After a night full of menacing thunderstorms that finally didn't drop more than a couple of raindrops, I decided to do an offroad ride. Not really having a plan I set out towards Korbeek Dyle where I rode into the Doode Beemde for a ride along the meandering river Dijle. The sun came out from time to time and I also fell a couple of raindrops. Wind was fierce, in all conditions were good. After the Doode Beemde I rode towards the Margijsbos for a bit of climbing up and down the Smeysberg ridge. Some small singletrails as well before settling along the river Ijse. Up and over the Smeysberg one last time and then dropping into the Lasne valley on my way to the Sint Agatha Rode forest. Here I continued my string of climbs, enjoying the forest and its inhabitants, some semi-wild sheep. A last climb brought me into Ottenburg and here I rode into the Grubbe for another set of small trails, very steep at times.

Along the Bois de Laurensart I followed the Red BLOSO route down into Florival, crossing the river Dyle once again. I then set forth into the outskirts of the Bois de la Hocaille climbing from Pecrot and descending towards Nethen. Here I passed the Savenel wall on my climb into Meerdael Forest. Some narrow singletrails again and then I connected with the Walendreef, following this until I turned onto the Prosperdreef on my way to the Weertse Dreef. I crossed the Naamsesteenweg by the Ecoduct and rode home following the Margrietendreef. I still felt a bit heavy from the Fenistil tablets but the good news is that the bites have healed and I didn't receive any new ones today. I was really lucky with the weather because for the weekend the forecast is rather wet.

Ride Stats : 47K and 585/640 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h52mins

5165/50160

17-07-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Stiff summer breeze blowing this morning, keeping temperatures a tad below 25 degrees C. Ideally suited for a recovery ride. The breeze kept the insects out of the air, the sun was out for most of the time, now and then being obsured by clouds but only for a brief moment. My kind of summer weather, in a nutshell. I rode the Hilset over Haasrode, Bierbeek and Neervelp all the way to Willebringen, with the breeze blowing more or less in my back. Turning in Willebringen things changed, the wind was blowing in my face, warm and cooling at the same time, and I had to shift down a gear to compensate. I decided to return over Opvelp and Bierbeek again, completing the loop through Haasrode.

Legs felt good , but I was a bit woozy from the Fenistil tablets I have been taking to lessen the itching coming from a bite on my upper leg. Whatever bit me there went through my Assos trousers, but the allergic reaction so far has been mild. I had noticed some horseflies on my leg when I did the marathon ride last monday, but I knocked them off as soon as I noticed them. Seems they sit on or near the roads at the edge of the forest, and are flying up when I ride past. They did not bother with the parts of my body where I had applied Deet 40, but settled on the trousers where I did not spray. Next time I will spray on my trousers as well.
Today I used Deet 50, both on my arms and legs, but - also - due to the strong wind and the fact that I was riding on roads instead of offroad, I did not see a single insect.

Ride Stats : 31K and 225/212 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h26mins

5118/49575

15-07-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

14-07-2009, 10:50 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

For the last day of the 4th decennium of my life I wanted to do something special. And the fact that the riders in the Tour had a rest day also allowed me to stay away longer than I normally would. I took the Moots out and rode towards Pecrot, where the start lies of the 2008 Belgian MTB Marathon Championships. I know the track quite well because I was one of the people who conceived and changed it , leading up to the championship. But still it was almost a year ago since I last rode it, in part or as a whole, so I wanted to try and do the complete lap today. The weatherforecast was good, partly clouded, no rain and temps between 20 and 25 degrees C. That meant wearing long trousers wouldn't feel too warm. I applied a good spraying of Deet 40 and got on my way. The ride leading up to Pecrot already yielded me 118 heightmeters but things were getting serious pretty quick after I started out on the Championship trail itself. The GPS track is available on Motionbased. I will add a link at the end of this article.

