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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 08-02-2008 |
 12+1 |
Wow, an average temperature of 13 degrees for a ride in the beginning of February.. feels weird but why not take advantage of it and get a ride in. So I did. I set out along the Haasrode tour, a road ride going over Haasrode, Bierbeek, Willebringen, Oirbeek and then back over l'Ecluse , La Bruyere and Pietrebais. I cut it short over HammeMille to stop at a little chapel in Nodebais where I go from time to time to say a little prayer.By the time I was back in Meerdaelwoud the temps were already dropping - it is only February after all and I was glad to have gotten a good ride in.Ride Stats : 55K and 395 heightmeters in 2h27mins785/6195
08-02-2008, 17:16 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 07-02-2008 |
| Enchanteur |
So, after a long day at work and some trouble with the Fox RP3 rear suspension unit that wouldn't hold air, I was ready to go out for a first ride with my Merlin Works 4.0 . The thing with the RP3 is that the inner valve easily loosens, preventing a good seal and thus allowing the pressure to escape when you remove the pressure pump. I had the same problem with Rogers' Sewanee when I tested it a few months back. With Rogers' bike I could twist the inner valve enough to fasten it without any tools but this time it wouldn't move . So I had to go to a tyre shop to get a little valve fastener with which to turn the inner valve tight. I promptly put his valve fastener into my toolkit, along with a spare inner valve. This might come handy along the road. I also have a HP pump in my backpack. Suspension forces different rules upon a biker. With the valve troubles over, I put in 100psi, which turned out to be fine for what I had in mind. I set out to the Tienne Vincent in Nethen to give the discbrakes a good bedding in. This climb is about 300 metres long and gives you the opportunity to grab the brakes and bring the bike to a controlled stop. You can do this 4 times per run. This heats up the disc pads, which in turn enables them to bed in with the discs. After 4 runs - and obviously also 4 climbs of the Tienne - I could feel that the 'bite' of the brakes had improved considerably, up to a point where you could lift the back wheel whilst applying the front brake.  
07-02-2008, 19:35 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 06-02-2008 |
| Ain't it fun when you just can't seem to find your tongue? |
"...Cause you stuck it too deep into something that really stung..." Guns 'n Roses singer Axl Rose is screaming away in my MP3 player when I mount my rollers for an hours' ride. I didn't feel like going out the last few days because of the rain and wind . Neither did I care for the rollers. Except today I had enough of doing nothing so I rolled away, listening to the Guns and checking out the lastest O2 Bikers magazine. Tomorrow they predict the return of calmer weather, and dry as well. So I am making plans to go out then. For now I make do with a good steady recovery ride which my legs seem to appreciate very well. I check out the latest prices of bikes and frames. Ouch, the Merlin Works 4.0 frame is priced at nearly 3800 . Unbelievable with the current recess of the dollar. Somebody is making a lot of profit on this. Good thing I got mine last year when it was 700 cheaper .
Come to think about it, it's about time to check out that bike now that the carbon handlebar has been fitted. Maybe tomorrow evening for a position check and also to work in the discbrakes. I know a perfect tarmac hill for this and I can combine it with a little climbing at the same time. Tempting.Ride Stats : 23K in 1h708/5535
06-02-2008, 18:35 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 02-02-2008 |
| Hoeilaart |
Dry but cold weather today, with a wind that was more than noticeable. I rode over to Filip Sport in Hoeilaart to check where he had put my 1999 Crossmax wheels. I have them in for service since last september. One has a torn nipple and the other needs new bearings. Tough luck, Filip wasn't in and Jean-Philippe couldn't tell whether the wheels were ready or not. I will send Filip a mail to remind him. I only need these wheels in the summer months but I'm thinking that if I don't remind him about them they won't be ready in time. The sun was out so I had a pleasant ride - except for the first part with the wind in my face - to Hoeilaart and back. Just a few scattered snowflakes to remind me of the fact that it had been snowing heavily in the Ardennes.. Just check out this webcam on the highest point of Belgium.Ride Stats : 52.5K and 315 heightmeters in 2h20mins653/5025
02-02-2008, 14:53 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 31-01-2008 |
| Whistle |
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There is a fierce stormwind blowing outside and my decision to bike on the rollers is quickly made. I got a mail from people who are actually contemplating to go and ride into the Sonian Forest this evening. I mean, dumb and dumber just lost out on some major candidates. I can only surmise these people have no contact with nature. A forest in a storm can be a scary thing. Before you know it, you get hit by falling wood. Best is to stay out of it alltogether when the wind is blowing with 100kph+ gusts.
Me, I just whistled my way to an easy hour and a half on the rollers, rolling out of january. January saw a difficult start for me, with my nose giving me some trouble, gradually healing when the weeks followed each other. I have made quite a bit of heightmeters, due to the fact that I have prioritized offroad biking instead of onroad riding. This has yielded me a lot of fun but also the return of my better form. I never pushed the issue but I was glad when I saw my morning pulse plunge again under 45bpm, reaching 42bpm last thursday and 43bpm this morning.
Ride Stats: 34K in 1h35mins
601/4710
31-01-2008, 19:38 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 29-01-2008 |
| Overijse |
I received my Race Face XC Next SL handlebar yesterday. It looks very good and with a weight of 136g it's very light for an oversized carbon bar. The combination is 30 grammes lighter than the Morati M-Bar.
Today I met up with my friend Roger and we went for the Overijse Bloso routes. Roger had never done them before and I think he was surprised that they offered some very good interval training capabilities. The track is always going up and down, with some field passages to relax a bit. Roger was riding his new Rocky Mountain full suspension bike - having sold the Sewanee - and I have to say it looks really good but obviously not as sexy as the Sewanee. The weather was calm and cloudy but no wind and a chilly 5 degrees C . The tracks were nearly dry and I had a very good workout. The pace was pleasant yet fast enough to feel it in my legs near the end of the ride.
When I got home I couldn't resist mounting the handlebar and stem combo. This is what it looks like on the bike. Never mind the Chiquita box in the background , it's for our resident monkey.
Ride Stats : 53K and 665 heightmeters in 3h00mins
543/4710
29-01-2008, 17:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 27-01-2008 |
| Out and about. |
Since the TV preferred Tennis to Cyclocross I decided to go out on my bike, and catch the Womens' race afterwards. Went into the forest again because of the fierce wind. I wanted to do something intense so I settled for a hilly ride, a good opportunity to test my legs. The trails were even better than yesterday , offering good grip even on the steepest climbs.
27-01-2008, 16:12 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 26-01-2008 |
| Red Reverse |
I had to manage my time today, because in the PM I must go to work. So I got up at 9am and set out for a ride along the red Meerdael BLOSO, but in the reverse direction. The trails were damp and wet, and the forest was alive with the sounds of chainsaws as the forestry is busy cleaning it out. The smaller tracks are all blocked at one point or another by timber. This will be going on for the next few months and it is an annoying but necessary task. At the end of spring the forest will be cleaned out of all fallen trees and then riding through it will be sheer joy.Still, it wasn't bad today either. I was tempted to stop and have a look around more than once. Got my phone camera out but still I am not happy enough with the results to post a picture. Ok, well here is one for you to check out..
The white balance seems off and with average shutter speeds of 1/30 to 1/60th making a sharp picture is not possible. I really have to make some time to figure out how to improve the camera's settings. I am possibly too critical about my pictures .
But that is the way I look at photography, using a professional Nikon (and being used to the quality that camera produces) it is not easy taking a step back. With my other little Sony - a 3.2 megapixel DSC-P9 - I also get reasonably good pictures so I was expecting at least the same quality with this one. My expectations were obviously too high, or I am not using it correctly. We'll see in the next few weeks when the weather improves (more light ! ) whether I can rely on the phone camera or if I will still have to bring my other Sony along during my rides for the occasional picture.Ride Stats : 26.5K and 280 heightmeters in 1h25mins465.5/3660
26-01-2008, 12:37 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 25-01-2008 |
| Murmurs |
I have been brooding over an Ebay item that I bought last week, and have not yet received .. Ebay.. yeah right. But the buyer has over a 100 positive comments (would anyone go to this much trouble to set up a fake account? ) so I will be patient for a while before taking action.
Have been enjoying my new GSM.. GPRS and 3G , Internet, RSS feeds, MMS, MP3, it's amazing what this beastie can do. Only thing I have to watch is the cost of all those little nice-to-have-options.
This weekend brings the Cyclocross World Championships so I probably won't be able to ride much. Sunday in the AM I want to see the Womens' race and in the PM its the 'Boys from Belgium' against the rest of the World. I wonder how many medals we will bring home.. Never saw such an open contest, with Lars Boom and Francis Mourey the obvious favorites, but I am also expecting Enrico Franzoi, who had a bit of an off-season due to a fall, but he has been living towards this WC - in his home country - for the last few months. So I am counting on him to stir up some dust. From the Belgium side I expect Bart Wellens, who can save his season with a good performance here, and also Sven Nys. Sven has had a little conditional dip - real or fake? - which puts him in an underdog position. I think he likes to be in that position. And Erwin Vervecken is always a force to be reckoned with in Championships.
As far as the Women are concerned, my money is on Hanka Kupfernagel, Marilyne Salvetat and Dutch girls Daphne Vanden Brandt and Marianne Vos. I also hope Belgians Sanne Cant - she is only 17 y/o - Veerle Ingels and Loes Sels can play some role. Outsider for the title is US girl Katie Compton, who has show great form in the beginning of the season. I'm sad to see that Christine [Vardaros] has not been selected. She will be in bad spirits about that. But she has been suffering from a concussion around the turn of the year, that must have broken her rhythm and her chances for a selection. The official full entry list is HERE
Today
saw a cold breeze but out of the wind it wasn't bad at all with around
8 degrees near the end of the day.. Yippee, I went for a long slow distance ride along the
Yse borders - part onroad, part offroad and I really enjoyed myself.
Ride Stats : 36.5K and 250 heightmeters in 1h35
439/3380
25-01-2008, 20:30 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 23-01-2008 |
| Going deep |
A fine day today, and even finer because I had taken the day off from work. It was dry, a bit cloudy and with temps of 7 degrees C and a chilly wind from the south nothing stood in the way of a good training session. I opted for a combination of the 3 Meerdael BLOSO routes, some 53km and 500 heightmeters and not something I would suffer to much on. At least, that was what I thought. The rains had stopped for 2 days now so it was reasonably dry, with the occasional muddy patches though. Caused by horses hooves , jeep tracks , mountainbike tyres and just plain wetness . I always make a little detour around the extremely soggy section next to the E40, I am not in the mood for deepsea diving when I'm on a bike and that particular section is always wet with deep gullies because of the quads and jeeps that keep on passing there in full illegality. May their wheels drop off .I set out on a reasonably easy pace, bearing in mind that the last weeks were not brilliant as far as training kilometers were concerned. The hills seemed steeper than I remembered them, but I made them all, even the very slippery end of the Savenel climb. When your condition is slowly coming back every climb you make is a little victory on its own. Near the end of the ride I began feeling soreness in my neck, shoulders and lower back. Obvious the muscles in those areas have been 'taking it easy' these last few weeks and the have to re-adapt to the higher workload of offroad riding. I tried out my new GSM's camera. I have to read the manual , a shutter time of 1/8 of a second is not really something you can get away with and expect sharp pictures. But I'll get there, don't you worry. Had a nice surprise when I got home, an Epica CD I had ordered last week had been delivered - obviously not by TNT - and I could put it on my phone immediately to enjoy Simone Simons' mezzo soprano voice in combination with goth-rock rhythms.. a divine combination, I can assure you.
Ride Stats : 57K and 535 heightmeters in 3h04mins402/3130
23-01-2008, 15:44 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| Perfect scam? |
Some of you may remember I wrote I would get a GSM. I ordered it at Coolblue company Smartphoneshop.be and after my payment had been received by them last wednesday they arranged for TNT to deliver it at my place.
Last saturday I still didn't receive anything and contacted Coolblue about it. They told me that according to the tracking record TNT had been at my place on thursday and on friday, but they could not deliver the package. Strangely enough there was someone at home the whole day but no courier was seen approching the house. Our place is not the easiest to find, so I thought, OK, they will find it on the third try or in the worst case send the package back to Coolblue.
Then today I checked the tracking record again and it mentioned the package had been delivered ! It even showed a link to a pdf document containing a signed receival slip.
Gasp ! What has happened? "I" didn't sign anything!!
The signature on the receival slip is not mine. I checked with the neighbors, none of them had signed anything or seen a TNT messenger for that matter. Since I saw the tracking record yesterday around 9pm I have not been able to contact either Coolblue or TNT about this.
Seems like a perfect scam so far. Goods cannot be delivered so instead of returning them, signature is faked, goods are "delivered" . Coolblue is happy because TNT reports that the goods are delivered, there is a signature on the receival slip so TNT is covered as well.
Only thing is, I DID NOT RECEIVE ANYTHING.
I will contact TNT first thing tomorrow, and see what they have to say, but I feel robbed . If they cannot or will not help me, I will turn to Test Aankoop , a consumer protection agency and see what can be done about this. I also have a lawyer living next door, I will talk to her about this at well pending the outcome of my contact with TNT and Coolblue tomorrow. At the moment I feel robbed and very helpless about this and as you can see from the time I'm posting this, I am also losing sleep over it!
Funny thing is, a collegue at work had exactly the same thing happening to him a couple of months ago, if I am not mistaken involving the same delivery company and the same phone shop..
Oh, I would almost forget to mention it. Wind and rain made me turn to the rollers again for an hours ride.
Ride Stats : 23K in 1h00mins346/2595
22-01-2008, 07:11 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 19-01-2008 |
| Vosges on my mind |
I have been thinking about going back to the Vosges. I had a great vacation there last year with my friend MB. Sadly she will not be able to join me again so it's up to me to make all the arrangments. I am looking at different scenarios but I would prefer renting a gite and making day trips from that base, like we did last year. At the worst I will live on pasta and broccoli for a week, ride the exact same programme like last year and still enjoy it thoroughly, I know myself ! This is plan B.
But whenever possible I would prefer to explore new routes, and for that you either need a guide or a GPS. There is a Belgium group that offers Shortbike arrangements, but I have been told they take the whole day to cover 35 to 60K.. So lots of rest and lunch breaks, which is NOT exactly my thing. I prefer biking without too much interruptions. Still, they offer local guides, 3 levels of difficulty with the toughest group hovering around 1500hm a day , possible transportation to and from La Bresse and a place to sleep for 320. Two dates , both over May weekends. There is an option to provide your own transportation (I love to drive my car) and even your own housing (I am a very private person ) . I will possibley meet up with them next month since they will be with a little stand at the Zoenk organised ride.
I am also looking at French-speaking forums to see if there is something to be arranged through French holiday groups. Early days perhaps but it keeps me occupied. I lack the organisational skills of MB, and I will probably end up with the aforementioned plan B.
On the biking front I settled for a roller ride, one hour with 2 5-minute intervals at a higher speed. I had a good sweat while it is raining and very windy outside.Ride Stats : 23K in 1h02mins282/229019-01-2008, 20:01 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 17-01-2008 |
| Heverleebos |
Took advantage of the dry spell today to do a little ride into Heverleebos. Although it started to drizzle about 30 minutes into the ride, conditions were a bit muddy from time to time and near the end of the ride I needed my helmet light to see where I was going. My GSM is on its way, got a mail from Smartphoneshop that it has left the building.Ride Stats : 24K and 175 heightmeters in 1h22mins259/2290
17-01-2008, 18:13 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 16-01-2008 |
| Hi-Light |
A few days ago I received a Van Nicholas titanium stem. Well, I ordered it chez Van Nicholas but the stem I received had Hi-Light painted on it. Now I know that Hi-light has been making Van Nicholas frames (and also the Airborne frames before that) since years, but I found it a little funny that they sent me a stem with the original logo on it. Not that I mind. Hi-Light do a terrific job. The quality of the pen is good to very good (as compared to the excellent craftmanship of the 3 times as expensive Seven stem). The welds are clean and even and the build looks strong, even though the pen (a 120mm / 5 degree / 31.8mm job) only weighs an astonishing 146grams. Check out the pictures, on one I have placed it above the Seven pen so you can compare them.
  
Why did I buy this pen? Well, I might have mentioned - or I might not - that the Morati M-bar that is mounted on my newest bike is 110mm in lenght. That is one cm shorter than on my other bikes. So from the beginning I was thinking about taking the M-bar off and replace it with a proper-length stem. One cm may not be much to an outsider but to an avid biker that is a lot.
Especially when you have several bikes, the key is to have all the riding positions exactly the same. Ok, a few mm's off will not hurt but one cm is too much. I would sit too short on my handlebar, causing all kinds of muscular problems and worse. Putting the saddle further back is not an option either, since that would put me too far back behind the bracket. The Morati was doomed from the beginning. Thats why I was on the lookout for another stem/handlebar combination since I got the bike home. The Morati will go back into its box and await another bike, or I can perhaps mount it on the Hilset, which is better suited to its length.
Another advantage is that the Hi-Light stems' brushed titanium finish better matches the Merlins'. Now I only need a handlebar to fit the 31.8mm oversize handlebar mount the stem has. I have been looking at some ( shock !! horror !! ) carbon bars that would fit the bill. Since I am scared stiff of breaking carbon, only the best quality carbon handlebar will do. So far I've singled out the Race Face titanium-reinforced Next XC SL flat bar and the Easton EC90 XC bar which both weigh around 130grams and cost about that much in Euros. The alternative is a Seven titanium handlebar which will set me back around 200 euros . But quite frankly, I think the black carbon bar will look better on the bike. Lets see what develops.
On the biking front, I was limited to a one-hour roller ride today. Even though the weather was dry and calm, I didn't go out. I started reading Filip Meirhaeghes latest book - Comeback - and it reads as well as his first offer . This one describes his comeback after the doping episode that left him off the bike for almost 2 years. The hour went by very fast.
Ride Stats : 23K in 1h03mins
234/2115
16-01-2008, 19:10 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 13-01-2008 |
| Lovenjoel meets Meerdaelwoud |
Didn't feel like getting up too early today, so I slept pas the entry times of the Lovenjoel organized ride. Not a problem though because I had spotted the arrows some 200 metres from my home. So around noon I set out to follow the ride as it went into the Meerdaelwoud. I was surprised the arrows were still there and I could follow them almost for 25K before the trail left the Meerdaelwoud and I spotted a jeep from the organisation . They were removing the arrows but by now I had no more use of them, since the rest of the ride went into the Bierbeek fields and so meandered back to the start in Lovenjoel. The tracks were not that bad - not exactly dry but drier than they had been the past week. The temperature was an average 9 degrees C which almost felt like springtime was upon us, especially with the sun making overtime in a cloudless sky.Ride Stats : 30K and 320 heightmeters in 1h49mins211/2115
13-01-2008, 15:18 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 12-01-2008 |
| Clark |
This morning it was still raining but in the course of the day things dried out and just when I was contemplating to ride out I saw my friend Roger riding up the alley. Did I want to take a ride on the road ? Sure , let's go ! We set out on a moderate pace, Roger preferring the big ring to build strength, me just tinkering along on the middle ring , only putting it on the big ring when things went down or flat with the wind in our backs.Temps were around 7 degrees and the sun was out, so as wlong as we had the wind in our backs it felt quite good to be out there. But during the last quarter of the ride we faced more headwind and at that time I felt it was quite cold. But one of the advantages of riding with a partner is that you can hide out of the wind from time to time. I was glad to be out for almost 2 hours without having to put excessive strain on my body. So big thanks to Roger for coming along, we must do this more often.
Saw a bit of a weird bike on the Velo Vert forum when I got back, a titanium Clark Kent which seems to be fitted with an aluminum rear triangle and a suspension making it some kind of a softtail. Also notice the ondulating main tubes. A real collectors item I'm sure.Ride Stats : 45K and 275 heightmeters in 1h55mins
181/1795
12-01-2008, 16:45 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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