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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 17-07-2007 |
 Championships |
Took
a recovery ride along Hoegaarden, Jodoigne, Dongelberg, Longueville and
Grez-Doiceau today. Lots of wind but temps around 25 degrees made the
ride yet pretty enjoyable. It had rained considerably last evening so I
will wait a few days before going offroad again.
Ride Stats : 72K and 495 heightmeters in 3h15mins
6084/55970
Yesterday
and today I helped my club prepare the Belgian CrossCountry
Championships which will take place this weekend in the Bois des Reves
at Ottignies Louvain-la-Neuve. The circuit is most demanding and will
surely reward the most complete mountainbikers with the National Title.
The track is 6.25km long and has 280 heightmeters in it. That means
that the Elite riders - who have to do 7 laps - will cover some 43K and
a stunning 1960 heightmeters. The height profile of one lap can be
found HERE, and THIS is a map of the circuit done with Google Earth. All relevant information can be found HERE. I
will be around Saturday and Sunday, as a signaleur at the top of a long
climb - called "la Piste de Ski". This place is also ideal for me to be
taking some pictures. Hope to see you there.
17-07-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 15-07-2007 |
| Accro Bike-Beat the Heat |
5.58am.
Rise and shine, give the cat his insulin injection and prepare to head
out for a tour around one of my favorite training rides : the Accro
Bike. This ride starts in Grez-Doiceau and I have two versions - a 42K
and a 52K one. Today I decided to do the 52K version and do it in the
reverse direction. This is a very good exercise in remembering a trail.
You have to know it by heart to be able to ride it in the reverse
direction without hesitation. I know this trail by heart, I have done
it so many times and each time again I am amazed at its beauty and
deceiving toughness. It is a steady connection of climbs and descents,
one after the other. The 42K version has some 650 heightmeters and the
52K version around 800.
I started early to avoid the heat. I am still wearing long-sleeved
shirts and pants, and even though this is not that much hotter than
short sleeved stuff, it helps when the temps are cool. When I left it
was a marvelous 16 degrees C and during the ride temps would rise to
about 29 degrees. My average temperature was 21 degrees though, because
near 11am the sun was hiding behind the clouds and lots of the trails
pass through cool and lush forests.
Some of the little tracks were overgrown but with my long pants I was
immune to the nettles and prickly thorns. The smell when riding along
the freshly cut and harvested grain fields was making me reminiscent of
my youth, when we used to play in the haystacks. The corn was gently
whispering in the wind and I felt great to be able to be out here and
ride. All the while I did not forget to check my legs for horseflies
because even though I wear long pants, they can bite through them if
need be. But since I have been applying some DEET before leaving I have
not been bothered. Yet it doesn't hurt to be vigilant. 
Some of you might think I'm a bit crazy doing all this stuff to avoid
being bitten but I know why I'm doing this, don't worry. A couple of
years ago I was bitten by horseflies twice within a fortnight and the
second time the allergic reaction was a lot more violent than the first
time. The doctor prescribed me an EPI-pen
which I had to take along . The third bite in a row might send me into
anaphylaxis and an Epi-pen is the only thing that can save my life when
out in the field. Since I have been bitten twice this year - albeit
that the first one was without much harm - I am not taking any chances
thank you !
Anyway, the trails were great today and when I arrived home just before
noon I felt tired but very satisfied. I had a narrow escape with a dog
near the end of my ride - I think the poor bugger is half deaf now from my
screaming and yelling - and I nearly turned around to have a go at its owner .
There are 'dogs on a leash' signs everywhere so I figure that if I am
attacked by some runaway mongrel it is my good right to protect myself
and if I get a hold of its collar I will see its tongue turn blue
before I let go. Pity I can't do the same with the owner - because that
is where the blame really lies.
