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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 04-05-2008 |
 Sart Lez Spa |
This ride is a part of the "Challenge du Gileppe et Hautes Fagnes" , a series of rides in and around the Hautes Fagnes area in Belgium. It is their 18th year so I expect the organisation to be very well honed by now. The weather has been clement since friday so most of the mud should be gone. But, since this is an Ardennes ride, one must always expect some wetness, if not mud then surely from passing through rivers. Lets go ride and find out.The Ride:Sunny morning, temps around 14 degrees at the start in Sart lez Spa, a little town not far from Theux and Spa.. names like bells in every mountainbikers' ears for sure. I pay 3.5 for the longest distance, which is announced to be 50K. There are also distances of 16, 28 and 38K on offer. The 50K has 3 rest stops (ravito's ) . The Moots is all cleaned up from the Tellin outing and ready to go. I start out pretty easy along a nice downhill singletrack which takes us to a point I remember from my Longest Uphill ride. It would not be the last time I see familiar landscapes. Immediately follows a steep and technical uphill taking us towards Sart and later Le Wayau. We cross the E42 and then the road towards Cokaifagne.. a nice little downhill stretch towards the little river Hoegne follows.. yeah, this is where the fun starts. We follow the river upstream for a bit until we turn left and a long uphill takes us through the forest towards the 400m marker. Down again it goes, the legs are awake by now and I have good control over the bike. Now follows a climb which takes us more or less into the fagnes. Some parts are very technical with rocks and roots, others very steep. I drop the chain on the 26 in front and grit it out. At this stage my legs are not yet in full force but I can find a good rhythm and the climb goes well. The 500m heightline is reached a first time. We drop down again towards the river Hoegne and I make a picture of a nice little bridge spanning it. After that a little tarmac uphill before dropping onto an old railroad track (minus the track ) A bit too technical this bit and I decide to walk it. Then it goes along the track more or less downwards until we find the first rest stop some 18K into the ride. Lots of stuff to eat and only water to drink. Oh well, water is best anyways. The arrowing up to now has been more than sufficient, a little sparse at times using chalk and/or red arrows on white background. Very visible and well-placed. Not troubles at all following the right track. At times they really use very narrow tracks and you DO have to be careful to not miss a little track going left or right into the forest. Nice .After the first rest stop follows a long climb which takes us to the ceiling for today.. 550metres. From then on its downhill most of the time for a long stretch which ultimately takes us to Nivéze.. where we find our second rest stop . The chateau is looking down on us.. inviting. Yes, we go all the way up there. A great technical section, steep uphill, singletrack winding up with roots, rocks and ruts trying to stop our forward movement. Great, I love the Moots here, it takes care of all the obstacles with ease, only demanding me to put it in the right gear and point it where I want to go.
The terrain is changing now, the uphills are shorter and we pass through the fields from time to time. The maythorns have not yet been pruned but I notice a lot of bikers standing next to a flat wheel nevertheless. It takes a bit of luck, but also som knowledge of where to ride to avoid the thorns. After Nivéze we ride to the north passing, but not entering, the Bois de Staneu. The tracks remain challenging from time to time, with some recuperation sections in between. After a tricky downhill we arrive at the 3rd ravito. A last time to stock up on calories before attacking a nice steep rocky uphill.. my wheel is slipping on the moist rocks but I manage to keep on riding. A quick downhill followed by what must be the steepest uphill so far. I nearly made it.. nearly because at the last stage the sheer steepness of the hill combined by the wet soil made my wheel slip and brought me to a standstill.. merde.. Oh well.. On a very nice singletrack I hear someone behind me asking if he can pass.. I tell him to wait since it is not a race. Mm, he is not pleased and tries to pass me on the right - next to the abyss. He touches my wheel and has to abandon his maneuvre. He is really pissed now and again asks me to pass. I again answer him I don't intend to let him pass since this is not a race. He starts calling me names and passes me riding up the slope on my left. He gives me a thump whilst passing me and powers away, still calling me a "Sale Flamint". I wonder how he guessed that A bit further I see him repeat the same show with the next couple of bikers - a father and his son - this is one popular guy for sure ! There are others behind me but they don't insist on passing where they really can't/shouldn't and wait for an opportunity when the track becomes wider and/or less technical. I put him out of my mind to further enjoy my ride, silently hoping he will be standing with a flat wheel or something next to the road.. but no such luck. The ride now comes closer to Sart again and a lot of bikers from the shorter distances join us. You can tell by their lack of power on the uphills and lesser technical skills. I don't mind, I am patient and await my time to pass them. They all enjoy their ride and why should I bother them? A little later I am back at the starting area in a baking sun. Very pleased with the ride. The bike is not too dirty so I just put it in the MPS and after taking a nice hot shower I leave for home.The Lowdown:
What I liked:
+ great technical passages and long climbs
+ steep climbs, roots , rocks and ruts galore.
+ arrowing sparse but sufficient+ 3.5 is cheap+ 3 well-stocked ravitos on the 50K+ hot showers+ friendly people at rest stops/inscriptionWhat I did not like:
- one asshole on a singletrack- a few guys without helmets - still
- some tarmac sections could be avoided
Synopsis: Great ride. For sure, the ride can be divided in two sections. The first half consisted of long steep climbs going up from the river Hoegne into the fagnes and down again. After the first reststop another killer climb follows. All is intersected with some nice little technical tracks. The second bit is less hilly, meaning the climbs are shorter but surely not less steep. Some passages through fields allow the muscles to recuperate a bit. Up till the end there are still technical tracks so better stay awake, there is a trap after every corner. Great stuff for your bike-control. The sunny weather added to the overall cheerness of this ride and I'm sure it was a hit for the organisation. With next weeks' Ardennes Trophy coming up a good rehearsal ride in this great area of the Ardennes.
The Bare Facts:
Profile of the Ride
Pics of the 50K taken by Schijfrem.
Ride Stats : 51.8K and 1030 heightmeters in 3h08minsHill Factor : 19.882943/25120
04-05-2008, 19:29 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 03-05-2008 |
| Haasrode Toer |
Another fine day so I set out around 10am for a 3 hour easy ride. My legs were feeling better today and the softly ondulating landscapes around Bierbeek and Tienen brought me to the little chapel in Hauthem where I usually make a stop to climb up the little terrace overseeing Hoegaarden and some other villages. A bronze plaque directs you towards a lot of churches visible in the area around the little chapel.After a few minutes I rode on towards L'Ecluse and further towards La Bruyere. I made a little detour over Happeau to check out my favorite donkeys but they were nowhere to be seen. Further on I passed through Pietrebais and Cocrou towards Grez-Doiceau. Here I decided to call it a day and take a shortcut over Bossut and Hamme-Mille to make it a nice 66K. Ride Stats : 66k and 530 heightmeters in 2h51mins2891/24090
03-05-2008, 19:07 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 01-05-2008 |
| 15th Transforestiere at Tellin |
Tellin, in its 15 years it has build up some kind of myth. A ride that is epic because of the passages through the deep dark forest around Saint Hubert, a ride that has it all and in big proportions. Small attendance, lots of little tracks, lots of climbing, lots of descending, forest as far as the eye sees, green and lush on this traditional first if may ride, Rest zones where the people are friendly and you can get bacon and eggs and liquor, or did you fancy beer on tap?? Tellin has it. I had been here in 2002 for an epic ride of 70k and 1345 heightmeters. The weather was not great then and I remember lots of small tracks meandering straight through the forest. Descents through little rivers, a few river crossings, us getting out of the forest 2 or 3 times to cross a road and disappear again on the other side of said road, like ghosts in the night.. yeah, Tellin has a mythical ring to it.
The Ride:I wanted to experience this ride again so I had made a plan to ride here today, come what may. The last 3 days have seen a lot of rain so even though last weekend was brilliant I was expecting some mud. I had a ride companion, Miss Piggy from B-M-B, who in real life listens to the name of Julie, and she was also eager to give Tellin a try, not having done this ride before. We met around 8.30 at the start. I paid 6 for the 80K inscription and got a pink wrist collar with the emergency numbers on. A little look at the map told me that there where 4 rest stops - roughly one every 15K - for the 80k ride. We set off on mostly dry tracks and even though the sky was clouded it didn't look like it was going to rain. In fact, it did but only during brief moments. The sun was peeping through from time to time and temps where around 7 degrees C. Arrowing was sparse - only using chalk - but proved sufficient under these conditions. After a few k's which allowed us to warm up gently over some mildly ondulating field roads and along some woody crops, things got a bit more serious when the first climb anounced itself. We had seen only a few puddles so where not worried a lot about the conditions in the deep forest for the moment. That would change when the first big climb took us into the forest.. oh looky, its muddy here. Yes, indeed. The track was wet and the tyres had all the trouble in the world to dig in enough to find traction. You had to work really hard to guide the bike through all everything the rough track threw at us. Lots of stones, roots, ruts, rivulets of water either crossing or running along the track. Wow great . The Moots was performing beautifully and even though this was my first Ardennes ride this year, my legs were not too bad at this stage. When we arrived at the top of the long climb , looking forward to a speedy downhill, this turned out to be a real toughie as well. The mud on the track made it very treacherous at speed and at times I felt like a skater losing control. Great bike technique training that is for sure. I had to pull out all the stops sometimes to keep the rubber side down. I'm sure Julie had a few chuckles from time to time when she saw me move on the bike. Thats is, if she was not riding in front of me. Her uphill speed was more than a little better than mine today. Some 15K and a whopping 315 heightmeters into the ride we arrived at the first rest stop. We had exactly ridden one hour. The rest zone was well stocked with all kinds of sugary delights, chocolate, bananas, some green and red drinks and a big frying pan with eggs and bacon.. steaming. They also offered a highly spirited drink for those who felt they needed that. When we asked about what was still waiting they told us it would become less muddy and more hilly. Well, they were right on one account!
Straight away we went on a steep climb and after a tricky downhill we settled down for a very steep and long climb, taking us from 190 metres to 410 metres in a little more than 2.5km.. You do the math. Luckily the track was not too wet on this climb, making me enjoy it a bit more. A little passage on a tarmac road and we disappeared again into the deep forest. The views were beautiful , at times you could see the valleys deep below us, basking in a ray of sun. One time we rode into a pine forest and saw green and lush trees at the edge of it, the sun rendering it an eerie beauty. Oh yes, this is one beautiful ride. But the mud, oh the mud. The tracks now lead us downhill, sometimes fast over some dry-ish roads, sometimes fighting with our bikes and the muddy trails to keep from falling into the mire.
Down and there was the next climb, luckily a stretch of old tarmac road, leading us to the second reststop, some 33K and 730 heightmeters into the ride. Yes, thats a hillfactor of 22. A little less stocked than the previous reststop, no eggs, no bacon, no licquor but still it provided us with sugars and enough to drink. After this reststop, a series of tough climbs proceded to wring every ounce of strength slowly but surely out of my legs. Sometimes the trails were so muddy we had to walk - and I hate to walk - at times the best way to make progress was to ride through the watery puddles, the bottom was less slippery there. I began to think at this moment that at this pace - we were averaging 12.5kph now - the 80K would become a 6hour+ affair. Not to mention that I would be drained completely. Remember , this is my first Ardennes ride and I'm not as strong yet . I sensed Julie was also contemplating taking the 60K instead of the 80K, for the same reasons as it turned out . Some 46K into the ride the mud eased off somewhat, enough to make us ride all of the uphills even though a particularly muddy singletrack had us dismounting again. We dropped down towards Mirwart and the trails became a little more rocky - what a relief. A nice little switchback downhill was intersected, fun. Some 53K and 1050 heightmeters into the ride the third reststop arrived. We asked the people manning it if they could tell us what was still waiting the next 30 or so kilometers. But they did not know. I left Julie to make the decision and she decided - wisely as women do - that we would take the 60k distance. In a way I felt very relieved. The last 17K went very well, the trails continued to be a bit less muddy and me me think a bit about the Vosges. Had we made the wrong decision .. ? No certainly not - on the last big climb of the day I could feel my legs turning to jelly. Luckily most of the climb was on hardpack or tarmac. A blistering downhill - dryer therefore the speeds could go up - and we dropped into Tellin. We had to wait a bit to rinse our bikes. My Moots YBB performed flawlessly - I only had to suffer a few chainsuck moments when dropping the chain on the granny ring too suddenly. I had to get used to a discbrake bike again and mastering the power of those brakes on rocky and muddy undergrounds took a while to get used to again.
We said our goodbyes. I took a hot shower before heading home. I felt tired but in a way very satisfied with the ride. The organisation can hardly be blamed for the wet conditions. The forests are what they are and if you accept to ride this TT you accept to go into them and undergo the conditions they offer.
The Lowdown:
What I liked:
+ the region, very beautiful, almost magical
+ well stocked rest zones - even bacon and eggs and licquor.
+ organisation provided emergency numbers
+ sparse but adequate arrowing, using chalk
+ friendly people at the rest stops
What I did not like:
- the abundance of mud.. but what can you do?
- only 3 hoses at the bike rinse.. although queues where not very long.
Synopsis:
This certainly is one great ride. This year the organisation was let down a bit by the meteorological conditions, making the forest a tough nut to crack. But they offered distances ranging from 16 to 80K, with lots of points where you could choose to call it a day and follow a shorter distance back in. The ride started out easy to allow for muscles to warm up. Once into the forest you only had to take care not to topple into the mud or during one of the numerous rivers crossings. Wearing waterproof socks kept my feet nicely dry. The big forest around Saint Hubert makes one lyrical at times, even in these conditions I was dreaming away from time to time - memories of the Vosges, but also of other rides coming into mind.
The Bare Facts:
Profile of the Ride
Pics of the 45K Ride by Schijfrem
Pics, map and profile of the 80K by Magura
Ride Stats :
60.5K and 1215 heightmeters in 4h38mins
Hill Factor :
20.25
2786/23335
01-05-2008, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 27-04-2008 |
| Hallerbos again |
I decided to ride to Hallerbos again today. The weather was great with the sun out and temps reaching over 21 degrees C. I rode the Hilset this time and made my way towards 3 Fontaines passing in Jezus-Eik and following the bikepath parallel to the highway down towards the Rouge Cloitre area. The Sonia Forest was even greener than yesterday and there were a lot of people out and about - on foot, horseback or bike - enjoying a beautiful sunday . When I reached the edge of the Sonian Forest near the Middle Hut I followed the Zonienwoudlaan towards Halle. Following a - it seems to some Latvian people - romantic little cobble-paved hollow road brings me over towards the drop into 7 Fontaines area. I made my way towards Dworp and then followed a tarmac road into the Hallerbos.
Time for some pictures and a little snack before I turned around and made my way back following the saùe route. This time I had what little wind there was blowing gently in my back and I enjoyed this part of the ride even more. I filled my drinking bottle at the well near the Zoete Waters and headed on home. A good hot bath and then I threw myself in front of the TV watching the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race.Ride Stats : 90k and 790 heightmeters in 3h51mins2726/22120
27-04-2008, 14:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 25-04-2008 |
| Hallerbos Bluebell ride |
Met up with G. from Latvia today at 3 Fontaines. Together we rode to the Hallerbos where she was clearly awed by the bluebells in bloom. Yes, they were still in full splendor and with the sun peeping out of the clouds every now and then the blue/purple hues were amazing. But Hallerbos is also a very hilly region and we managed to get a good ride in. It had been a while since I was there and I had to get out the map very often to make sure I didn't miss any of the most beautiful spots. We started out as usual at 7 Fontaines but we chose the 'cobbles from hell' instead of the "muddy blob" to make it up to the hilly crest overlooking Hallerbos. A little bit of tarmac brought us to the Colpain area where we dove into the forest and were surrounded by millions of bluebell flowers amidst the trees, their scent sweet and overwhelming.
From there I was trying to find my way over to the southernmost parts of the forest, with some really steep downhills and tricky uphill sections. Still following more or less the track that "Moster Blond" pieced together during her numerous reconnaisance rides of the area. I really missed her today, the last time I was here was with her and it brings back some sweet memories. But my current company was also very pleasant. G. is a strong rider, and she is quick to learn the technical trickeries of mountainbiking. She also knows by now that my favorite tracks usually go uphill  . Today we rode some 60K and nearly 800 heightmeters together. We said our goodbyes in the Rouge Cloitre area, me thanking her once again for her company and wishing her the very best for the LCMT next week. It will be quite an experience for her I'm sure.Ride Stats : 116K and 1145 heightmeters in 6h09mins2635/21330
25-04-2008, 21:13 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 22-04-2008 |
| Meerdael BLOSO |
Another lovely day with sunshine and temps reaching 20 degrees C. Who can resist going out in such conditions?? My legs felt a little better and I decided to ride out today. I took the Moots on a ride around the Meerdael BLOSO routes, some 55K in total and just shy of 500 heightmeters. After a few hectometers I fiddled a little bit with the pressure in the Fox RLT80 shock, which seemed too soft initially. It just came out of maintenance and its making sloshy sounds on big bumps.. hmmm..I need to keep an eye on that.
I had a good ride, even though I felt a little tired I managed a good average speed , especially considering the fact that I took some extra hills along the way. I rode the trails in the opposite direction , opting for alternative downhills and avoiding one mud-trap along the E40 highway. Although it might have been rideable, the trails were amazingly dry .Ride Stats : 56.5K and 495 heightmeters in 2h35mins2520/20185
22-04-2008, 20:25 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 20-04-2008 |
| Houffalize Worldcup weekend |
Friday April 18th
Unlike other years I decide to leave during the mid-afternoon to arrive in Houffalize around 4.30pm. First I went to the Press Centre but - unlike other years - the organisation had not foreseen anything for the Press until the next day. So I checked in at my hotel - the Ol'Fosse d'Outh - and got my bike ready for a ride before supper. Since I didn't fancy a tough ride I decided to ride the road to La Roche and back again. But don't underestimate this ride.. the wind was out in full force and with a 2K and 3.5K climb it was quite spicy. Furthermore I left my drinking bottles at home so I had to make do without water along the ride. And in La Roche I couldn't even find a beverage machine so all I had was a Power Bar and the dry air. made it home allright and after enjoying supper I settled in for the night
Ride Stats : 55.5K and 560 heightmeters in 2h29mins2463/19690
Saturday April 19th
Damn, it more or less rained the whole day. Not good for biking and with the cloudy skies the light was bad for taking pictures. First I went to the Press Centre to get my Press pass. Met up with some acquaintances of mountainbike.be and I also met Fons who has a great website with lots of pictures and movies . After chatting up with him I decided to check out some of the races and practice my photographic skills a bit , concentrating on the Ol' Fosse d'Outh downhill. Today the amateur races were taking place and there were a lot of accidents - fortunately mostly without much harm. One of the girls came screaming down the hill, no doubt that was her way of conquering her fear . And by god, she made it, brave girl ! The day passed by and the drizzle subsided. I waited for it to clear out but it never did. So my bike stayed inside - no ride for me. Bugger.
Sunday April 20th
World Cup Day ! Got up around 8am , had a good breakfast and headed out to the towns' centre to check the entry lists. After that I browsed through the exposition area where some of the girls were already warming up on the rollers. Later I strolled to the starting area to snap some close-ups. When the girls were shot on their way I made my way to various points around the race, trying to capture the essence of mountainbiking - the suffering, the pain but also the joy and elation after the race. The Womens' podium might very well be the one at the upcoming Olympics. Chengyuan Ren took first place again - she also won last year - followed by World Champion and 2007 World Cup winner Irina Kalentieva of Russia. Third place went to Canadians' Marie-Helene Premont.
After the Womens' victory ceremony I was joined by a dear friend . We kept each other company during the Elite Mens' race, taking some pictures and generally enjoying the awesome super sunny weather and a nice race. It was nice to see Julien Absalon take his first ever win at Houffalize
My picture gallery of the Womens' Race: LINK
Fons Moors' impressions of the World Cup at Houffalize: LINK
20-04-2008, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 12-04-2008 |
| Latvia |
 Today I wanted to do a long ride, so I contacted someone whom I had been wanting to meet up with for quite a while now, and asked her if she fancied joining me for a few loops through the Sonian Forest. She did and we met up at the Trois Fontaines area. I had a bit of a scare before the ride because when I checked out my Moots the damping adjustment knob on my Fox fork didn't work. It got stuck in the slowest return position. Hmmm, call to Filip Sport and yes, I could ride over and have it looked at. So I was a bit more stressed than usual and barely made it on time. My biking companion was originally from Latvia - one of the Baltic states - and I must say, she is a pretty strong rider. It was her first serious ride out on a new - very beautiful and well equipped - Trek Ex 9.0 full suspension bike and that took some getting used to, but she impressed me in a positive way both in the technical sections as on her physical stamina. When I checked our average over the combined loops - the BigM beginner loop and the Nero BLOSO loop - we were around the 21kph mark which isn't bad at all.
The trails were wonderful, almost completely dry and the sun was warm on my skin when it broke trough the clouds. On the way over I felt that the wind was blowing quite hard but once in the forest we could enjoy windfree conditions for most of the ride. I think we both had a good workout and I want to thank her for her pleasant company. I'm sure we will get together for more rides later this year.
Ride Stats : 100K and 820 heightmeters in 4h50mins
2331/1816012-04-2008, 18:06 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 06-04-2008 |
| Volderke |
I had to take a few days of rest because I suffered an allergic reaction to 'something' I ingested last weekend. That was a blessing for my overall fitness level since it allowed my legs - and the rest of my body - to recover completely. After a few days on Cetrizine I felt sleepy but nevertheless I was wide awake when I set out for a ride which would take me on the same roads as last wednesday, but in the reverse direction. I felt immediately that my legs felt strong and so during the ride I made very good progress. I did an extra little loop and somehow managed to stay ahead of some menacing clouds. The temperature was around 8 degrees C but the wind was quite cold from northwesterly directions.A few hours before I witnessed Stijn Devolder win Flanders biggest road race, the Tour the Flandres, in a majestic way. I also saw a very good Tom Boonen, which looks promising for next weekends' Paris-Roubaix, a race that even appeals more to me. This is probably due to the fact that I competed twice in the Paris - Roubaix VTT, an offroad version taking place just before the main event. Ride Stats : 37K and 320 heightmeters in 1h31mins2142/16675
06-04-2008, 19:05 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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