The weather was uncertain for the Ardennes, possibilities of rain, so I decided to stay home and do a bit of exploring along the Overijse '2 Valleys' BLOSO route. This route basically interconnects the valley of the river Lane to the valley of the river Ijse. A nice route as well, with some tecnical bits and a trail that keeps ondulating up and down, in and out of the valleys of the aformentioned rivers. Obviously, with a little bit of terrain knowledge and a good GPS it is not difficult to construct a more 'manly' version of this track. Adding a couple of loops to take in a couple of extra climbs, singletracks or descents quickly turns this ride into a real challenge. The bike performed well, flawless actually and my legs were good as well. So basically I had a great ride. The sun did come out every now and then but the average temperature was a measly 16 degrees C.

When I returned towards Meerdael forest I added another little loop into this forest, meeting two roedeer along the way. The tracks were dry and dusty and the wind was blowing quite noticeably from the north.

Ride Stats : 64K and 915/975 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h40mins

4065/39390

06-06-2009, 14:48 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Felt rested today so I decided to take the Moots out on a spin along my Meerdael Loop. I decided on the last part of it, riding it in the opposite direction. This makes for a completely different loop, turning all the climbs into descents and vice versa. Needless to say, the loop was pretty intense heightmeter-wise but I rode it very relaxed and with an easy pace. The tracks were very dry and it feels like a bit of rain wouldn't hurt the forest. Lets just hope it doesn't rain too much because when it rains in Belgium it usually tends to be overdone. I had a new rear shifter cable mounted by Filip Sport the other day and the shifting was flawless now. If the weather says relatively calm during the next few days I might venture towards the Ardennes again during the weekend.

Ride Stats: 27.5K and 435/445 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h50mins

4000/38475

04-06-2009, 19:26 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

It took the sun a little while before she broke through the clouds but around noon I took off for an easy recovery ride. My legs didn't feel too bad after last weekend but I chose not to overdo it, and enjoy the beautiful Brabant Walloon landscapes. An F16 from nearby 1St Wing Airbase was doing all kinds of movements in the sky - probably training for the upcoming show of the 21st of July, Belgian National Independence Day - and I stopped a while to look in awe to the grace and power of the aircraft. The sound was deafening at times .

02-06-2009, 22:10 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I wanted to do a long ride today, so I chose to ride the Merlin to 7 Fontaines in Dworp, where I could start a roadbook I found on utagawa.com. This roadbook looked promising with 36K and 749 heightmeters in the Hallerbos and Braine-Le-Chateau area. From past experiences I knew the Hallerbos could provide a lot of heightmeters on a short distance but I was a bit sceptical on the total. Well, lets find out shall we?
Riding towards the Hallerbos from Meerdael can roughly be divided into 3 sections, the first being the ride towards Duisburg and the entry of the Sonian Forest, the second being the ride through the Sonian forest and the third part the ride through Sint Genesius Rode and Dworp towards the lakes of the 7 Fontaines area. When I arrived I switched my Edge 705 to course mode and set out along the roadbook. The first couple of K's were very familiar of earlier rides I've done here. Riding around the lake and then entering a small singletrack which leads along the edge of a field towards a long climb into the Hallerbos. Reaching the Hallerbos I had a bit of difficulty with the GPS not being able to follow the course anymore. The track passes twice at this area, perhaps that was the reason. Oh well, I could still see the track on my map so I continued following that. A nice ondulating passage in the forest and some steep descents and ascents before leaving the forest to cross the R0 highway. The track than follows a bit of tarmac before turning into a nice singletrack zooming down into the outskirts of Braine Le Chateau.
 

01-06-2009, 20:54 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

It looked like another sunny day this morning but instead of going offroad again I opted for a recovery ride on the streets. So I took the Hilset out for a spin along the Haasrode Tour. This is a marked route from a couple of years ago that meanders gently over Haasrode, Bierbeek, Neervelp, Willebringen, Oirbeel and Hoksem towards the Hoegaarden region. Here it goes further towards l'Ecluse , Beauvechain and Pietrebais. Before arriving at Pietrebais I opted to ride home because I didn't want to ride more today.

I took my time along the way to take some pictures of the Sint Katharina Chapel in Hauthem, in the neighborhood of Hoegaarden and the Starfighter F104 which stands on display in front of the 1st Wing Airbase in Beauvechain. I also came across a strange and dangerous situation in the Haasrode Research park area. A pole in the middle of the biking lane, surely that is asking for troubles.

Ride Stats : 53.5K and 395/388 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h26mins

3819/36570

31-05-2009, 14:36 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

When rising I found the sun out, and a beautiful day was announcing itself. Temperatures in the low 20-ies and a stiff breeze to keep things from getting too hot. Great day for a ride.
So I rode the red Mazda to Harzé, a little town not far from Aywaille, in the province of Liege in our Belgian Ardennes. An hour later I was setting up the Merlin for the start of the roadbook I was going to ride. I got it from the O2 Bikers website. Upon checking the trace and given the beautiful area, I didn't hesitate to select this ride for a closer inspection. Directly from the beginning, the tone was set. A steep singletrack leading away from Harze. I had to select the small ring in front, it wouldn't be the last time today, to cope with the hill. My heartrate went up in the 140-ies , the bike's suspension was moving gently beneath me, life was good. A short rest on some flatter terrain upon reaching the top of the ascent, and then the trail disappeared into a dark forest. Upon reaching the Bois du Pouhon the drop downhill in the dense forest was a technical one, to the point of being unrideable at certain stages. Too many rocks, mud and some water flowing on the track forced me to walk for a couple of times. When the descent got better I rode again, and emerged at the St Anne's chapel near a small town called Paradis. A very steep and long ascent on tarmac brought me back to the 400 metre mark and into another forest. I was nearing the E25 which I undercrossed by means of a dark and flooded tunnel. The bike got a good wash and the first couple of braking sections had my front brake squealing. When the forest cleared out I could see the Ambleve valley to the right of me, with the green hills on the other side reminding me of some great rides starting in Theux and leading down into the Ninglinspo valley.
But today I was on the other side of the Ambleve and a big downhill was slowly announcing itself. Some sections were very ride-able but others were dark, wet and muddy. During the last parts of the descent I follow a little rivulet, the Fagne Naze which leads me to the borders of the river Ambleve.

Here I am at the lowest point of todays ride - 183metres - and this means one thing, I have got to climb! And what a climb it is . After having taken a wrong turn into a private forest - GPS reception is very bad in these narrow valleys - I find the right track which will lead me back up the hill. A long climb with more than 200 heightmeters in one go. Not too steep so the chain can remain on the middle ring while I enjoy the soft sounds of the forest - some small rivers babbling to my right, every now and then I hear some animals making noises while they run away from me - and the sound of my tyres on the rocky road. Upon reaching the top I follow some tarmac for a while which is a welcome recuperation point. Then the road becomes a track again and I zoom downhill into the Bois d'Aywaille. A sharp turn to the left and I am on a trail that is also used in the O2 Bikers roadbook of Nonceveux, which I did last year. The thought of combining these two roadbooks crosses my mind. But with 75K and more than 2000 heightmeters that will be quite a challenge. Perhaps something for the Summer or the beginning of Autumn.

For now I have to remain vigilant because after undercrossing the N25 again, yes, though another dark and wet tunnel, the track becomes technical again with a rocky downhill into Kin. A small girl on a bike joins me when I ride though this small village before turning away into a steep singletrack that leads me along a barbed-wired field. The track is very difficult with roots and rocks and the thought of the barbed wire on my left makes it more difficult still. But i make it and the next forest awaits me. A great passage with a downhill into La Bordai that makes me happy I got the Merlin for this ride. Rocks, ruts and the occasional puddle keep things interesting. After a 180 to the left the trails goes upwards again along a small track, so small that the nettles have a feast on my legs and arms. Ouch. Another river crossing and I'm getting a glimpse of Harze to the left. After a last bit of forest track I come upon tarmac which leads me back to the starting point.
This was a great ride, some bits were very (too! ) technical and there are some tarmac passages which do come handy because they allow some recuperation. There is water everywhere in these areas and I wouldn't recommend these trails after a heavy downpour. It has been a couple of days since the last rain but I could still see a lot of mud and puddles. Most of them can be avoided but at times you have to walk a small section. Especially the downhill leading towards the Chapelle St Anne will be too much for most of us mere mortals. The risk of falling when attempting to ride it is great. The trails moves in and out of forests all the time but the sun can burn here, so take precautions when riding these trails in spring or summer. A full suspension bike is to be recommended but of course a hardtail will also do the job , it will put more strain on its rider though. I didn't really feel tired after this ride and I contribute this for the biggest part to my Merlin Works 4.0 bike which just seems to float over the trails.

Ride Stats : 40,5K and 910/920 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h50mins

Hill Factor : 22,7
GPS track on Motionbased : CLICK

3766/36175

30-05-2009, 20:19 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Got out of bed and with the sun out my mind was quickly made up. I would ride to Wavre for the 7th edition of the 'Randonnee de l'Athenee', which is organised by one of the local schools. I know from past experiences that this is a great ride. And this year I was set to do the 55K. With the 18K distance between my home and the start this would yield me around 90K of biking. More than enough for this mere mortal.

The Ride

Paid 4€ at the start, whilst my bike was being kept in the bike park, safe . The start of the ride was quite a blast for the legs. After a couple of K's to get out of Wavre city the first climb led us up a long, at times very steep hollow road. The first bikers were on foot, I just put it on the 26 in front and gritted my teeth. I would ride this hill. And so I did, and the next one, which, after a quick descent led us back up the same hill again. Already a first split from the other distances - 15, 30 and 40 - for this second hill. Yes, the fools that chose the longest distance would have something to talk about. Bois de l'Avocht, Bois du Mont, Bois du Menil, in and out of forest and shade the trail took us to the south of Wavre towards neighbouring Limal. There another extra loop took the 55K towards Profondsart and Roffesart. The tracks were beautiful, sometimes singletrails, small tracks between fields, hills too steep to ride, fast downhills, we got it all. And I was loving it. I found a good rhythm after an initial gasp for air and my legs that were protesting against another beating. I have been riding every day for the last 3 days, with my thursday trip to Polleur as a highlight and I could feel my legs were not very fresh. But mind was put over matter and I rode on. I was looking for the first reststop which came after 20K or so, perhaps a bit sooner might have been nice. There was enough to drink, with water and something which tasted like grenadine, and also fruit - bananas, oranges - and some cookies to eat. Drinking was most important because it was really hot in the fields. After the first reststop we had a nice venture into the Bois de Rixensart as we slowly made our way towards Rosieres. Luckily they left out the Bois des Templiers this year. I had been there on a ride a few years ago and it was muddy hell. So far I didn't see a single puddle - and it DID rain last night - so I was quite happy with the trail conditions. A field passage through Champles brought us to a tunnel under the N257. I could see that the bottom of the tunnel was a mud-trap, so I decided to ride over the N257 - very illegal, I see red - which kept my tires dry. The track now turned over "Le Ry" towards the golf course of le "Chateau du Bavette". A passage over private roads with a great downhill zooming next to the greens , then a sharp turn to the left and ... walking up an unsurmountable hill, both due to its steepness as to the wet stones that were forming the path. I saw a figure of 27% later on my GPS. For those interested the GPX track can be downloaded from Motionbased - see below.

The ride now turned towards the north-east of Wavre, the Ottenburg region , but not before we had a 2nd rest stop, along the Bois de Laurensart in the neighborhood of Basse Wavre. The passage through the Bois de Laurensart up the hill towards De Tomme usually is a very wet one, but it was almost completely ride-able today. If you didn't mind going through the puddles you could ride it all the way. At De Tomme the 55 had another extra loop with a downhill going against the Red Overijse route, down into the field and then back up again through the hollow road leading towards the plains. Another steep downhill into the Bois de Laurensart and we joined the 40K again for a drop into Gastuche. Next to Grez Doiceau here so the tracks were very familiar to me. A nice passage through Dion Le Val with a long steady climb up towards the N25, followed by a drop down towards Dion again for the 55K riders. Another long uphill into the "Bois des Neulettes" and we were nearly home. At the end we passed through Basse-Wavre and next to the Racing Jet de Wavre football stadium for an urban intermezzo through narrow paths, leading us back towards the start. The distance was quite a bit more then the announced 55K but I don't think anyone really minded. This was a great ride, on a warm sunny day, along some of the finest paths in the Wavre region. Thanks guys.
At the athenee I met up with the lovely Estér from BigM for a nice little chat before heading home. Was nice to meet you again E. Say hi to Iván for me.

The Lowdown:

What I liked:
+ Great trails, with attention to lesser visited tracks
+ the region and the use they made of what is offered
+ dangerous downhills and road crossings well marked
+ distance splits well marked - before AND after the split
+ arrowing sufficient and very noticeable
+ all this for only 4€
+ emergency number on cards handed out at start
+ bike park with surveillance


What I did not like:
- only 2 rest zones, a 3rd on the 55K would have been welcome.
- rest zones might have been a bit better stocked although offered food and drink was fine.


Ride Stats : 94K and 1155/1201 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 5h3mins30secs
Wavre TT : 57K and 917 heightmeters (Garmin)

GPS Track on Motionbased : CLICK
Map :


3725/35265

24-05-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another sunny day and I was out on my bike for a ride along the 50K Bloso route that starts in Heverlee, next to the sports centre. A lot of climbing in this route but I was going to take it easy and enjoy the sun . The wind was still blowing fiercely out of south-easterly corners but it didn't bother me that much today. In Sint Joris Weert I crossed a couple of mountainbikers and they asked me if I had a pump with me. Of course I always do and they were glad because one of them got a tyre that was losing air slowly. Turns out he was of the same village as me and he recognized me - or rather my bike - from the mountainbike.be forum. Small world. I continued my ride and noted the language border had been marked on the road when leaving Sint Joris Weert and entering Nethen.

Quickly a picture was taken and I continued along Sint Agatha Rode, Ottenburg, Terlanen, Leefdaal, Neerijse and Heverlee for a quiet ride with a good amount of heightmeters. Stopped every once in a while to take some pictures.

Ride Stats : 54K and 500/503 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h20mins

3631/34110

23-05-2009, 14:59 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

22-05-2009, 20:12 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

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