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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 02-04-2009 |
 KBC MTB |
This evening saw the first weekly ride of the KBC Mountainbike club in 2009. We meet every thursday at 6.30pm near the Sporthal in Heverlee and do a mountainbike ride varying from 1h30 to 2hours or more. This evening we were with 10 riders, which is not bad for a first outing. Obviously the nice weather - it was still 18 degrees C when we started - lured all of us out of hibernation and had us gather together anticipating a good ride. We had the privilege of doing a new loop the bikers from Meerdael 2000 are conceiving in partnership with the Movin'Bike bike fair which will take place in October 2009 in the Brabanthallen . This loop will ultimately be used for an organised ride on the 11th of October if all goes well. The loop will concentrate on the areas to the northeast of Leuven, instead of the regular Meerdael 2000 ride - which will take place on October 25th - which concentrates on the Meerdael area located south of Louvain but also goes towards Brabant Walloon and even all the way south towards Grez Doiceau. But today we were in for a very nice ride, taking us along narrow and winding bits of singletrack, from Heverlee towards Korbeek Lo and then up and over the crest towards Kessel Lo and Linden. Here we were riding into the area known as Hoog Linden, with some nice undulating passages in the forest. The trails were excellent, dry and fast. A couple of nice winding singletracks , some surprisingly steep climbs and ditto descents. Before long we arrived at the Chartreuzebos were we climbed again before descending towards Linden . Crossing the Diestsesteenweg and we were on a narrow tarmac road taking us up and then down and up again on a very nice passage into another bit of forest . We arrived at the road connecting Kessel Lo with Pellenberg. Here we rode left towards Pellenberg but after a couple of hundred meters we took a sharp right and then descended along a very tricky track in a hollow road.
 
02-04-2009, 22:47 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 01-04-2009 |
| Forest Fun |
Another sunny day and even though there was a cold wind blowing from the north, I didn't mind riding out. Considering the wind I decided to do a leisurely ride in Heverleebos and Meerdaelwoud. Setting out fairly easy into Heverleebos and the gradually turning into Meerdaelwoud where the height differences became more important and the technicality of the tracks grew. I took my time to look around - even more than I usually do - and take some pictures. There were quite a few occasional mountainbikers - easily recognized by their lack of helmet - and runners in the forest.
The forest tracks were mostly dry and the forest looked clean and clear. There were a lot of white flowers blooming in the wetter areas. I did some challenging uphills near Nethen and also some tracks I didn't do in a long time. Small singletrails which were either going very steeply upwards or dropping down along steps downhill. The Fox RLT on my Litespeed gave me confidence and also the necessary rigidity to tackle them all without looking back. I decided not to ride too long because I have an offroad session with the KBC mountainbike club tomorrow - the first this year - and need to save my strength also for this saturdays Tour de Flandres ride. Instead I thoroughly enjoyed the warm sunrays in the sheltered areas of the forest and took my time to explore every nook and cranny along the way.Ride Stats : 31K and 455/461 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h54mins 2276/18995
01-04-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 30-03-2009 |
| Church of Spring |
A beautiful day. A cold start with temps just under freezing when I rode to work, but in the afternoon when I arrived home again temps had reached 13 degrees, even more out of the wind. I decided to do an easy ride, even though I still felt this weekends' rides in my legs. I set out towards Bierbeek. When I saw its stocky church tower appear I decided to take a picture. Before long I was taking pictures of almost every church I came by. By following the trail of the churches you can construct the trail I did by bike. You will agree that some of these churches look very good, especially in the early Spring sunshine. I don't know about you - my dear reader - but the sun always makes me feel like I can take on anything. And for the rest of the week the same sunny, dry and warm weather is forecast. Spring is here, at last !
I rode at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sun on my skin. Before long the wind dropped to a whisper and so even on the return leg of my loop I rode in relatively calm conditions. I hope you like my pictures. I included one of the view descending from Bossut to the N252. I am always amazed at how beautiful this area is, and I consider myself extremely lucky and fortunate to be able to bike here at my hearts' desire. In closing I achieved the 1000K barrier for this month. It has been a while since I crossed that barrier and I'm glad I did. With nearly 9500 heightmeters I also did a fair amount of climbing.Ride Stats : 56K and 435/440 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h32mins2245/18540
30-03-2009, 21:13 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 29-03-2009 |
| Relaxed climbing |
Contradictio in Terminis ? Not really, it all depends how you look at climbing . I can climb and still feel very relaxed. Obviously a lot depends on your gear choice. And you need to love wht you are doing. If you hate riding upwards you have a lot of trouble when riding in the regions I frequented today. Of course, when I'm on a climbing ride like today I go and look up all the hills I can find but even when you are not looking for hills, they have a tendency to find you when you ride in Brabant Walloon. First I set out to Sint Joris Weert to greet the riders of the Brabantse Pijl when the crossed under the bridge of the railroad. Technically I was standing on Grez Doiceau territory when I made a couple of pictures of the peleton zooming by. The start had only been given 15 minutes ago in nearby Leuven .
After that I had a couple of places in my mind where I would like to pass, places where I know a hill or two . The difficulty is in making them all fit into a loop without passing too much at the same places. First I rode to Nethen, then into Pecrot where I did a hill and came back down to set course for Eerken. Riding towards Sint Agatha Rode I saw 3 Ferrari's in 10 minutes.. hmm, must be some kind of Ferrari event going on. They all seemed to be following some kind of predefined route . A beautiful red 360 Modena passed me twice. I also saw a red 430 and a grey 575 Maranello. A little earlier I already crossed a yellow 360 Modena. Nice to see these thoroughbreds ride at a leasurely pace. Me, I tackled another couple of climbs before arriving in Ottenburg. From here I rode towards Wavre, not before having done a very steep climb out of Basse-Wavre. In Wavre, after crossing the Leuvensesteenweg I did another couple of hills and then rode towards Dion where I struggled upwards towards the Golf Course in order to arrive in Grez Doiceau. From Grez I only had another climb into Bossut before arriving at Hamme Mille.
 
Ride Stats : 57.5K and 715/716 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h45mins2189/18105
29-03-2009, 18:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 28-03-2009 |
| Brabantse Pijl Classic |
This morning saw a lot of showers so I decided to wait until noon to ride out. I connected with the Brabantse Pijl Classic trail at the Zoete Waters. Here the trail was marked with the big arrows for tomorrows' race and also by smaller arrows with D'store on them. These markings would have to guide us back since the race finishes in Alsemberg. The trail meandered through Sint Joris Weert towards Neerijse and then followed the very busy, narrow and dangerous Sint Janbergse Steenweg to Huldenberg. From Huldenberg to Overijse and then towards Hoeilaart. But just behind the E411 the trail turns to the left for a climb and another left towards Maleizen. Here was placed the bifurcation between the 2 distances . It was either 70K or 130K. Pity they didn't have something in between because 70 sounded like 'not enough' and 130 definately was too much. Not so much because of the distance, but more because I spotted a very dark cloud in the 130 direction. I had noted on meteox.be that we had a bit of a dry spell but it looked like it would rain soon. Also, the wind was fierce from westerly directions. It had been giving me a good workout in getting here and I imagined it would only get worse with the showers that were sure to fall.    2132/17390
28-03-2009, 18:08 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 27-03-2009 |
| You never guessed what I did today |
Yes, of course, I added another 45 minutes on the rollers to this weeks total. Even though the weather was dry this evening I didn't want to ride out, pending a weekend which might be tough ride-wise. So I got on my rollers and listened to a varied mix of songs on my GSM-MP3 player. Rainbow, Rammstein, Beautiful Sin, Life, and so on.. I wasn't bored . Ride Stats : 18km in 46mins2057/16695
27-03-2009, 20:38 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 26-03-2009 |
| And some more recovery |
Another awesome weather day. The day started dry but by the time I got home from work it was raining again. So at first I thought I would take a day off but then I decided that I should keep things moving so I rode for 45 minutes on the rollers. From friday the weather should pick up a bit - or at least stay dry-ish - so the initial plan is to ride part of the Brabantse Pijl on saturday. For sunday I'm not sure yet. It has rained a lot these last 3 days so the offroad might still be soaked. We'll see what gives.Ride Stats : 16.5K in 45 minutes2039/16965
26-03-2009, 21:25 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 25-03-2009 |
| Recovery again |
Another recovery ride on the rollers. Same scenario as yesterday. Outside the weather is typical for this time of year, all kinds of showers and a lot of wind accompanying them. Not much fun riding in those conditions
Ride Stats : 12K in 32minutes
2023/16965
25-03-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 24-03-2009 |
| Easy does it |
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Not a lot of time this evening so I settled for an easy recovery ride on the rollers, continuing my read of the Templars' fate and listening to Rainbow live 'On Stage' concert on my MP3 player. Weather is unstable but hopefully during the next few days I will be able to sneak in the odd hour outside. Riding the rollers really doesn't bring me any satisfaction in this stage of the season, except for washing my legs from acids accumulated during heavy rides.
Ride Stats : 12K in 30minutes
2011/16965
24-03-2009, 19:31 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 22-03-2009 |
| Zoenk TT 2009 |
Today I wanted to do something in and around Meerdael Forest and riding the Zoenk TT seemed to be a good option. Thanks to my friend Roger I had the GPS track of this ride so I only had to follow that. I started my lap at the English Cemetery at the edge of Heverlee Forest. The first couple of kilometers were rather easy, riding into the Meerdael Forest and slowly making my way towards Hamme Mille and Nethen. In Nethen things got a bit more hilly with initially a descent along a steep singletrack, then a bit of tarmac leading towards a steep climb with a step at the end. A singletrack looping through a stretch of forest and then a steep downhill again into Nethen. After that the trail turns towards Bossut. I was thinking they left out 'quite a bit of hills' here, but I would have to come back to that opinion later. The trail now meandered down into Archennes , or not quite since I had to climb up towards the football field first. A very nice section this one. Descending onto the tarmac road towards Grez only to turn into a cobbly road leading towards the railroad track. Here there was a spot of trouble since the singletrack alongside the railroad track has been broadened into a dirt road. Furthermore, the last section leading towards Gastuche has been blocked by workings. So a little stretch of road following the N250 towards Wavre. But then I turned away from this busy road towards the Bois de Laurensart. Obviously the steep climb near The Tomme could not be skipped. I made it but it cost me some trouble. The trail then leads towards Ottenburg where a very nice section , with some masterfully connected trails, tries to sap even more strenght out of my tiring legs. You have to imagine riding this track in February, when it is usually wet and muddy. Now the trail conditions were magnificent and even then it is not for the meek.
The trail then sets towards Pecrot where the organisers incorporated another killer section. Up and down the slope 2 times, connected by the famous railroad singletrack. Very tough section, again. After that, the trail mellows out a bit into La Malaise and then drops into Pecrot again . A nice loop along the Beaumont area, with another steep climb, this time on tarmac and cobbles, leading towards a little pink chapel. Then a fast descent into Nethen. Along camping La Hetraie and another steep climb up towards Sint Joris Weert. Tricky steps downhill here followed by a steep climb on tarmac. Now the worst has passed. The trail gently loops into Vaalbeek and then into the Heverlee forest before closing the loop at the War Cemetery again. A nice 62K and around 850 heightmeters. My legs were a little tired from yesterday and with the constant climbing and descending of today I was pleased to see the end of the ride. Very satisfying though and a nice track to ride any time of the year. Ride Stats : 70K and 890/914 heightmeters in 3h55minsGPS Map: 1999/16965
22-03-2009, 19:15 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 21-03-2009 |
| MTB Orienteering Kesselberg 2009 |
I had received an invitation for this mtb orienteering event from one of the organisers of the SLOK 2009 Kesselberg MTB-O. Since I'm always in for something including my mountainbike and furthermore I also love the region I decided to take part in this race. The SLOK had set out 3 parcours - 10, 15 and 20K - in the hilly region around Kessel Lo and Linden. The start was given at the Abbey of Vlierbeek. Nicely situated in a broad valley just southwest of the Kesselberg area. I rode over from home to arrive around 11am at the 'Rozenkrans' pub where the inscriptions were taken. Since it was my first ever orienteering event I wasn't sure what to expect. But at the inscription I was ably explained the basic rules . You get a map with on it several marked and numbered points. You have to get from one point to the other - choosing your own way - and get a mark at each of the points. For that you receive an EMIT chip. This chip records a timemark when you put it in the trasmitter situated on the marking point. At the end of the race, this information is downloaded from your EMIT chip into a computer and you get your result. The one that completes the complete tour in the shortest time, is the winner. Simple, but as with all things, it isn't as easy as it sounds. After the inscription I followed the markings towards the official start. Here I received my map and the girl explained to me how I should go about putting my EMIT in the marking stations. She already made the first mark so my race was already running when I was still there listening to her explaining me how things worked. I had brought the cardholder I used in the 2000 Coast to Coast Pyrenees so I could put my map there. The EMIT module I could fasten to one of my fingers. At the inscription they asked for my identity card as a guarantee against the EMIT but I wasn't going to leave that behind. So they had to settle for my UCI licence. Looking at the map I got underway and I quickly learned that riding fast AND trying to read a map at the same time wasn't easy. Furthermore I had to refold and turn my map all the time - my card holder is only A4 and the map we got was nearly A3 format. The 'real' orienteering guys had some kind of rototable on their handlebar. So they could turn the map to keep the place where they were going to, on top and in the front. The weather was great, after a cold start the sun shone in truely spring fashion and riding through and around forests was a joy today. In the meantime I had arrived at my first marker and took a few pictures before heading off to the next one. The first couple of markers were relatively easy, but then things got more complicated, with a mixture of big and smaller tracks. You had to find the quickest path, and this was not always the shortest one. The difficulty was that in order to make a good time, you needed to look at the map and make a decision on the trail which you wanted to follow, whilst driving your bike through offroad trails. Sometimes they were easy, but there were also some steep downhills and sections with gullies . Luckily all the tracks were bone-dry. Here lies one of the big challenges of this sport. You obviously need map-reading skills, but you also need fitness and sometimes catlike reactions when your wheel hits a branch at the exact time when you were peering down at your map deciding on your next direction change. When things really got complicated - read, when there were a lot of tracks converging or several forks really close one after the other, I did stop and had a GOOD look at the map. One mistake could set you off in a completely wrong direction. Fortunately I am pretty good a reading a map and I didn't make a single mistake trackwise. Approaching Marker #12 ( see the map ) I chose a dotted line which looked to lead to marker 12 very nicely, but all of a sudden I couldn't see any more trails, so I clambered up a very steep hill. This must have been my lucky day since I arrived on top at the exact location of the marker. While I was there I saw some other riders arriving from a different direction. Obviously I had taken the more difficult - but shorter - path. The section with markers 14 to 17 was also a very nice one, by now I was getting more confident and during the last section I really got under steam. In the end, connecting all the markers took me almost 37K and 2h02 of riding time. I am very happy to have done this, its a combination of several skills and it involves riding a bike in nature. The only pity is that there are not that many MTB-O events around in Belgium. Next year this event will be held in my own Meerdael forest and I will look forward to participate to that. In the meantime I will certainly look out for similar events in Belgium, I had a really good time. Thanks to all the people at SLOK for making this event possible and to Jef Boeckx for bringing it to my attention.
Ride Stats : 61.5K and 570/588 (Polar/Garmin) in 3h11mins
MTB-O Stats : 37K and 408 heightmeters in 2h02mins
MTB-O Official result : 2h19mins52secs on 23280m or 6mins/km
MTB-O Map
Garmin Map:
Organisers blog : CLICK
Official results : CLICK
1929/16075
21-03-2009, 18:30 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 19-03-2009 |
| Frisky |
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Another sunny and dry day. Great. But there was a nasty wind blowing from northeasterly quarters. I wanted to do a ride so I set out towards Brabant Walloon. When the sun was in my face and the wind in my back it felt good to be out. I made a loop going towards Pecrot , Florival and Archennes. Then further towards Dion le Val and Wavre. Some nasty climbing here and when I made my way out of Basse Wavre I began to feel the wind a bit more. Up towards Ottenburg and then down into Terlanen again to take advantage of the sheltered valley towards Sint Agatha Rode. From there I rode towards Sint Joris Weert and the Zoete Waters. Turning towards the East the last bit was difficult but my heartrate stayed low .
Ride Stats : 48K and 385/404 heightmeters in 2h12mins
1867/15505
19-03-2009, 18:45 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 18-03-2009 |
| Vlierbeek |
Wanted to check out how to get to the Abdij of Vlierbeek from my place so I biked over there over Heverlee and Kessel Lo. Did not find the place where the start of the MTB-O will be, the Rozenkrans pub, but I had a look around the abbey grounds and made some pictures. I could see the Kesselse bergen and the Chartreuzebos looming over me when I rode over to Linden to make my wat back to Korbeek Lo. Seeing that the weather was fine I added another loop over Bierbeek, Opvelp, Beauvechain and Tourinnes before returning over Hamme Mille and Meerdael. The sun was shining overtime today and even though there was a northerly wind blowing, I recorded an average temperature of 12 degrees C. In the sun and out of the wind it was simply wonderful to be.I did some research on MTB-O in the meanwhile and it is becoming clear that this might be quite a challenge. But since it will be my first time, my only goal will be to find all the control points and generally finish the ride. I have the idea they don't allow GPS so I will put mine in my backpack . I can't imagine riding without it recording the ride, so if they make a problem out of that I will simply not start. I need to familiarize myself with the card and compass way of going from point A to B but I already found some good explanations on some of the MTB-O sites around the world.Ride Stats : 46K and 285/295 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h2mins1819/15120
18-03-2009, 19:45 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 16-03-2009 |
| Bling |
Got a new chain delivered today. It is a golden KMC X9 SL Titanium Nitride coated chain, I already had one like this as a first mount on the Hilset and my last chain was also a KMC X9 TiNi chain, but no SL. Its a good chain, the SL chain even rolls a bit more quiet than the normal version and it is also very light. Perfect for the use I'm making of this bike. The chain has a Titanium Nitride coating which makes it a bit harder to wear. The Missing Link is a re-usable connector , along the same principle as the SRAM Gold Link. Obviously the chain looks well on the bike, especially when its new. I also changed the jockey wheels on the XTR rear derailleur. They were still the first ones and it was time they got changed since I had this bike - end of May 2005 - so thats nearly 4 years. The teeth were almost resembling shark teeth. I changed them for XTR 11T jockeys.
If all goes well I am thinking of entering an MTB-O event next saturday. Its held in nearby Kessel-lo so finding my way around should not be too hard. Of course I will need to learn how its done the hard way, but I'm pretty confident I will find my way. Its a competition but I'm not counting on riding fast , just having a good time combining mountainbiking and orienteering. Should be fun. Lets hope the weather stays dry. Today I just did a quick ride around Heverlee, Bertem, Neerijse , Sint Agatha Rode and Sint Joris Weert, finishing with a loop taking me past the Zoete Waters to Oud-Heverlee and Heverlee again. The weather was nice with 11 degrees C and nearly no wind. It got a bit frisky by the time I finished my ride but I was home before dusk.Ride Stats : 40K and 270/269 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h41mins1773/14835
16-03-2009, 19:17 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 15-03-2009 |
| Solitary Orientation Run |
The weather forecast was wrong! When I got out of bed at 10AM the sun was shining, no trace of the forecast rain. Obviously it was too late to enlist for any organised ride but I quickly discovered I would be far better off doing one of my orientation runs. Since I have a GPS and with my inborn wanderlust this is one of my favorite passtimes when on a bike. I have a broad idea of what I want to do and I just add some tracks and trails along that idea as I move along. Starting out into Meerdael I quickly was mingling with riders on the SVK organised ride. I also quickly got a reminder as to why I don't like starting on organised rides outside of the Ardennes area. Some riders think they are racing and they don't mind cutting you off when passing. I had to smother a shout when some jerk nearly tipped my front wheel - he would have if I had not braked - when passing me. A bit further I passed him again but I managed to keep myself under control. A bit further I left the flock and continued on my solitary route. My plan consisted of riding towards the Margijsbos. For now I was descending into Nethen and ascending again in the direction of Pecrot. From Pecrot I dropped into Florival, after having done an extra climb along a tricky track, steep and slippery at times. I had to put the chain on the small ring to make it. Obviously yesterdays' ride was still in my legs so I selected the small chainring a lot. This offered my legs the opportunity to relax a bit during the climbs. I then climbed up into the Bois de Laurensart - in the opposite direction of the Overijse BLOSO route. I encountered a couple of bikers going downhill in the deep hollow road but they had their bikes nicely under control. In these situations the biker going uphill has right of way. Arriving at the top I dropped down again to the lawn, a big lawn between two patches of forests, and struggled upwards again into Ottenburg. I did a quick loop up and down the Tomme and then set course for the Sint Agatha Rode forest. Tackling the steepest climb into that forest - the singletrail leading upwards from the Neerpoortenstraat - I conquered the 21% slope without any problem. I had to balance my weight very carefully on this very steep trail but my Weirwolf tyres found plenty of grip on the gravelly trail.
I then descended towards the Vossekouter in Terlanen and had to conquer another 20% trail to reach the top of the Smeysberg. Down on the tarmac and then I took the path alongside the river Ijse towards the Margijsbos. A couple of nice singletracks here to make it up and down the slope a couple of times. I encountered some riders on the SVK organised ride again. They must have been the last ones on one of the longer distances, judging by their struggling on the uphills. I tackled the Bertelsheide and immediately dropped down the hollow road on the left when I reached the top. Right at the bottom and I was back on the Nijvelsebaan. Not for long because I took a left plunging down towards the Wolfshagen and further towards Sint Joris Weert. Here I added another loop into the Meerdael forest. Up into the Borrestraat and towards the Kluis, before descending towards La Hetraie after which I climbed upwards on one of the nicest and most difficult climbs in Meerdael forest. Down again towards the Kluis along the trail the Meerdael BLOSO track follows - but in the opposite direction and then back up after passing the ponds near the Kluis. I then followed a small track to arrive at the Kleine Dreef. This I followed towards the Grezse Baan. Left towards the Weertsedreef and left again on the Weertse Dreef. Right onto the Nethensebaan and following this towards the Groenveld I made a quick loop towards Vaalbeek before calling it a day and looping back towards Blanden. A great ride, the tracks were moist at places but certainly not wet. With 725 heightmeters I can not complain and I had a good feeling in my legs throughout the entire ride. With an average heartrate of 121bpm I certainly did not overdo it .
Ride Stats : 45.5K and 725/773 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h30mins
Map : 1733/14565
15-03-2009, 17:33 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 14-03-2009 |
| Roumirette and Aeolius |
I had a spot of trouble, some saddle soreness had taken hold, and I decided to stay onroad and see how it would go. The weather was fine when I rode out , around 11am , it was warm but there was quite a bit of wind. I decided to wear an 3/4 Assos Roubaix trousers and also wear a long sleeved jersey and a bodywarmer instead of the thermal vest I wore up till now. I'm glad I decided to don the bodywarmer because the wind was indeed blowing very strong on the higher plateaus and with the sun disappearing more and more during the ride the chill factor made it a lot colder than the 12-13 degrees C it was. In Bierbeek I picked up on the old Ludo Dierckxsens track. Turning clockwise in a big loop towards Beauvechain and La Bruyere I started to feel the wind more and more. The high plateaus between Pietrebais and Sart Risbart had me suffer. I was glad that the twisty road provided from time to time a bit of sidewind, or even wind in the back, because it was also mainly uphill until I reached Gistoux. There I turned to the North and things were looking better wind-wise. I included a little climb into the Rue du Moulin d'Inchebroux, with an 18% section only to make an 180 degree turn at the top, eat a banana and enjoy the overview over Chaumont Gistoux. The track than lead me towards Bonlez where I had to tackle another steep climb leading towards the 'Chemin de Tout-Vent' - whats in a name - and then crosse the Wavre-Perwez road. A quick descent into Dion Le Mont and then back along the N243 for a bit before turning to the right towards Dion Valmont and Doiceau. Archennes and Florival followed and upon riding towards Ottenburg I decided to incorporate a bit of extra climbs. So I rode up the Wijmingenstraat, down the Bergstraat and then continued along the Florivalstraat all the way to Ottenburg. Turning left into the Tommestraat and left again down the Langeheidestraat to reach the Florivalstraat again. I then turned left into the Veeweidestraat and a bit further left again into the Burgemeesterstraat for another climb. It has started to drizzle by now so I decided to make my way over Sint Agatha Rode towards Sint Joris Weert. Here I did again a couple of extra climbs.Up into the Polderstraat, turn left into the Oude Nethense baan and down the Speelbergstraat. Right and upwards in the Hollestraat, left into the Oude Nethensebaan again only to drop down along the Heidestraat towards the Leuvensebaan. A last climb back up along the Kasteelstraat towards the Oude Nethensebaan again and then I followed that down towards the Leuvensebaan again. The drizzle had turned into light rain now so I decided to call it a day and return to Blanden alongside the Zoete Waters. In all a very nice ride, and in view of the forecast rain for tonight and tomorrow at least a certainty. For tomorrow I'm not sure what to do. I would have loved to do the excellent SVK 24e Vriendentocht but with the forecast and the wet offroad conditions I think I will give it a pass. Ultimately I will decide tomorrow morning.
 
Ride Stats : 76K and 705/689 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h32mins1688/13840
14-03-2009, 17:40 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 08-03-2009 |
| Recovery ride |
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Rain and wind in the AM so I was patient and waiting until the predicted sunny spells would appear. And indeed, around 1PM the skies cleared out and only the wind remained. Streets dried up quickly - I didn't rain that much - and I set out around 2PM for an easy recovery ride. I felt better than I expected but still I stuck to my plan, ride at a low pace and avoid hills as much as possible.
Ride Stats : 26K and 190/171 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h17mins
1521/12450
08-03-2009, 16:01 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 07-03-2009 |
| Accro Bike 54K and then some |
Dry but overcast this morning. I set out with the Litespeed for a first attempt at a 1000+ heightmeter ride this year. I chose to do the 54K version of the Accro Bike, a ride starting in Grez-Doiceau and normally good for around 800 heightmeters. Riding very relaxed towards Grez Doiceau already yielded me 12K and 100 heightmeters. The advantage - but it can also be a disadvantage at times - of knowing these trails by heart and also knowing a lot of other trails in the neighborhood, is that you can combine the path of the chosen ride - the Accro Bike - with some extra trails. Obviously, in a region that is comprised of deep valleys this leads sometimes to more climbing and descending than you have bargained for. I managed to stay on the trail until I reached Cocrou. From Cocrou there is a steep climbing leading into a stretch of forest - I had 23% on the Garmin at one point - and then the trail normally stays on the ridge with Pietrebais on the left. But I veered to the left and down into Pietrebais only to climb out of it again to rejoin the trail. Hopsa, an extra 50 heightmeters. The trail then goes towards the Chapel in Longueville where it turns to the right in the direction of Heze. Here it joins the 42K version of the Accro Bike. A bit further I added another extra descend/climb into the Gorge du Loup - the Wolves Throat - which yielded me another 50 extra heightmeters. But after that I decided to stay on the track. My legs were beginning to make themselves feel and I wasn't even half way. Some good stuff into Chaumont Gistoux and I took a break on top of the first 'impossible' climb. I made it, the track was steep but offered very good traction. I made some pictures, had a bite to eat and set forth on the remainder of the trail.I had been noticing markings indicating 'Challenge du Brabant Wallon' and I was wondering what that was and when it was going to pass here. Might have already taken place. In this part of Brabant Walloon they are not very strict in imposing removal rules for markings of organised rides. If you place a marker in the Flemish part of Brabant, you need to remove it within 24 hours after the event, otherwise they may refuse you passage the next year. In Brabant Walloon I stumbled upon the markings of the Archennes ride "Boucle des 5 Rivieres' which took place last sunday. If I chose to I could have done the entire ride, I am pretty sure none of the markings have been removed -yet. Oh I did do an extra loop coming out of the Bois de Chaumont and riding up towards Aftia. An extra climb - obviously - and then the trail took me down again towards the river 'Le Train' and back up and down towards Bonlez. My legs felt refreshed after the break but they began to make themselves feel again. The Accro Bike is a relentless succession of climbs and descents, very tough and demanding a high level of concentration. The downhill next to the Golf Course in Bercuit was too steep and too tricky so I walked a few metres. A long climb followed up to the 2 Chapels in the Bois des Neulettes. This is Wavre and also the furthest west the trail will go. Under the N 25 and again another 'impossible climb' in the Bois du Tour. Which again I was able to ride completely - with an audience of 3 Enduro Bikers who waited patiently until I cleared the narrow and steep gully. Thanks guys ! back under the N25 through a tunnel and then, instead of going all the way down into Dion Le Val, I turned a sharp left back towards the N25 for another climb. Just before reaching the N25 again, I took a right and descended along a nice singletrack that lead to a field road leading into Dion Le Val. Now I only needed to clear 2 more climbs. Just before entering Grez Doiceau again I passed the 1000 heightmeter mark on my Garmin. I later checked and it seems this version of the Accro Bike 54 lasted 56K and yielded me 900 heightmeters. Not bad. The ride back home was tough, because my legs and lower back were really tired now and I still had to clear two tough climbs. The first one out of Archennes towards Bossut. I took the sandy trail, very difficult but again somehow I managed to complete the whole climb. Dropping into Nethen after that I had another steep climb - this one on tarmac - waiting to take me towards La Trace and into the Meerdael Forest. There I took the Kromme Dreef towards the Prosperdreef which I followed all the way back into Blanden. In all I had a very rewarding but very tough ride. I was pleased to see my average speed was nearly 17kph with an average heartrate of 133bpm. The forecast for tomorrow looks rainy so I am glad I did this ride today. For those who want to give the Accro Bike 56K a try, I uploaded todays gos track to Motionbased.Ride Stats : 81K and 1170/1181 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h48minsGPS track of the Accro Bike section on Motionbased : CLICK1496/12260
07-03-2009, 18:14 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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