Describing the track completely would take too long so I will only give some highlights. The first part is pretty intense turning around in Nethen before moving towards Bossut . After crossing the N252 there follows a part that is more oriented towards field roads, and the big ring can go on a lot. After that, the track drops towards Pietrebais where another intense section follows, with really narrow - and sometimes dangerous - tracks ondulating up and down. Then its in the fields again towards Longueville. At the chapel you are around the halfway point and things get intense once again with some steep climbs and zooming descents leading in and out of the forest and towards Biez. Then I ride into Grez Doiceau for the first time, and a loop leading towards Dion Valmont introduces a lot of cobbles and some more climbing - again. You will be glad to see Grez Doiceau again but the last part is also pretty hefty. Climbing towards Gottechain you will remember my words. Then a bit of field road takes you towards Bossut and then down into Archennes. The most difficult climb of the lot - very sandy - had me walking, as usual and there are a couple more to follow before I am near Pecrot again for a final loop, following the first 4K of the track again before finishing at the end of the Ruelle du Curee. The figures showed 91.5K and 1361 heightmeters. Not bad at any rate.
I then rode back home, not before stopping at the well near the camping La Hetraie to drink some cool water. The ride has been difficult - due to the warmth and the difficult tracks - but I am glad I did it.
The grand total of the day way a surprising 124K and nearly 1450 heightmeters.

Ride Stats : 117K and 1435/1479 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 6h42mins

GPS track on Motionbased : CLICK

5087/49350

13-07-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

12-07-2009, 13:34 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

You must be joking, right? Yesterday it was 17 degrees and it is raining intermittently as I sat out for what I hope to be a medium lenght recovery ride. I'm dressed as if it is autumn. Long sleeved and with 2 layers of underwear.

Great, its mid-july, this must be Belgium. One week ago - it seems like ages ago already - we had 30 degrees C and didn't know where to crawl to escape the heat. Now I am gald to see a watery sun piercing through as I had to take shelter in a bus stop in Ottenburg when the light drizzle changed into medium drizzle. The roads are wet when I ride on and so is my back and bottom and my face from the drops my tyres send in the air. Looks like another dark cloud looming so I make haste and not 10 minutes after I arrive home another shower hits the streets.

Ride Stats : 44K and 345/369 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h59mins

4942/47720

11-07-2009, 13:30 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Well today it didn't look like we would see any extended period of sunshine. I wanted to ride out and decided to do a climbing session on a track I use frequently when I want to put some stress on my legs.
Let me take you through it. The loop forms roughly a figure 8 .

The first climb starts just past the "Kluis" in Sint Joris Weert, it follows the same track as the Meerdael BLOSO does - I think its the Blue trail here - going upwards on an average slope of 13% through a very nice valley. There are more or less 40 heightmeters to be gained and the climb gets tougher near the end. The end is also rooty and since it was wet care had to be taking not to let the tyres slip. But the excellent Continental Mountain Kings in 2.2 version are great on these kinds of trails.

 
The forest trails would soon become even wetter because not long after reaching the first downhill it started to rain slightly. This downhill is a tricky one, starting out on a singletrack and becoming steeper and brutal near the end. The last bit is also very rooty with steps , so care has to be taking when and how long you apply the brakes. Near the end is a turn to the right , with some more slippery roots, giving way to a sandy track I follow to the right along the camping 'la Hetraie'.

At the end of the track I turn to the left, riding straight through the camping towards the tarmac road between Sint Joris Weert and Nethen. I follow this road for a couple of hundred meters - the only spot where you can relax a bit on this loop - before turning 90 degrees left again, into a really small trail positioned between two entry roads. People who know the area will know the spot.
The first bit is very steep with some roots, 16% for a short while. Then it mellows out a bit, crosses another trail, steepens again and continues on up the slope , with roots making it more difficult. Near the end the slope lessens , giving way to a big forest road.

I go straight on this forest road for a quick downhill towards the BLOSO trail, where I start the loop anew. Each of these loops is about 2400 metres long and counts 76 to 80 heightmeters spread over 2 climbs.

Today I did this loop 10 times. I had to stop quite a few times because of a shower breaking through. Luckily the forest is dense here so I could take shelter under the foliage while the shower faded. Two laps from the end the trails were already pretty dry again, before another shower made them wet and slippery again. I returned home along the Kluis, stopping briefly to take a picture of the Bosprotter. I had a good but tough workout today.

Ride Stats : 36.5K and 820/830 heightmeters in 2h30mins

4898/47375

08-07-2009, 19:54 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

To take my mind off from recent and serious PC problems - yes, my new desktop PC is having difficulties, it keeps rebooting itself for no obvious reason. Sometimes it's working for a couple of hours, before crashing and failing to start up, even in safe mode. Generally this is making me very angry at technology and computers. Hell I'm on holiday and holidays should be a time to relax right? Not cursing and swearing at technology that fails for no apparent reason.
Good thing I invested in a good laptop - a Hewlett Packard HDX 16 - initially to have a backup. But the way things are going, the backup is becoming fast my main PC. Only snag with the laptop is that I cannot read my Polar S710i data - not having the USB Polar interface and my Belkin USB/RS232 converter is not supported by Windows Vista 64 . Ah the intricacies of the computer world.

The weather was still uncertain, with big dark clouds and sunny periods alternating on the rhythm of a strong westerly breeze. The breeze has some advantages as well, it keeps the insects away and also provides clearer air. A couple of times during the ride I fell some droplets but in all I was lucky. I also was lucky in avoiding a head-on collision with two youths that were riding in the opposite direction on the bikepath. I was going downhill around a corner - at the Lindenboom in Bierbeek for those that know they area - with no visibility. I usually graze my brakes here and then all of a sudden they were before me, riding in my direction . Heavy braking followed from all of us , thank god they split each to one side of the bikepath and I managed to plant myself in between them, without touching either of them. They seemed pretty shaken and impressed so I spared them a thunderspeech, just letting them know they might consider riding on the right way of the street . I completed my ride along Opvelp, Beauvechain, Tourinnes and Hamme Mille. I risked riding around Nethen and Sint Joris Weert as well, even though a big dark cloud loomed over Sint Agatha Rode - and finished my ride over the Zoete Waters. Not a single drop fell.

Ride Stats : 33.5K and 195/240 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h32mins

4862/46555 

07-07-2009, 14:15 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

06-07-2009, 17:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Left home at 7am to ride the short distance to the start of the Meerdael Classic, 17th edition. This traditionally takes place at the Football terrain of the 'Zwarte Duivels' in Oud-Heverlee. The weather forecast for today called for initial sunshine but during the day clouds would gather with possible heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon. So there was no time to waste. 100K is never an easy task, and after forking over 9 Euros (10 Euros minus 1 Euro because I am licenced) I rode into the Meerdael Forest , eager to see how my legs would feel and if they would go the distance. 

The Ride:

The first couple of kilometers went easy, ondulating through Heverleebos, crossing over into Meerdael Forest and then crossing the Naamsesteenweg via the Ecoduct at the Weertsedreef crossing. No long after that I left the forest and was thrown into the fields near Tourinnes for a loop that took us towards Beauvechain. My legs didn't feel very strong and I found myself shifting on the small ring at each uphill, wanting to save the little strength I had. Hmm, was I really going for 100K when I already felt like stopping after 15K? The sun was slowly rising but temps were still in the lower 20ies. In the forest it was damp and during the day the atmosphere would become heavy with thunderstorm warmth.
The loop curved back towards Nodebais and was quite pleasant this year. Care had been taken to avoid tarmac as much as possible and the dry field roads were dust-ridden and allowed for easy pedalling. In Hamme Mille we crossed the Naamsesteenweg again for a loop towards Nethen. Here the 100K was going for an extra loop with a couple of steep hills and downhills. We also got our first rest stop around 20K into the ride. As usual, a lot of stuff to eat and drink and some lovely ladies manning the stop. There was also an Aquarius stand but I couldn't help wondering that this might be more useful a little later in the ride. From the rest stop we were lead back down towards Nethen and were joining the other distances for the famous 'lianenklim'. This was perfectly ride-able. Last week there was still one spot with a deep puddle, but the puddle was nearly gone today, which allowed me to ride the entire uphill. Great ! Some cobbles now as we made our way towards Bossut and then crossed the N252 for a long loop in the fields between Grez-Doiceau and Nodebais. A nice passage along the Beaumont forest and a tricky downhill, and then looping towards Gottechain and having to do a difficult and steep climb along a field. Bit of a classic this one, and obviously the Meerdael Classic couldn't leave it out. It struck me that the trackbuilders were very keen this year to incorporate all known difficulties into their track. Which is great but my legs were still not up to par. I was longing for the second rest stop but I would have to wait until 50K into the ride, after we first dropped into Archennes and looped towards Gastuche. From here, a great section with another tough climb brought us into Ottenburg. A fast descent in the Bois de Laurensart, following the red Overijse BLOSO route, and we were at the second rest stop. Again I took care to drink well and eat a lot of banana. Also some Mars because I needed an energy shot.

Ottenburg, we rode the steps downhill upwards - or rather walked because the thing is steep and today it was also sandy, making it near to impossible to ride. Some nice loops in this region, with a few other climbs. I noticed my legs were feeling stronger and took confidence with every climb. In the Sint Agatha Rode Bos we tackled the 20% climb there and I had no problems to make it. Okay, things were looking up but I was still only 58K into the ride. Next the track converged with the BLOSO trails of Overijse again , making its way towards Huldenberg. We followed the river Yse for a while until we came at the third rest stop - 100K only - which was manned by 3 pretty women who gave me a lot to eat and drink. Pity I forgot to take their picture, but I'm sure someone else will. We were in the neighborhood of the Margijsbos and had to climb the ridge a couple of times. First on tarmac, later on forest tracks with between each ascent a fast and furious descent. Great section here. After this the track looped towards Sint Agatha Rode again for a bit of a breather along flatter roads. After having crossed the river Lasne, we rode towards the river Dyle - which forms the language border here - to arrive in Pecrot but not before having crossed the Petite Marbaise, another little river feeding the river Dyle.
Arriving at Florival, some 85k into the ride, we got our fourth and final rest stop. Only 15K to go. And all of them in forest areas. First we were treated to the famous Pecrot Singletrack, with one section too sandy to ride , and then we had to crawl our way up to the ridge. A lot of bikers were looking very tired by now. But I was feeling stronger than in the beginning and middle part of the ride, and instead of bikers passing me I began actually to pass a lot of bikers myself. Marathon man seemed awake. Into Beaumont forest by way of a steep climb on tarmac and then dropping into Nethen. We then made our entry into Meerdael forest again for a final stretch that incorporated a couple of nasty climbs in the Kluis area. When we arrived near Meerdaelhof, a very sandy trail forced me to walk again for a couple of meters. I then crossed from the Kouterbos into Heverleebos again before finishing - fist in the air in a gesture of joy and relief - a the Zwarte Duivels locale where I left a little more than 6 hours ago. Great ride, thanks to the Downhillbikers !


The Lowdown:

What I liked:
+ Great trails, with attention to lesser visited tracks
+ the region and the use they made of what is offered
+ emergency numbers provided and pickup points well marked
+ dangerous downhills and road crossings well marked
+ distance splits well marked, before and after the split
+ arrowing impeccable
+ 4 well-stocked rest zones - lots of choices
+ very friendly people at the rest stops
+ all this for only 9€ (10€ if you don't have a licence)


What I did not like:
- the weather was too hot. But that is not the organisers fault.
- spreading of rest stops wasn't optimal. Big gap between 1st and 2dn rest stop


Synopsis: 

As usual the Downhill Bikers didn't let us down. Very well thought out ride, with attention to detail and taking in some lesser-known tracks to enjoy the best this region has to offer during an organised ride. The rest stops were filled to the brim with food and drink - and the friendly staff put a smile on my face. Even though the first half of the ride was tougher for me than it should have been - due to my antibiotics cure from last week and also the warmth no doubt - I never forced the issue, kept eating and drinking and managed to find my better form by the end of the ride. The arrowing was impeccable - and I'm sure that at some points the arrowing teams had to frequently replace stolen arrows. This makes me extend a special thanks to them. Good job guys ! At the busiest crossings there were warning signs, the split panels were placed where they should be - before and after the split - and the rest stops were announced 1km beforehand, not a bad idea in this kind of weather. And all this for the humble price of 10 Euro for 100K of intense joy.  

The Bare Facts:

Map:


Profile:


GPS track on Motionbased : CLICK


Ride Stats:

Meerdael Classic: 
100K and 1440 heightmeters
total distance today :
109K and 1440 heightmeters (Garmin) in 5h50mins
Hill Factor of the Meerdael Classic:
14

4800/46165

05-07-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Contrary to all the predictions we didn't get a drop of rain yesterday. So today saw a sunny and dry morning. I wanted to do an easy LSD ride and chose to follow the LF6 - Vlaanderen Stedenroute - towards Goetsenhoven and back again. Just before Hoegaarden I strayed a bit from that route to follow a narrow road over cobbles and even dirtroads to arrive at last near the Hoegaarden centre. Sprayed in Deet40 I was pretty confident that the insects would keep away from me but riding over those narrow trails in my short pants was an unforeseen and unnecessary risk. The sun was getting hidden behind clouds during the ride and when I arrived near Goetsenhoven I saw some rallye cars on the narrow roads. Looks like there is going to be a race here tomorrow - probably the Haspengouw rallye. Saw a beautiful Subaru WRX and also a red Porsche GT2 (or GT3) with a very appropriate license number - 4 S 911.
I looped back over Goetsenhoven centre to follow the LF6 in the reverse difection back towards Hoegaarden. Here I followed the trails of the Ludo Dierckxens (LD) arrows which took me back through the fields towards Meldert. From there I looped upon the Haasrode tour to return towards Bierbeek, Haasrode und ultimately Blanden.
My legs felt tired and I fear that tomorrows Meerdael Classic might come a week to early. Obviously I am still coping with the side effects of the antibiotics I has to take for my horsefly bite. Even though I suffered no real side-effects - no rash, no bowel troubles, no temperature swings - I did hold up some fluid and felt tired thoughout the cure. The warm weather doesn't help either of course. I will ultimately decide tomorrow morning if I will do the Meerdael Classic or not. Another factor will be the weather. There are again thunderstorms predicted for the next 24 hours.

Ride Stats : 64K and 480/488 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h53mins

4691/44725

04-07-2009, 14:53 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another hot day yesterday, with temperatures soaring into the 30 degrees C. And no breeze at all so I decided to stay in and have a break. Today however saw the return of a stiff breeze even though it was still sunny. But the heat was manageable. I took the Hilset out for a quick spin looping over Heverlee and Oud-Heverlee towards the Zoete Waters and on to Sint Joris Weert. From there I closed the loop riding through Nethen and Hamme Mille and then back into Meerdael Forest. Good legs and a good recovery ride.
On a sadder note yesterday saw my new desktop PC crashing, some registry issue. Good thing I got backups of everything that matters. I am not sure what caused it but Window won't start, even in Safe Mode. Big troubles but luckily I have a good backup PC so I can wait for the diagnosis on the other PC whilst I assume my online and offline business as usual.

Ride Stats : 26K and 185/214 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h07mins

4627/44245

03-07-2009, 17:47 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

01-07-2009, 20:39 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Last thursday when waiting for the other participants to arrive, I got bitten in the right calf. I am not sure what bit me but judging from the ensuing reaction it must have been a Horsefly (Taon in French) or quite possibly a grass spider . People who have been following this blog over the years know that I am allergic to the Horseflys' saliva. That is why I ride with 3/4 or full-length pants in the middle of the summer. Anyways, during the ride I did not experience more than a little red spot where the bit was, I couldn't even see where I had been bitten neither was there any blood running down my leg - which usually is a result of a horsefly bite. The next day however, my lower leg was swelling up and seeing red.

That same evening - friday - I visited my doctor who immediately prescribed me heavy antibiotics and had me start on Aerius antihistamines. The following days the swelling had spread towards my ankle and around my lower leg. But it also looks as if the medications are working, the swelling has subsided from Sunday on and as I am typing this only my ankle is filled with water

So, now you know why I haven't been biking during this sunny weekend. Looks like horsefly season has started and I will take all possible measures not to be stung again. This includes wearing long pants during offroad rides and liberally applying ant-insect spray containing DEET on my legs and arms.

29-06-2009, 12:58 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I was bitten by some insect yesterday, or possibly a spider, and my right calf was swollen and showing signs of an allergic reaction. People who know me know that this is no laughing matter for me so I started treatment at once with anti-histamine pills and I am supposed to see my doctor later today. But I did decide to ride out since the swelling wasn't too bad - yet - this morning. I did an easy road-ride taking me over Egenhoven , Bertem, Leefdaal and Neerijse towards Sint-Agatha-Rode, Sint Joris Weert and Nethen. Over Hamme Mille I completed a short loop. The weather was hot, I already had an average temperature of 27 degrees around 1pm. But there are some clouds gathering and meteox.be is showing thunderstorms in the south-east of Belgium, and they are slowly making their way up north.

Ride Stats : 39k and 245/257 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h44mins

4577/43920

26-06-2009, 15:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Very hot today with temperatures reaching 30 degrees C but a stiff breeze kept it from getting tropical. Nevertheless it was still hot when we set out with the KBC MTB club for a ride along the base loop of the August 16th Haasrode organized ride. There were only 3 of us but this also meant we could keep an even pace throughout the ride. The base loop already is around 35K long and with nearly 400 heightmeters it is not for the meek either. Taking us through Meerdael forest towards Nethen and the famous "lianenklim" upwards towards Bossut . Then descending into Archennes and passing through some narrow overgrown track towards the N252. We crossed that and followed another trail into Gottechain. From here we made our way towards the outskirts of Grez Doiceau before looping back over Nodebais and Tourinnes. The Meerdael forest was entered again at the Forestry house and we passed next to the Dikke Eik on our way to Mollendaal. From here it was downhill towards the Bremberg and back into Haasrode. In all a very fine ride and certainly worth doing. Come and join us on August the 16th for this distance or perhaps one of the longer distances - up to 62K - of this organized ride. When I arrived home around 9pm it was still 25 degrees C but there were clouds, perhaps indicating some upcoming rain. 

Ride Stats : 42k and 405/457 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h9mins

4538/43675 

25-06-2009, 21:43 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The weather was great today so I took the Moots out for a discovery ride into Brabant Walloon. On these rides I just let myself be guided by my instinct and my GPS. I take roads I would normally not take, and try out trails I didn't do before or I want to discover again. Sometimes this means turning back, sometimes you get an 'aha' moment when you can connect two roads you didn't know could be connected. Sometimes the trails are overgrown very badly and care has to be taken not to get caught in some undergrown rut . But that makes it even more fun. I made more or less a loop, starting out along Tourinnes-la-Grosse and then crossing over towards Pietrebais and Longueville. Here I discovered the Accro Bike trails which I followed briefly, opting instead for lesser-known alternatives to connect with Chaumont Gistoux. Following the river "Train" along a small track meandering above it into Bonlez. Here I had to walk a couple of meters because the track was wet. A steep and narrow path brought me to the bigger roads again. Next I had to do some funky stuff and even pass through someones' garden because the Golf Course of Bercuit cuts off some trails. Putting up 'Chemin Prive' signs everywhere but when you ride on the road does connect. Or sometimes it doesn't and you have to improvise. But I made it into Grez Doiceau and Biez just fine, adding a couple of steep heightmeters before making my way to Gottechain and crossing over towards Bossut. Some of the trails in Biez were pretty much overgrown and I was the first biker to pass here in quite a while. A real Big Bad Wolf trail and the way I like them. Riding towards Nethen I chose to do the 'lianen' downhill which was great but for one serious mudhole. Pity because here you really have to hold on to the trees to save yourself from a mudbath. I rode into Meerdael forest for a last couple of easy cooldown kilometers along bigger forest roads.

Ride Stats : 60k and 635/646 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h17mins

4496/43270

23-06-2009, 20:59 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Just when I was getting ready to ride out, a bit before noon, some kind of thunderstorm passed by with a lot of rain and even some hail. OK, no ride now, maybe later.
Around 6pm I went out into the forest for the complete BLOSO trails of Meerdael. In the beginning I had a bit of wet roads but when I rode further away from the Naamsesteenweg things got dryer. Then riding towards the Naamsesteenweg again - in Heverleebos that was - things got wetter again. Once I passed over towards Korbeek Dyle on the green trail the trails became dry. Great, and I made good speed. Upon crossing over towards the Red I neared the Naamsesteenweg again and indeed, things got wet again. Seems like there was a band some 500-750 metres east and west of the North-South axis the Naamsesteenweg forms though Meerdael Forest, where it had rained considerably more than in the rest of the forest. When I rode along the Hamme Mille plains all of a sudden the road was blocked by a broad puddle. Damn. Entering the forest again, the trails were wet and my bike got dirty. Oh well, I just put the hammer down and before long I was again on some dryer trails riding into Bierbeek and back into Mollendaal forest . But nearing the Naamsesteenweg again, on the last part of the red loop, things gor messy again. A bit further, after changing from red to blue, I was on dry trails again. The last bit in Heverlee forest upon reaching the green trail again, was a little wetter once more. But obviously the sun was out and even though it was quite chilly - with an average temperature throughout the ride of a mere 16 degrees C, I wasn't feeling cold, thanks to my Odlo windstopper underwear, very handy in these situations. I had an average of almost 21kph which - in view of the circumstances and the ride I did yesterday - was pretty good.

Ride Stats  : 55K and 480/551 (Polar/Garmin) in 2h39mins

4436/42635  

21-06-2009, 22:32 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today I had a rendez-vous with Frank, a friend who does provide me with everything that is PC-connected. He wanted to do a short ride in Meerdael and I agreed to take him along on what I call a perimeter ride. This is a ride along the edges of the forest. I had this ride as a course in my GPS from last winter and added a couple of tracks I normally don't do in winter to spice things up a bit. Frank is a very fast rider and I had to urge him to calm down quite a bit. He rides a beautiful Turner full suspension bike. One of the perks of being the guide is that the guidee has to wait at every turn, and it was good for me to up the pace a bit . When I ride alone I usually settle into a pace I can ride for hours. I look around a lot and stop frequently to take some pictures. Frank is quite a bit faster than me - he is also 18 years younger - and he always seems to ride in chrono-mode. Even though today was an easy ride for him, he made me stress my muscles more than I usually do. And it felt OK to do so. When we had completed the ride I went on for another hour to cool down and rode towards the edge of Hamme Mille , into the fields of Tourinnes and on towards Bierbeek and Haasrode, taking in a couple of K's of the "Engel" walking track, which I believe is sheduled for tomorrow.

Ride Stats : 55.5K and 555/603 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h50mins

4381/42155

20-06-2009, 16:01 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today the weather was nice and warm, ideal for a ride in the late afternoon. After last saturdays' ride I felt like I suffered from a heatstroke. The whole Sunday I had a headache and by Monday morning it was bad enough to keep me in bed. I had forgotten to apply sunscreen and even though the sun was veiled, the UV rays must have reached my skin because I saw red on my arms and legs. Stupid mistake.
So today, even though it was 5.30pm when I rode out, I did apply my usual factor 20 sunscreen. I rode through Meerdael forest and clambered up the Smeysberg with the Moots before dropping down into Huldenberg and riding up to Overijse where I had a meeting with Guna. She was fresh out of the Raid des Hautes Fagnes, where she completed the 90K. It was her toughest ride ever and I can understand that. I never rode the RDHF but I warned her it was a toughie. But she went on a rode it. Amazing, and my helmet goes off to her. Well done !
But today we were doing the Overijse BLOSO's and the pace was gentle but firm. I have done them azillion times but each time I am enjoying the succession of short climbs and descents, a great was to train some interval. Some of the climbs are quite tricky and one should never take the downhills for granted. They surprise you every time. After heavy rains gulleys are formed , branches are dropped on the trail and here and there a bit of mud spiced things up a bit more. But we managed all of them very well, and I was once more surprised by the progress Guna had made in both uphill speed and downhill prowess. And then she didn't even have her full suspension bike with her, but even with the hardtail with v-brakes she is fast . The trails were great, dry for the most part except for the downhill in the Bois de Laurensart which had a bit of mud in some of the hollow road sections.
When we split up I returned towards Huldenberg and did the offroad climb starting at the mill at Neerijse. A quick dash into Meerdael forest with the offroad climb out of Sint Joris Weert in the opposite direction of the BLOSO route, where I passed a couple of bikers. In all a good quality midweek ride.

Ride Stats : 61K and 701 heightmeters (Garmin) in 3h25mins

4326/41600

17-06-2009, 22:07 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf