters are still there of course, some even filled with water like they used to be all those years ago. I took a snap and then had a little trouble finding my way back to the Prosperdreef. Spotted a white sign after passing a watchtower and soon I was back on my way.

25-12-2012, 16:50 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Noon saw me on another 2.7K walk at work. A good stretch for the legs and some extra kcals burned.
The evening saw me back on the Tacx Satori. I went up through resistance 2 and ended off with a 20 minutes stretch on resistance 3. That upped the average heartrate a bit . I cooled down with two 5 minute periods on resistance 2 and 1 at my highest gear.

Ride Stats : 51.5K in 01h15mins

10857/84190

24-12-2012, 18:59 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf