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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 22-07-2007 |
 Belgian Cross Country MTB Championships |
Yesterday
and today I was at the Belgian National Mountainbike Championships,
held in Ottignies Louvain-la-Neuve. I saw some great racing on a very
selective track, some 6.2K long with 280 heightmeters each lap. Our
National Cyclocross hero Sven Nys took the title with the Elite Men ,
before Filip Meirhaeghe who fought the entire race to come back in
Svens' wheel, but was not strong enough to do so.
Trek
teammates Kristien Nelen and Petra Mermans battled it out in a sprint
with Kristin taking the jersey in the Womens' Elite class.
Our
own Sebastien Carabin took the title with the Junior men. Hans Urkens
and Benny Heylen got the title in the Masters 1 and Masters 2 class and
Bjorn Brems had a very convincing victory in the -23 Mens class.
I was a signaller on the race track but nevertheless I managed to take a few pictures, which you can check out HERE. 22-07-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 19-07-2007 |
| Combine my friend, combine |
It had been a
while since I combined the Meerdael and Overijse BLOSO routes, so why
not today? Last time I did those I strayed a bit from the routes to a
102k distance and just over a 1030 heightmeters. Today I started out
with the idea of trying to go for an average of 20 kph. The weather was
sunny with overcast patches and even some raindrops. Great for biking !
The first part of the Meerdael routes - I usually start on the Green -
up to Sint Joris Weert went very easy and when I had about 26.5K on th ecounter I took
the short interconnection towards Sint Agatha Rode and the 'Twee Valleien
Route'. Just 30K when I came upon the Overijse trails and some 34K
later I was back in Sint Agatha Rode. Interconnect back to Sint Joris Weert again and continue on the Meerdael Bloso's.
My legs started to feel the
constant succession of mean little hills and my neck muscles were
straining from the jolts I got on the downhills. I took them pretty
fast since the trails were absolutely amazing - dry but not dusty,
moist but not muddy - just ideal for mountain biking. Back on the
Meerdael BLOSO's I stopped to take some water from one of the springs
near the Kluis, the toughest bit of the ride was yet to come - the Blue trail in
Nethen.
Soon I was dropping under the 20kph average mark because the uphills became longer
and the downhills were too short to recuperate or make good any time lost on the uphills. But once I was in Hamme
Mille things started to flatten out a bit and I could stay on the big
ring most of the time, making good the lost time and upping the average
back over 20kph. It cost me a lot of effort though and I had to dig
deep mentally to stay on the track instead of taking a shortcut home.
My ass was starting to hurt too near the end of the ride, making it
increasingly difficult to remain seated. But the body is a wonderful machine, and
with some incentive from the brain it can achieve great things. Near
the end I was well over my projected average but I would be lying if I
said I wasn't pleased to be at the end of the ride. The bike performed
flawlessly, as it has been for almost 6 years now. I only need to get
the ceramic rims on my 2001 Crossmaxxes replaced, the ceramic coating
is going/gone.
Ride Stats : 96K and 970 heightmeters in 4h43mins
6264/57570
19-07-2007, 16:30 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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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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