Ride Stats : 81K and 1055 heightmeters in 4h51mins
6012/55475
15-07-2007, 12:56 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 13-07-2007 |
| Bois des Reves |
Ah, at last I was going to ride in the Bois des Reves
again. This is an amusement parc near Ottignies Louvain-La-Neuve where
they have a permanent mountainbike trail, some 3K long and sporting a
whopping 80 heightmeters. That may seem like nothing much until you
ride it. It's on the side of a hill and the track is taking you up and
down that hill several times , with some nice lacets, roots and steps
everywhere. It takes a good rider to make this lap without setting foot
to the ground. It was slightly drizzling when I set off for my first
big lap. I usually combine the "Circuit VTT" - which is marked - with
a trail going all the way around the parc, consisting of a big climb
starting out on the bikers trail towards Louvain-La-Neuve, then taking
to the right climbing all the way up to the top of the forest, two
times right again followed by a very fast descent on a forest road .
That way, MY lap is 5K long and yields me 130 heightmeters. With the 2007 Belgian XC Championships
taking place here in 2 weeks, there were a lot of bikers on the
circuit. Some youngsters from my club were having some kind of
orientation exercise and they were all over the place. I also saw
Sebastien Carabin and Morgane Van Lierde who were practising on part of
the Championship circuit. From what I've seen of the circuit , it will
be very technical, with at least one major downhill - no, I did NOT
ride it - going almost straight down the slope. I hope the Croix Rouge
will be well staffed because this could prove to be a dangerous spot.
The thing with Bois des Reves is, there is not a moments' rest. Your
heart rate is going up and down like a yo-yo, you are either on a steep
climb or on a technical descent , always on some narrow singletrack.
That will be another major point for the Championship. Passing others
riders will be a tricky affair, since the trails are narrow and always
ondulating up and down, with not much room for error. Of course , only
part of the circuit is open now, since the other half is in an area of
the parc that is normally forbidden for bikers. I met Laurent Saublens
and he told me that the final lap will be some 5K and 280 heightmeters.
The track will be fully marked for reconnaisance purposes from
wednesday July 18th. .
So I lapped 8 rounds of MY lap, which yielded me just over a 1000
heightmeters. The tracks were moist which made the downhills tricky,
but manageable. I felt tired but very happy having done a good
technical and climbing training.
Ride Stats : 40.5K and 1055 heightmeters in 3h01mins
5861/54270
13-07-2007, 14:33 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 12-07-2007 |
| Goose Tail |
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No biking today. Instead I went out to play with my newest aquisition, a (second-hand mind you) 300mm F2.8 Nikkor AF-I lens. I first set off to spot some planes at nearby Beauvechain military airport but there were none to be seen, at least not in the air.
So I set out for the Zoete Waters Ponds and took a nice series (well - I like them ) of some goose splashing and spraying.
 and, turning around, he splashed even more..
..and then, he came swimming a little bit closer to me, as if asking : "Hey dude, did you get that or do I have to do it one more time? "
Well, I got him allright. The light was poor with the overcast sky so I only got 1/250 to 1/320th shutter speed with the lens fully open. It might look easy to get these shots but I can assure you it's not. This goose is at around 5 to 6 metres from me and it doesn't sit still for a second. So you need to be patient and then it's a combination of skill - pushing the trigger at the right moment- and (a lot of) luck. I like the effect of the water droplets, some are sharp, some blurry, giving a nice suggestion of the speed with which they are being hurled around.
The camera/lens combo weighs around 5kg so I mounted them on a Monopod to be more stable. Here is a pic of what the combination looks like.
Looks heavy doesn't it. I can assure you it is.
Oh well, I hope to be out on my bike again tomorrow, riding my car to the Bois des Reves and do some laps on the very technical and hilly MTB trail in that forest. The weather forecast looks good with even some warmer weather forecast for the weekend.
12-07-2007, 20:22 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 11-07-2007 |
| Vlaanderen Fietsroute |
Some light drizzle this morning did not stop me from going out. In fact, I like the weather as it is, not too hot and relatively dry. I wanted to do a recovery ride so I rode out along the Vlaanderen Fietsroute Lf6 which passes through Meerdael. This is an A to B route so the plan is to follow it for however long you fancy, turn around and follow it back home again. I decided to turn at the 1h30 mark, just past Goetsenhoven. There were still some clouds heavy enough to spill a little rain but I never had to stop for shelter or even wear a Gore Tex raincoat. Legs felt fine considering the heavy load they had to endure these last few days.
Ride Stats : 65.5K and 530 heightmeters in 3h02mins
5821/53215
11-07-2007, 14:40 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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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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