After having ridden the excellent - technical, beautiful scenery, masses of heightmeters - O2 Bikers roadbook of Nonceveux last year, I kept my eye open for similar pearls . When I saw the Polleur roadbook in the April 2009 issue I didn't have to think twice. I wanted to ride it, asap. I know the region between Remouchamps, Banneux, Verviers, Theux and Spa pretty well and I haven't been disappointed when riding there. The area is very beautiful, the valleys are deep and lush with big forests and fields vying for every bikers' attention. The region is also very Ardennesque, with rocks and roots galore and a plethora of steep and technical ascents/descents.  Furthermore, this roadbook descents towards the river Hoegne, known to me from my Longest Downhill adventures. And recently also by riding the Verviers World marathon Championship tracks. In short, I wanted to go. The weather forecast called for dry weather but with increasing thunderstorm possibilities in the late afternoon. After having checked Meteox this morning and seeing not a menacing cloud within a couple of 100 kilometers I rode my car to Polleur.
Around 10am I parked the red Mazda in front of the librairie de Polleur, straight across the church. This church is a bit special, I already mentioned this in my Verviers blog entry, but for those who are new here, just check out the rotation in the roof.
After 15 minutes I was on my bike and already riding uphill. The track quickly descents towards Neufmarteau where I meet the river Hoegne. The trails are wet, this added a couple of points on the difficulty scale. It is utopic to expect an Ardennes ride to be dry, but the less water the better. They call this area 'l'Ardenne Bleu', and I'm sure the Blue stands for water. I asked the locals and they said they had a big thunderstorm 2 days ago. Ceci explique Cela.. This explains that.
The first couple of climbs have me looking for a good rhythm. I have stopped taking the Aerius hayfever pills last week and I'm not feeling too well. Still, I'm persistent I might not need them anymore. We'll see. The tracks are difficult, wet, rocky, steep and demanding . Yip, thats the way I like them. My pace is slow but I'm enjoying every minute of it. Slowly I crawl out of the forest for a bit of field before descending towards Surister. Then a long drop back towards the river Hoegne. Tricky and the wet rocks demand the utmost of my concentration. But I am determined to ride it all and amazingly, I make it.

Into Royompré and then a beautiful singletrack ondulating high above the Hoegne towards the Croupets du Moulin. A tough one, wet and rooty and the drop on the left doesn't look very forgiving. A fallen tree has me climb over it, bike in hand. Another long climb leads me through the Bois de Rassouster. Dropping back towards Royompré, crossing the N629 and I have to walk the first couple of meters of the following climb. Too rocky, too wet. After a while I leave the forest and follow a narrow singletrack towards Les Bansions. When I arrive on a bigger trail I take some time to eat. The next couple of kilometers are a bit easier along the Bois des Gattes but with a nasty descent - rocky and wet - at Le Sarpey before reaching Polleur again. Here the trail merges with the Red Theux route and climbs into the majestic Bois de Staneu. The trail crosses deep under the E42 bridge and then follows a track parallel to the Red route. This track is the most difficult of the day, actually riding in a rivulet, its bed riddled with rocks. The Moots has to work hard here, and its rider even harder, the wheels keep slipping, bumping against rocks, process is slow but steady. This bike was made for this. The trail then descents towards the road leading from Polleur to Theux, but just before reaching it you have to take a sharp left and brace yourself. A steep climb follows. I made it but it cost me a lot of energy. Then follows a wet section, lots of puddles, as the trail remains on the same heightline for a while . It drops back down again, turns to the left again and the biggest baddest of climbs follows. I admit, I didn't make it this time. I did when riding the Red last year with the Merlin, but the trail was dry then. It was wet now and the big rocks make every mistake a bad one. About halfway to the top my rear wheel slipped and I didn't have the strength or speed to correct it. OK, walk this way. After a while the slope became less steep and I could ride on. The trail is then dropping for the last time towards the road heading to Theux. Normally the roadbook follows this tarmac road into Theux but I decided to add another climb following the Red route upwards towards Rainonfosse. Then I zoom back down into Theux.

Next target was the Chateau de Franchimont. I had spotted it already a couple of times when riding in the Bois de Staneu but now I was at the bottom of the climb leading up to it. You have 2 options, one is 1350 metres long , the other 350 metres. No points for guessing which one I took. The hill was short and steep. 32% to be precise. Luckily it was also dry so I made it without too much difficulty. After having stopped to take some pictures I started on the last 7 kilometres leading me towards the top of the Thier de Polleur, a 26% drop into the town of Polleur where I had to be careful one last time before reaching the end of the roadbook.

A great ride, tough on its own with lots of difficult climbs, nasty descents and technical sections. Even tougher today because of the wet rocks and scattered mud.  Beautiful views though and very rewarding for the biker that takes up the glove.

Ride Stats : 36K and 790/820 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h38mins

Hill Factor: 22
GPS Track on Motionbased : CLICK

3550/33405

21-05-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

17-05-2009, 21:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

It was dry but cloudy and a lot of wind was blowing from westerly directions when I rode out this saturday morning. I wanted to follow some yellow arrows on blue fields which I saw earlier this week so I set out through the Weertse Dreef to catch up with them in Sint Joris Weert. As soon as I got out of Meerdael Forest I noticed the strength of the wind and I was thinking this ride might get tougher than I had anticipated. The trail went over Nethen towards Hamme Mille and Beauvechain and then turned towards La Bruyere and moved up into the direction of Pietrebais. In the plains next to the Beauvechain Military Airspace the wind blew straight into my face.I also noticed that the clouds in the direction of Leuven were getting darker very fast. When I arrived at the crossroads between the N51 and the N91 I decided to abandon my arrows and head back to Hamme Mille.

From there I added another loop back over Nethen , Sint Joris Weert and past the Zoete Waters towards Oud-Heverlee and Heverlee to finish in a light drizzle. With just a little more than 2 hours I wasn't completely satisfied with the ride but in the given circumstances I think I did OK.

Ride Stats : 48.5K and 305/291 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h05mins

3465/32320

16-05-2009, 15:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today rain was forecast so I  was surprised that it stayed dry until 4pm wgen I decided to ride out for a quick dash along the Meerdael BLOSO routes. I started out on the Moots and commenced my ride with the Green route. There was a faint hint of dark clouds on the western horizon. I had seen on meteox.be that there was intense rain over Brussels but thought I would be safe for at least a couple of hours before things could get dangerous over here. And indeed things were going fine during the first bit of the ride - tracks were dry or slightly moist at the worst and my legs felt rather surprisingly good after yesterdays' fast ride - when all of a sudden - an hour into the ride -  I noticed I couldn't shift on the big ring in front. Uh-oh, whazzup ? I stopped to check, half expecting a branch or small stone to block the passage of the derailleur cage, when I noticed that the XTR cable had split in half, thereby losing a lot of its tension.

This was the cause that I could only shift on the middle and small ring. Fearing that the thing might snap completely  I aborted the ride and headed home. I can't complain about this cable , its been on the bike since its inception, in 2003, making this its 6th year !
When I arrived home I noticed big clouds gathering over Brussels and Leuven, so in a way it was a lucky snap. A bit later a thunderstorm arrived and things got wet outside very quickly.


Ride Stats : 23.5K and 155 heightmeters in 1h06mins

3416/32015

14-05-2009, 19:24 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

13-05-2009, 21:43 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

As expected I felt too tired to ride this morning, so I decided to stay at home and focus on getting my PC fixxed. I rode over to my friend Frank who was going to take a look at it. Pending the arrival of a new laptop I hope he can find what is wrong with it so I can get on with editing the pictures I took in Houffalize last weekend. I did manage to get a batch done  - in between various XP Blue Screens - and have already uploaded them to my Fotopic site. Take a look only if you are interested in watching women on bikes.
Then when evening came I felt like riding out, so I took the Merlin. It seemed like a good opportunity to check out the latest configuration changes - a Van Nicholas titanium handlebar and an SLR saddle I replaced the Xesco one with. The saddle suits me better than the old one. Obviously the handlebar - like the rest of the bike - performed flawslessly. I took it for a little spin in Meerdael forest and even though I felt tired I couldn't resist tackling a couple of tough hills and tricky downhills. The bike allowed me to ride it all and even kept my heartrate low and average speed high. I took it to the Wishing Well to have a couple of pictures taken.

The next couple of days I am going to do some road riding though, to build off a bit and allow the body to catch up with less strenuous rides.

Ride Stats : 21.5K and 295 heightmeters in 1h14mins

3341/31490

10-05-2009, 20:59 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Normally I would have gone to the Ardennes today but due to the rain forecast over those regions I decided to stay closer to home and have an Ardennes-like experience by riding my secret Meerdael loop one more time. This is a loop that takes in a LOT of singletracks and has some mean and nasty climbing in it as well. Its a tough ride and deciding to do this one today, meant the same as deciding to do my major ride of the weekend today. I don't think I will want to do much tomorrow bike-wise. Pity because I wouldn't have minded going to Esneux for the organised ride.
But - carpe diem being my motto these days - today the sun shone and so I rode out on my trails. Obviously I can't tell you where I went - its a secret remember - but it comprises a lot of the Meerdael Forest, concentrating on the part of the forest laying east of the Naamsesteenweg during the first 25K , then crossing that Naamsesteenweg and adding a very hilly 35K whilst focussing on the area around Nethen and Sint Joris Weert, with a little escapade into the Beaumont area.

The ride is a little more than 62K and it took me 4 hours to complete it. I stopped along the way to take some pictures, so you might at least recognize some of the spots where I passed. The trails were moist in some areas but dry for the most part. The forest floor is covered with all kinds of tree seeds  - even hiding a puddle here and there - and the first thorns and nettles are pushing their way over some of the narrow and low-traffic singletrails. During the ride I noticed that I had put my front tyre on in the wrong direction after fixxing a puncture last evening. The mountain kings give a lot of grip and made me feel secure. After I noticed the tyre being put on wrong I felt it slipping more - thats psychology for you I guess.

Ride Stats : 62K and 1000/1070 heightmeters in 3h58mins

3319/31195

09-05-2009, 20:33 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Weather is great these days, dry and pretty warm. So when I found some time this evening I decide to take out the Moots to try out its new Continental Mountain King tyres and join the KBC MTB club on their weekly outing. I have been going through a rough patch with my desktop PC these last few days. The thing doesn't want to work for more than 5 to 10 minutes before crashing with the Blue Screen of Death. I need to process the pictures I made at Houffalize (410 pictures / 4.5Gb) and this is taking me forever now. Furthermore I needed to use an old PC to set up an internet connection to keep in contact with the world. Email and blog, uploading GPS and Polar files , uploading pictures.. try it on a Pentium II with a clock speed of 266Mhz and 64Mb of RAM memory. Its a drag I can tell you. So I'm considering getting me a new PC - a notebook for its portability - but I need to make sure it can handle graphical work and heavy picture processing.
So when I rode out it felt good to free my mind and leave all those modern-man troubles behind for a while.

The KBC guys were plentiful and after an initial ride into Meerdael forest I was asked to guide the ride into the finer parts of the big forest. I asked them if they wanted to do some climbing and they didn't mind. So climb we did. The Moots felt smooth and the tyres gave me enormous grip and security both uphill, in turns and on the downhills. I chose some of the finer sections in the Sint Joris Weert and Nethen side of the forest and the heightmeters accumulated fast. I am sure all had a very good workout. Near the end I guided them back on the road towards the starting point in Heverlee and turned in. Looks like my front tyre is losing air slowly - need to keep an eye on that before going to the Ardennes this weekend. The Mountain Kings are of the Pro-tection kind so I didn't think they would flatten on the first outing. But whatever the cause, the loss of air is slow. Perhaps I will just put in a new inner tyre to be sure. Need to see if the loss of air continues over the next few days.

Ride Stats : 38K and 385 heightmeters in 2h02mins

3257/30195

07-05-2009, 23:34 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today was RACE DAY. Got up early, had a very elaborate breakfast and then went to the Press Office to get the World Cup Elite Men and Women entry lists and also the results from saturdays' races. Met a couple of acquaintances from mountainbike.be and also saw Fons Moors and Christophe Meurice from O2 Bikers in the well-filled Press Centre.
I decided to concentrate my efforts on the big downhill/uphill near the Gare des Pompiers in the Rue de La Roche but first I went to the start area to take some stills of the Women before they got underway fro their 3 lap race.  Actually this means 3 and a half laps because they do a short start loop and then a full 3 laps. This amounts to around 25K of tough Houffa racing . When the women were underway I followed Marga Fullana's trainer to the area I had chosen for my pictures. Seemed like Marga was on a roll because she rode in the lead from start to finish. Catherine Pendrel of Canada took second place and China's Ren Chenqyuan took third. Some good performances also of Italian girl Eva Lechner Lisi Osl of Austria. For Full results please consult the UCI website or www.canadiancycling.com which usually offers very good coverage and picture stories.
As for the Men, we had to wait for a couple of hours between the two races but in the meantime I had a look at the Trials area where Kenny Beleay was participating in a demonstration contest. Amazing the feats these riders accomplish on their bikes.
I moved back up the hill for the start of the Mens' race and saw a great race. The Men had to do 5 full laps and the start lap which should amount to 40K of racing. I saw Julien Absalon take a well-earned victory . Belgians' Roel Paulissen took 10th place but the winner of the day must surely be Filip Meirhaeghe.

He rode his last World Cup race today, on the circuit that brought him glory in 2000 and thanked his fans by pulling some nice wheelies and greeting them as he passed us. Thanks Filip for the fine years you gave us.

04-05-2009, 19:26 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another sunny morning saw me ride out just before 10am. Even though the sun was out the first entry into the forest still felt chilly. I decided to do route #6, which is relatively new - new enough not to figure on the map I got from Houffa Bike a couple of years ago. The route starts out along de Rue de La Roche, together with red routes numbers 3 and 4, and the blue number 2. After a couple of climbs and descents the number 6 veers to the right to descent towards the river Ourthe. A very nasty descent as well, wet rocks and a lot of mud along the river. I didn't ride it. Then it crosses the river Ourthe by means of a wooden bridge, and follows the road to La Roche for a brief moment before turning into a great singletrail that turns away to the right and is very steep at its start. It follows the tarmac road for a while - high above it - before turning sharply to the right for a long, steep and steady climb up to the plateau. It then redescents towards a river. As it turns out this is the same descent as the number 2 track uses as a climb. So better be careful, there are bikers ahead. After crossing the river and then taking to the right alongside it, the trail unavoidably has to ascent again. Very steep at first, then a technical passage with roots and rocks - only the best will ride here - and then it continues to climb towards the plateau. A steep descent, a little tarmac section and the track is joined by the number 2. Number 6 goes towards the Tier des Nutons where it meets the XC trails. Here I had to be very convincing towards the official before he agreed I could ride the trail for a short while. Just enough to take me towards the start of the 4X where I could descent towards the road. Some 21K and almost 550 heightmeters. Not bad , the number 6 is certainly the best choice for anyone just having time enough to do one route when in Houffalize.

I had time for another trail so I chose the number 2. Its start was well-known to me, since it follows the number 6 I just did, and the number 3 we did yesterday. A long grueling climb in the sun before joining the plateau. It then calmed down a bit, with trails ondulating up an down but not going to deep to create any problems. But , as the trail veers away from the red number 3 and 4, which take towards the east, the number 2 veers to the west and descents along a very nice track down towards the river Ourthe. Then the long climb follows - climb I descended earlier doing the number 6. 100 heightmeters later I decided to take a break and have something to eat. The trail moves towards Taverneux, where there still was some climbing to do, some on narrow tracks between fields, before dropping into Houffalize.

After the race I took out my D2X to check it out whilst taking some pictures from the Juniors Men and Women World Cup. These pictures will be put online later in my Houffalize picture album.

Ride Stats : 50K and 1130/1106 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h30mins

3219/29810

02-05-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today I had an appointment with a friend from Latvia. She rode over to Houffalize from Brussels and we met up at the Ol'Fosse d'Outh on what looked to become a nice sunny day. The plan was to bike for around 3 hours so I started out on route Number 3. This is a quite difficult route with some nice steep climbs and descents. The first couple of climbs are very steep , and the sun was already out in full force as we were straining on the smallest gears to make the climb. This being my first Ardennes ride I was pleased to be here but also cautious because I had to re-learn a couple of old skills, like riding over roc and roots. Also, the descents demand a lot more concentrating and the uphills are 25-minute affairs instead of the quick 5-10 minute uphills I was used to in my own region. After a while the route joins the number 4 route and things even out a little. My friend had become quite a bit stronger in both uphills and downhills since we last met up for a ride and I was pleased to see that she was enjoying the beautiful landscapes our Ardennes have to offer.

After a while we came to the route number 5 and we decided to follow that back to Houffalize , adding 15K to our ride. The number 5 keeps ondulating nicely up and down the valleys and with some singletracks here and there was also demanding of our technical skills. Near the end the constant succesion of hills became to take their toll, the legs were starting to feel it !
The tracks weren't exactly what you would call 'dry' but then no ride in the Ardennes ever is. But on the whole things worked out very well, all mud holes were contourable and except for one spot near the end we could ride everything. When we dropped back into Houffalize we went over to the Press area for me to pick up my press card for the World Cup Event. After the ride we strolled along in Houffalize and enjoyed the nice sunshine even more.

We took a good long look at the 4X track, amazing ourselves with the ease with which these guys take all the jumps. It looks easy, but it certainly is not. She also wanted to look at the Ol' Fosse d'Outhe descent and the one at the Caserne des Pompiers. The new section over the roots near the hotel Ol' Fosse d'Outh will certainly see it share of accidents during the races. From watching the training sessions, only the best riders will be able to ride this section during the race. The rest will have to walk. Thanks to G. for being around, I had a great ride and we spent some quality time together after the ride. Pity she couldn't be here this sunday, it would certainly have been a great experience for her to see the real MTB pros in action.

Ride Stats : 48K and 915/835 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h19mins

3169/28680

01-05-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Riding up to Houffalize this afternoon to stay there for the long Mountainbike World Cup weekend. The weather was dry, not too warm but fine nevertheless. Arriving at the Ol Fosse d'Outh hotel around 4.30 pm I had ample time to check in and go out for a little ride. A quiet 'mise en jambes' as the French would call it. Although quiet and easy is not exactly what one would expect around Houffalize. The World Cup circus had landed and the first training sessions, both for XC and 4X were under way. On the road to La Roche the riders dropping down the 4X track jumped over the tarmac to a finish. I had to walk my bike around the finishing area to be able to continue my road towards La Roche. The long climb into Mormont and to the plateau behind it were taken relaxed, on a low gear to save my legs. On the plateau I turned left towards Nisramont. A downhill took me back to the river Ourthe.

I left the Nisramont barrage for another day and continued on the other border of the Ourthe for the climb back out of its valley. When I reached the little village of Nisramont I had 18K and already a solid 280 heightmeters on my counters. So I turned my bike around and continued along the same way I had come, back towards Houffalize. The 4X had finished and I only encountered some XC riders, taking an easy training session on the road, some alone, some in groups of up to 20 bikers. Back I the hotel I changed my bikes' wheels for the knobby kind, since I am planning an offroad ride tomorrow. I will try to combine 2 of the marked routes.This little report was typed on the Ol'Fosse d'Outh rent-a-pc internet connection. Not sure if I will be able to use it again tomorrow. This evening all is pretty quiet here but I'm guessing it will become more hectic by tomorrow. Signing off.... 

Ride Stats : 37.5K and 475/508 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h45mins

3121/27765

30-04-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

26-04-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Rain forecast for tomorrow so I had to make the best of today. I set out for another ride along the Meerdael BLOSO routes, this time in the right direction and with the Moots YBB. From the onset I noticed that my tire pressure was a bit too much but it took me until 30K into the ride to lower it a bit. The Magura Durin SL was at 60psi but I decided to lower it to 50psi for the next ride because it felt a bit harsh and did not use more than 6cm of it travel, which - with the big bumps I subjected it too, seemed a bit too little. I include some pictures, taken from the same angles as the ones of the Litespeed 2 days ago. The XTR rear derailleur on my Moots is the oldest I have in use. It's a medium cage low normal one from 1999, so its indeed 10 years old. And in case you were wondering its still going like a charm. So is the XTR crankset, which also dates from 1999 when I mounted it on my CAAD4. Its using its 3rd Bottom Bracket now but for the rest its still going strong. The fork obviously is a new one I purchased this year.

The ride took me along the BLOSO routes but I made a detour to check out the Dikke Eik and try to locate the tall tree in its vicinity. I came close and I know now exactly where it stands on the GPS map. One of these days I will walk over and try to take some pictures. For now it eluded me but it offered me an extra - slow - loop in and around the edge of Meerdael forest. Nevertheless the legs felt good and I had a very good ride, except for the tyres which felt harsh but I fixxed that some 25K from the end. I immediately felt the difference, the comfort was a lot better and the bike felt less springy. I think the tyre pressure in the 2.2 Nobby Nic in front and the 2.2 Nokian NBX Lite in the rear must have been around 2 bars, which seems like not a lot in theory but in practice I feel best with tyre pressures around 2 bars. They offer good grip without becoming too vulnerable to snakebites. On smaller tyres I would be more hesitant to drop the pressure that low but on 2.2 inchers 2 bars is fine. I received a pair of Continental Mountain Kings today (the 2.2 Protec versions) which I will try out soon. I have heard a lot of good things about these tyres.

Ride Stats : 57.5K and 545/559 heightmeters in 2h40mins

3053/26935

24-04-2009, 21:13 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today I wanted to ride in the forest and I chose to do the 3 Meerdael BLOSO routes, but in the reverse direction. Starting out with the Red, then the Blue and finish with the Green. I mounted bigger tyres on my Litespeed this time - 2.2 inch Big Jims - and the comfort was a lot better.  I will switch to my summer bikes - the Moots and the Merlin - soon except when the conditions are really muddy. The Fox fork on the Litespeed was a good move. The fork is a lot stiffer than the 2001 SID SL and makes the Litespeed follow exactly the track it is sent in. The lateral stiffness also pays when negotiating tight turns in singletrails. After 5 or 6 years on this bike I am amazed that the Goldtec chainrings are still going strong. I only use the 46 and 26 tooth items - the 36 tooth did not match well with the 12-34 cassette I prefer to use - but still, after all these years, these rings have served me well and have payed themselves back longtime already. The XTR rear derailleur almost packed it in a few days ago when it met a bicycle spoke that somehow managed to wring itself between its cage and the rear wheel. Any lesser derailleur would have been destroyed but the XTR just demanded a little re-adjusting and its good to go for another 9 years.

The forest trails today were mostly dry though and hard and I made good speed. I stopped earlier on to try some stuff with my camera, which resulted in a couple of nearly-standing-still self portraits and some failures as well. 10 seconds is not a lot in which to strike a pose. When I passed on the fields in Hamme Mille I made another picture of the tall tree standing out in the valley where the Dikke Eik stands. I wasn't convinced that this was the Dikke Eik, since I noticed earlier this year that this tree isn't really much higher than the rest of the oaks around it. When I passed the forestry house and I noticed the Forester and his family sitting outside - enjoying the early evening sunshine - I decided to ask him about the tree. Turned out my suspiscion was correct. The tall tree is in fact some kind of poplar tree , that stands 5 to 10 metres higher than the surrounding oaks. This tree is situated some 50 metres from the Dikke Eik. He also mentioned the latin name of the tall tree - I think he called it populus tremula but it might have been another populus alltogether - and told me the Dikke Eik - which is an oak - is guessed to be between 300 and 350 years old and it got struck by lightning at least once in its long life. Below is a picture I took of it today, you can see another picture I took earlier this year HERE

After those words of wisdom I continued my ride. I got a very good average speed without going high in heartrate which usually means my condition is getting to be good. The legs felt good as well even though I did fall - over a molehill hidden in some tall grass whilst almost standing still - but with no ill effects. Near the end of the ride , on the flatter Green trails - I could keep my chain on the big ring most of the time. Here are a couple of pictures taken during the ride.

Ride Stats : 53.5K and 495/501 heightmeters in 2h33mins

2996/26390

22-04-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

When O2 Bikers, the Belgian mountain bike magazine published their roadbook starting in Grez Doiceau, I was eager to try it out. And I did on several occasions, the last time on January the 31st. I liked it from the start, only a couple of sections were really bad when it was wet. But I also understood that with only 36K in length and about 600 heightmeters, it begged me to more manly version of it, especially with my knowledge of the area around Grez-Doiceau and Chaumont Gistoux.
So when MissJuJu asked me to lead a ride in the area I started to work with Garmin Mapsource to elaborate on the basic O2 Bikers loop and add 'a couple' of climbs and other interesting sections. The plan was to ride this loop on Easter Monday but I was not fit on that day so it had to wait. Until today.
This would give me a good opportunity to check out the loop and see if it would stick. Well, it did, It proved to be pretty spicey and I was glad to see Grez Doiceau  again at the end of 3h39mins of relentless tracks and trails. The trails were fine, except for a few areas which were a bit muddy, I especially remember two steep climbs where my skinny Nobby Nics 1.8s had all the trouble in the world to find traction. But they did and I made both climbs. One section is too steep to ride, and I am looking for an alternative but haven't found any consistent one up till now. In the end I had nearly 56K on the loop and a nice 910 heighmeters. If I feel naughty I might add another climb near the end to make it an even 1000 but we'll see how the conditions will be. I took a lot of pictures along the way to convey some of the beauty of the spring landscapes and the trails I was riding on today. Hope you enjoy them.

Ride Stats : 79K and 1090/1090 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 04h34mins

2942/25895

20-04-2009, 18:52 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

After a day of continuous rain this morning saw a drenched landscape wake up under fog and temperatures around 10 degrees C. There was no more rain forecast - at least not for this part of Belgium - so I decided to ride out for a long road ride. I started following some arrows that passed in front of my house and they led me through Meerdael Forest, Sint Joris Weert, Neerijse and Leefdaal towards Vossem. Here they seemed to end. I rode through the Tervuren park, its ponds still under a shroud of mist but the sun was making an effort to pierce through the low-clouds layer. Rode on towards Hoeilaart and from there towards Maleizen. I was on a relatively slow pace but I couldn't resist incorporating some climbs along the way. Especially around Hoeilaart and later when I descended into Genval I was being served with steep tarmac sections. When I reached the Lac de Genval the sun came through the clouds and the temperatures began to rise a couple of degrees. Climbing towards Rixensart and dropping down into Rosieres I rode towards Tombeek and the Wavre industrial parc Noir Epine. Then the track lead me into Ottenburg , Eerken and Pecrot before reaching Nethen and Hamme Mille to complete my ride. The legs felt surprisingly good on the climbs and with the sun coming out it was a nice ride with a surprisingly high amount of heightmeters.

Ride Stats : 77K and 730/746 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h27mins

2863/24805

18-04-2009, 15:54 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Had to wait for a thunderstorm to blow past meerdael forest, only a few drops falling - OK it was more than a few drops but with temps in the low 20 degrees C after it stopped rained things dried out very quickly. First I didn't want to go out, preparing my Crossmax SL wheel to be examined by the wheel doctor - think it will be terminal though - but then I said to myself ; what the heck, get your bum in gear and go out there. Tomorrow rain is forecast and now the trails are still perfect.
So out I went. I rode to where I left my Secret Meerdael Loop yesterday and got on with the remaining third of that 65K/1000 heightmeters extravaganza. Climbing constantly over ridges and dropping down on the other side again this is one tough loop. I found another loop I could add when I rode around the Beaumont hill in Pecrot. Great, another 50 heightmeters . I saw some menacing clouds again but couldn't hear any rumble of distant thunder so I rode on. Near the end of the ride things got serious when it started raining and thunder and lightning caught up with me. I managed to get out of the forest before the real thunderstorm was over it but just like two hours before, it didn't really strike Meerdael forest, just moved around it.  The last kilometer it was raining though so I got a bit wet. Another 400 heightmeters added under my belt with a slightly longer distance than yesterday. Saw some roedeer again, life can be good. I was lucky to have my GPS with me when I was on a new track which turned out to be a cul-de-sac. On my GPS I saw a road parallel to the one I was on, I only needed to cross a little ravine. All went well, even though the forest was filled with fallen trees due to heavy forestry works. One advantage of having a light bike is that is easy to carry around. Keep the rubber side down.

Ride Stats : 25.5K and 395/413 heightmeters in 1h41mins

2787/24075

15-04-2009, 20:57 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This evening saw a warm and sunny climate so I felt like riding into Meerdael forest and just do some easy riding and climbing along my Secret Meerdael loop. The forest this time of year is at its most accessible. There isn't any foliage in the trees yet so the light that reaches the forest floor is unfiltered, clear and bright, exposing myriads of white flowers and all details of the forest to the watchful eye. The topography of terrain is easily overviewed , no leaves on the various brushes either and I spotted several roedeer during my ride. I did the second third of my loop - the intense climbing part between the Warande and the climb along the Savenel wall. When I reached that wall I heard the distant rumble of thunder and I decided to call it a day. The sun - which shone brightly during the first hour of the ride - had been obscured by clouds for quite a while and the clouds were getting distinctly more dark and menacing. Nevertheless I got a solid 400 heightmeters in without having to strain myself. I just shifted on the granny gear in front and pedalled easy during the multitude of climbs. The downhills were a joy because the trails were perfectly dry and offering good grip both in the corners and during the steep downhill sections. What a beautiful way to enjoy mountainbiking.

Ride Stats : 23.5K and 400/409 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h31mins

2761/23680

14-04-2009, 20:26 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Normally I would have been on Accro Bike trails today but yesterday I had a bit of a sore feeling in my lower back so I thought it best not to risk anything. This morning I felt nothing of the expected soreness so against 11am I decided to ride out anyway. Nothing too easy but also nothing too difficult. So the Overijse Bloso's come to mind. Obviously I wouldn't ride them in the normal direction but decided to ride them in the counterdirection of the arrows. There was a big manifestation in Meerdael involving horses and carriages so the Weertse Dreef was closed for all traffic except cyclists, walkers and horses. Great, that is the way it should remain. This road is used by a lot of people to sneak from Wavre to the Haasrode industry area, and it is not made for that. I would be pleased if they closed it up for all motorised traffic once and for all.

In and around Ottenburg there were a lot of walkers about which made me choose some other trails from time to time. I felt OK but keeping in mind what I felt yesterday I did not seek the extreme challenges today. Nevertheless I ended up all of the steep climbs , both off and on the Overijse trail , and having no trouble at all .
Well , that is not exactly correct because my rear derailleur gave me some trouble. When passing a couple of walkers I had to seek the border of the trail and there I picked up an old and rusty bicycle spoke. This lodged itself solid between the cage of my rear derailleur and my wheel. Causing the chain to jump and as I would notice later, also caused a dent in the wheel and when shifting to the biggest ring on the cassette my chain would jump over the ring and lodge itself between the cassette and the spokes. NOT a good thing. I tried fiddling a bit with the derailleur arm - which must have had a thud - but in the end decided not to use the upper gear, instead changing to the small ring in front more often. Since the rear derailleur also was uneasy on the smaller cassette cogs I added a bit of tension to the cable and that seemed to help. Also shifting up to the biggest cog went without a problem after that. The only thing I needed to do was to loosen my v-brake a bit because of the dent in the rear wheel. I need to get that wheel checked this week.
Other than that the ride was fine. Around noon the sun broke through and the temperatures became a pleasant 17 degrees C. The trails were surprisingly dry around Overijse and only when I returned towards Meerdael Forest did I see some more mud puddles. Obviously still remnants of last fridays' thunderstorm.

Ride Stats : 57K and 780/745 heightmeters in 3h07mins

2738/23280

13-04-2009, 16:06 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf