16-08-2009, 18:57 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The weather forecast for today was one out of a thousand. Unclouded skies, a little bit of cooling wind and temperatures rising to 28 degrees C and more. So I was out there. The plan for today was to ride to Maleves Sainte Marie Wastines, a little village somewhere in the area between Opprebais and Perwez, find the start of the organised ride that is taking place there tomorrow, and ride most of the 50K distance. Getting there was an adventure on its own. I started towards Bossut and Gottechain, because I knew that the ride was going to pass there. Sure enough I found the blue/white O2 Bikers-sponsored arrowing. But I had no idea where exactly on the loop I was. Was I near the start, or on the return loop? How many K to go, how much already done at that point? I had no clue, so I needed to get as close to the start as possible to do as much of the ride as possible. The ride crosses another organised ride, the Haasrode one, so people taking part in either og those two rides tomorrow will have to be vigilant to stay on the right track. I have no free time tomorrow morning , thats why I decided to do this ride today. Normally I help the Haasrode organisation but the 16th of August is the day my mother died, and there is a commemorative service each year on the sunday closest to that date. Unfortunately for the Haasrode guys, the service coincided with their ride. So no way I was going to be available tomorrow. I met up with a few of the guys when I reached Gottechain, they had to place arrows but had forgotten to load them - or something..
I rode on towards Longueville and then to Incourt. I had not yet seen any markings towards MSMW (Maleves Sainte Marie Wastines) so I decided to ask for directions. A very friendly man explained I had to ride towards Opprebais - look for the white mill - and then follow straight on and I would arrive in MSMW. And indeed I did.

MSMW is a very small town, with a nice little church and what looks to be an old abbey. I started circling around in the town centre to pick up on the markings or find the start of tomorrows' ride. I succeeded in neither and after a while I decided to ride back towards Opprebais and follow the first markings I came upon. Sure enough, I spotted the orange arrowing on the tarmac and a little further the first blue/white arrows . Yippee, I was on the track. The first part of the ride is pretty much confined to field tracks, leading towards the north. Arriving in Longueville and pushing further on towards Cocrou things get a little more hilly and also some forest passages are thrown in. Below Gottechain the track meets the Haasrode track and both run parallel to each other towards Grez Doiceau. In Grez I stopped at a local shop - it was open despite this being a holiday in Belgium - to refill my drinking bottle with some Coke Zero. Yeah I know, but it was cool and got me going again. The heavy part of the ride was when the trail lead me towards Bonlez and later towards Chaumont Gistoux. Here they take in a couple of nice climbs and also - unfortunately - a muddy passage leading towards the Chaumont Gistoux menhir standing in a field amidst the cows. This menhir - called 'Le Cheval de Goffe' - is said to be 5000 years old. I was starting to feel the pounding of the sun now and decided to call it a day after the track rode down into Chaumont again. I returned towards Longueville and Grez Doiceau. Stopped at the little store in Grez again for another Coke Zero refill - thanks to the lovely girl opening the shop today ! I then rode home over Bossut and Les Claines. Into Meerdael forest and its cooler shade. It was a long ride, a hot ride and I was pretty tired at the end of it. Not sure what tomorrow will bring but I already got one satisfying ride in this weekend.

Ride Stats : 94K and 970/1090 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 5h10mins

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15-08-2009, 19:35 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

A beautiful sunny late afternoon and I rode my Hilset to Filip Sport. Needed some Power bars and new gloves for mountainbiking. I decided on some Pearl Izumi summer long finger with Pittards carbon fiber reinforced leather pads. Sounds tricky , lets hope they do their job. When I rode home I couldn't resist having a peep at the Tombeek sanatorium. It has been abandoned for 20 years  - some asbest thing - and has been decaying ever since. But the caretaker, who saw me taking pics and came over for a chat, told me that they would be renovating it soon. It certainly deserves to be alive again. Lets hope they get all the asbest out before they make condominiums out of it. I came home with a nice distance under my belt and set for more during the weekend.

Ride Stats : 56K and 370/458 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h28mins

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Yesterday evening the rain stopped me from riding out. In retrospect it was only a little drizzle but I decided I could use another days' rest anyways. This evening the rain subsided around 4pm and half an hour later I rode out with the Hilset to do a little recovery ride on the road. Setting out over Bierbeek towards Neervelp, turning right towards Opvelp and the up to Beauvechain. Here I turned right again in the direction of Tourinnes-la-Grosse and Hamme Mille. Crossing the N25 and moving onwards towards Nethen and Sint Joris Weert before finally making a last turn to the right at the Zoete Waters. When I got home I felt a little sting on my right arm and saw a little bee that had been trapped between my arm and my body. I quickly applied some heat and disinfected the little wound. I hope it doesn't get too bad, the first couple of hours will be critical to see if the heat will have helped to neutralize the poison. The little bee didn't survive I'm sorry to say. I would have wished it to be otherwise, it couldn't help but reacting to being cornered and did this in the only fashion it knows, by stinging me.

Ride Stats : 35k and 215/249 heightmeters in 1h32mins

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13-08-2009, 18:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today I wanted to do the Overijse BLOSO routes again. I also decided to do them as they were, without any diversions to the left and the right. I rode over Sint Agatha Rode - where I spotted a lovely young donkey - and then got on the routes for a quick ride. I could maintain a good speed even though it was rather warm and I wore long trousers. But the sun wasn't always out and there was a cooling breeze. Just enough to make things bearable. The routes were dry and hard but the Moots coped with them very well. I could really let the bike go in the descents and had no trouble finding a good rhythm in the many uphills. When I returned I tried out a new singletrack I had spotted in Sint Agatha Rode. I then stopped at the donkey family again to take some pictures of the youngster. Even though he was scared at first after a while I could get close enough to touch him. Soft and very cuddly. Mam was always around though watching over the youngster and keeping an eye on me as well.

Ride Stats : 53.5K and 620/719 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h44mins

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10-08-2009, 20:12 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

When I rode out today I wasn't thinking of riding far. I could feel my legs were well recuperated but I imagined an hour or 2 would be more than enough. I rode towards Sint Agatha Rode and Ottenburg and then decided to descent into Basse-Wavre to climb out of it again towards the road to Perwez. It was a while since I followed this one past Chaumont Gistoux so I decided to try that. The bikepath, which in the past was deplorable, seemed to have been remade from Chaumont onwards. Great for biking now, without any potholes and other cracks in the road. I veered to the left towards Opprebais and decided to have a look at the Opprebais water reserve. Many decades ago this was the place where I did my first deepsea diving lessons. Well, needless to say, things have changed quite a bit since then. The site which was once abandoned is now completely filled with houses and it took me some time to find the entrance where we used to ride though to get to the clubhouses. There is only one clubhouse left, the one from DDT Tienen. The carriere is completely surrounded by a fence and there is a walkers/bike path going around it. Here and there you can catch a glimpse of the bluegreen water reserve captured in between the rocky walls. There is still diving going on here, but on a far lesser scale than 20 years ago. Access is limited and this has provided peace in the area as well as in the water itself. In my days it was not uncommon to have hundreds of divers visiting the site during the day and until late in the evening. Needless to say, the noise and light pollution did not go unnoticed and the Opprebais councel decided a while back to close the site as a diving spot and develop more houses next to it. The site has been opened again, but with strict limitations. When I rode around the pond it struck me that I remembered it to be bigger.

After that I followed the blue M markings for a while, taking me towards Dongelberg - another sweet water reservoir and dive-site - and Lathuy. I noticed that my bottom bracket had moved towards the left. Probably because I let some oil onto the axis a while back. When I shifted on the big ring in front, the front derailler cage rubbed against the middle chainring. First I taught one of the crankarms was getting loose but after a while my right crankarm began touching the right side of the frame. A sure sign that the axis itself was shifting. Ah that Tune Bigfoot crank , it is a very light crank but it has its peculiarities. One of them is the continuously loosening of the crankarms on the axis and another is the shifting of the titanium axis itself, moving through the bearings. When I got home I gave it a couple of jams with a heavy hammer and surely enough it moved back where it should be. I must change the bearings soon because the crankarms turn very badly. I finished my ride looping over Sart-Melin and back towards Hamme Mille. The weather was calm and with 23 degrees C not too hot. The sun came through during the afternoon making it alltogether a very enjoyable ride.

Ride Stats : 66K and 550/598 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h2mins

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It took me exactly 45 minutes and 16K to reach the edge of the Sonian Forest. The weather was clouded but no rain was forecast and things were looking good. Normally I do this ride in the winter but due to the fact that the Ardennes were being flooded with rain I chose to do a long ride closer to home. So the Sonian Forest springs to mind. Whenever I reach its edges and disappear beneath its foliage my mind wanders off toward Moster Blond. She taught me the way in this massive forest. Thanks to her and the scouting for ride-able loops she did for BigM, I learned my way around. Pity she is prioritizing other things at the moment, I would have loved us to hook up for a part of this ride. But I understand her choice and I respect it. We'll meet again in due time.
When I'm here in the Sonian Forest I usually combine two of her loops with the Nero BLOSO route. First I ride in the Rouge Cloitre area for a short but rather hilly couple of K's. When I reach Trois Fontaines  I switch to the BigM Beginners' loop , which meanders up and down the slopes before reaching the Nero BLOSO route near the railroad. There I could enjoy the famous railroad singletrack again. It had been closed for a couple of years due to expansion workings on the railroad track it follows.

The singletrack has been restored and re-inserted on the NERO loop. It offers a couple of nice steep climbs and a technical descent with a couple of steps and tight switchbacks. You then have to cross a wooden bridge and get ready for a very steep climb. With the tracks being dry this did not break a lot of sweat - provided you are in the right gear - but I can imagine this track being very difficult when it is wet. The Nero route then offers its usual succession of easy trails and a couple of singletracks. These were dry and bumpy. Especially the singletrack next to the Avenue Dubois was a blast. The Avenue seemed to be closed for all traffic because I didn't see a single car when I followed the trail running parallel to it. Nice.
Back on the Beginners' Loop to close it at the Trois Fontaines. Then another tough section of the Rouge Cloitre Loop - where I managed to miss a turn only to arrive down at the ponds again and having to do a tough climb all over - and then back home over Duisburg and Korbeek Dyle. Along the way I was charmed by a trail that looked very inviting. Unfortunately it was in a bad shape and some thorn bushes next to it made me fear for my tyres. And indeed, a bit further I could feel my front wheel become wobbly - flat.

After having fixed the flat I continued my way home. A very satisfying ride, the sun was out on the way back and I had to stop in Duisburg centre to fill up my drinking bottle again. Nice cold Coca Cola got me home in a flash. The heightmeters difference between my Polar - which was set at 5 second intervals - and the Garmin Edge 705 was rather big. I'm beginning to think that I should accept the Garmin figures as my reference, after all they should be the more correct ones.

Ride Stats : 99,5 and 860/1092 (Polar/Garmin) in 4h44mins

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

Another very hot summer day and at first I wasn't sure if I should ride out, but when I got home I just went for it. Pace was relaxed of course but the stiff northeasterly breeze didn't make it unbearably hot. At least when you rode with the wind in your face. I had the wind in my back during the first part of the ride, making my way over Heverlee and Egenhoven towards the field roads above Leefdaal. Following that I took a right towards Vossem and then rode all the way to the Tervuren ponds. Here a welcome shade from the outskirts of the Sonian Forest offered some relief. Turning towards the east I began to feel the wind when I rode towards Eizer and Huldenberg. The Smeysberg - I took the Huldenberg city climb, less steep but longer - had me gritting my teeth but on top the dry wind blew straight in my face. Making my way towards Sint Agatha Rode and later Sint Joris Weert, the sun was burning a hole in the back of my helmet. The Zoete Waters offered some relief and I saw the big fish gasping for air at the surface. That surely is a sign it is hot and the water lacks oxygen.

Ride Stats : 50K and 340/379 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h13mins

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The weather was very hot today and the sun was making overtime when I left home around 20 to 4. I planned on riding to Beauvechain and pick in on the 100K loop of the Chaumont Gistoux ride. Having followed the 50K version a few days ago I wasn't expecting too much. And indeed, the ride followed mainly big roads towards Tienen, Hoegaarden and Jodoigne. I stopped in Zetrud Lumay to take a picture of a beautiful chapel in the fields. A bit further the ride turned left but due to the heat I decided to take a right turn towards Wavre. Another busy road that I followed until i could turn towards La Bruyere and then I returned home over slightly less busy roads passing through Beauvechain, Opvelp and Bierbeek. The sun had disappeared behind some clouds by now but the temperatures were still close to 30 degrees C. High Summer as we call that here.

Ride Stats : 63K and 320/349 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h41mins

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First I planned to ride towards Overijse and do some BLOSO routes over there, but the warm weather made me decide to stay closer to home and in the forest. So I set out into Meerdael Forest, crisscrossing the part East of the Naamsesteenweg. The average temperature in the forest was 6 degrees less than out in the open and the tracks were still damp from last Sundays' rain. I did venture out into the fields towards Gottechain all the way to the Chapelle Sainte Corneille in Tourinnes la Grosse before returning towards the forest for a last couple of K's back to Blanden. In all I had a fine relaxing ride, not too hot and no insects to bother me either.

Ride Stats : 30K and 290/391 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h36mins

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Yes, good weather forecast this morning and time to spare. So I rode my MPS to Nandrin to do another lap on my favorite trails. I have been coming here for many years now and each time I continue to ba amazed at the way this track is laid out, sometimes easy, sometimes difficult, but destined to leave me tired and happy at the end of the ride.
The Merlin was purring happily as I rode out around 11am . The weather was warm, but not too warm with the sun hiding from time to time behind some clouds. I made good progress as the trails were surprisingly dry - nandrin dry that is - with only the occasional puddle. The trails were pretty clean and some of the grass had been mown. Nevertheless I recommend wearing long trousers since the tracks are sometimes overgrown and filled with nettles and brambles. I got a nasty sting from some nettles before entering the Bois des Gottes. Speedy downhill followed by a tough ascent on medieval cobbles. Then another fast downhill where my Merlin worked its magic and I could ride screaming fast without being worried of getting out of control. The trails then settles a little bit with some more relaxed climbing towards Ellemelle. This is about as far south as it will go and from Ellemelle I make my way up into the Bois d'Herberlain, with its 300 metres the highest point of the route. The track here is also surprisingly dry. But during the hollow road descent I do discover some hidden puddles - ouch.

In Tinlot I switch from the White route that I have been following onto the Red route. This is the more difficult route and things get really serious quite fast. Past Stree and into the Bois de Lonfontaine where I encounter the first really muddy patch. Yeah, Nandrin wouldn't be Nandrin without at least one mudhole. Into Outrelouxhe for a descent along a little river. This is by far the most beautiful part of the route and today I wanted to check out an option for an extra climb. Descending all the way along the Bois des Dames and then make my way up the crest. Well, I was walking up that crest. The narrow and steep track was just too difficult to ride. It looked more like a gully with rocks, and muddy . So I walked 3/4th of the climb until the slope got a little less steep and the track dried out. From then on I could ride. I descended along the track I normally ride up. This track is rock-strewn and very difficult to negociate. I left the speed a bit high and luckily the Merlin carried me over the rocks without flinching. I believe any lesser bike might have meant a bad fall. Down the slope and I turn to the left to follow the river upstream a bit until I turn left again for a very steep climb. This one is dry but covered with a lot of tree rubble left behind by forestry works. I have to dig deep but I make it all the way to the top. The descent towards the culminating rocks gives me time to recuperate. I stop to eat a bit, check out the bike and take some pictures.

I'm well into the ride now and only have about 15k left to ride. The singletrack leading from the rocky outcrop over the ridge and then down towards the Rue d'Oxhon is overgrown and I have to ride low to avoid the branches. At the bottom I check my body for spiders and ticks. Some Deet keeps most of the bugs away but it doesn't hurt to check now and then. The last climbs - the first 2 on a narrow tracks between two barbed wire fences and the last one in a forest, steep and long, sap the last of my strenght out of the legs. But then I'm back in Nandrin. When I look at my average it is the highest I ever done here. Even with the walking section. I believe this is mostly due to the bike and the exceptionnally dry trails I found here today. Still, I'm very pleased with my ride, I felt strong in the beginning, only beginning to fade after the walking session but I was able to find some extra strength to complete the ride in good speed. I have added a link to the GPS track of today. Please take note that the northernmost section includes a very difficult walking section.

Ride Stats : 49K and 840/912 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h50mins

GPS Track on Garmin Connect : CLICK

5625,5/54685

01-08-2009, 19:50 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I was set to go out for a road ride, but the strong wind and lower temperatures lured me into the forest again. I felt still tired from yesterdays' quick dash so I adopted a more relaxed pace and just let my front wheel guide me through the beautiful summer forest. I explored a few tracks I normally don't follow - and with good reason because they proved to be quite grown over, even almost gone in some cases. But they were there and they went somewhere, so I tried them. The forest floor was moist at some places and the high grass, nettles and brambles made me glad I wore my long trousers again. Only some scratched on my arms. Even though I wanted to relax I ended up with the same amount of heightmeters as yesterday, but with the 17K shorter ride that meant it was tougher, at least climbing-wise. I stopped from time to time to just stare at the trees and take some pictures.

At the end of the ride I passed the 1000K mark for this month and I'm just a couple of heightmeters shy of the 10000 metres mark for this month also. Not bad , considering the weather wasn't always good - either too hot or sometimes too wet. And with one day to go I might just add a little to both figures, depending on how I feel tomorrow and what the weather will do.

Ride Stats : 39K and 515/575 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h26mins

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30-07-2009, 20:47 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Not having had the opportunity to ride yesterday - having to attend the birthday party of my brother-in-law - I took the chance today to ride out in Meerdael Forest. I wanted to do a long offroad ride so I chose to do the Meerdael BLOSO routes again. It was hot and windy , around 30 degrees C, but I wore my long pants anyway since I expected a lot of growth along some of the narrower trails. The ride went fine, I managed a very good average despite the warm weather. The forest looked like it had rained but it was dry with only some fallen leaves as witness of a pas hail storm. Some of the permanent puddles look definately green. See the picture !

Ride Stats : 56,5K and 515/625 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h40mins 

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Today I wanted to follow the fluorescent yellow C G markings I noticed a while back. Picking them up in Blanden I understood very quickly C and G meant Chaumont Gistoux. The 50K ride more or less follows the Ludo Dierckxsens ride - minus all the nice bits. The ride stays far away from the many challenges as it passes La Bruyere, Longueville and Chaumont-Gistoux. It then loops towards Bonlez and Grez-Doiceau and further on towards Archennes and Florival. Very nice scenery but not something I hadn't seen many times before. I need to check out the 100K loop that splits off just past Beauvechain, perhaps this will offer some more challenges and new roads to discover. The legs felt good but my bum hurt throughout the ride. The weather was sunny though and there was nearly no wind .

Ride Stats : 57K and 305/379 (Polar/Garmin) in 2h29mins

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26-07-2009, 13:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

A thunderstorm early this morning added a couple of litres more to the already well-filled puddles. Nevertheless it cleared out and apart from a very notice-able wind the summer feeling was there. The sun was out most of the time, only at times obscured by some clouds that didn't carry any rain with them.
I rode out around 11am and made a nice little loop, catching up with yet another new set of arrowing in Bierbeek. Following them towards Beauvechain and La Bruyere and continuing towards Pietrebais, much like I did yesterday. I stopped to take a picture in Pietrebais, seems they are again having a little scarecrow competition.

This time I rode into Cocrou for a little extra loop away from the busy Chaussee de Jodoigne before entering Grez-Doiceau. From Grez I rode towards Bossut and then made my way over the cobbles towards La Malaise and Pecrot. Riding through the fields I completely grasped that summer feeling. The smell of the hay, the warmth of the sun and the cooling breeze in my face. Wonderful !
From Pecrot I rode to Sint Agatha Rode and then following the river Dyle towards Sint Joris Weert. The river was filled to the brim with brown water, witness of the heavy rainfall if the last couple of days.

Ride Stats : 50.5K and 310/258 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h18mins

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24-07-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning saw a real downpour of rain. So much so as to nullify every chance of riding offroad today or tomorrow. It kept on raining hard until noon, and then things dried out a little, with the occasional drache national - shower - in the afternoon keeping things too wet to ride. Oh well, there was an interesting Time Trial to watch on TV.
By 6pm I looked at meteox.be and did not find any more showers in the vicinity so I decided to take my chances and ride out. On the road of course. I noticed some new arrows a few days ago and I rode over Hamme Mille towards Beuvechain to pick up on them and see where they went. I followed them towards La Bruyere, Pietrebais, Grez Doiceau, Bonlez and Chaumont. At Chaumont I decided to loop back and leave the rest of the arrows for another day. I rode along the road from Perwez to Wavre and then climbed out of Basse-Wavre towards Ottenburg. Down towards Eerken and Pecrot and upwards again to Nethen . Back over Sint Joris Weert and the Zoete Waters to close a nice loop.

Ride Stats : 60K and 475/466 (Polar/Garmin) in 2h38mins

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23-07-2009, 21:16 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yesterday brought some thunderstorms, but not a lot for our region. Even though it did rain quite heavy for about half an hour. I did an easy recovery ride this morning, looping over Bierbeek, Opvelp and Meldert towards La Bruyere and Pietrebais. Coming back over Hamme Mille to complete the loop.
Yesterday I went to the Open Door in the 1st Wing Airbase in Beauvechain and managed to shoot a lot of pictures of airplanes. You can see those on my Flickr page.

Another event was the heavy fall of Jens Voigt in the descent of the Petite Saint Bernard in the Alps, during the Tour de France. He was riding at 70kph when the right part of his handlebar broke off after hitting a bump in the road. It didn't look good, and todays newspapers say his condition is serious. My thoughts go out to him and his family and I hope he will recover soon.

Ride Stats : 40K and 230/252 heightmeters in 1h45mins

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22-07-2009, 12:26 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I had to wait until noon before the skies looked less threatening. Last night saw some rain showers but when I rode towards Grez-Doiceau I didn't notice a lot of puddles. The trails were nearly dry. Great. Some menacing clouds were still present but during my whole ride I would be spared from rain. Great.
When I arrived in Grez I chose a course track I had made a while back as a loop starting from the O2 Bikers Roadbook, but with - a lot - of extras added, my kind of extras, meaning extra climbs and descents. I have made this loop for Julie - Miss JuJu aka Miss Piggy - but so far we have not been able to get together to actually ride the loop. I hope she will read this , if not I'm sure we will get around to riding the lap later this year. High summer and the trails are quite overgrown now. I wear long trousers - against the insects - and that also help to fight the nettles and brambles. The loop consists of a lot of climbs and descents, not too long but most of the time very steep and along some very narrow trails or tracks. The area is well-known from rides like the 'Rando des Cocquelicots' and the 'Accro Bike' and I have managed to achieve a great loop, building on the work the O2 Bikers crew did and adding the trails I know in the area. As usual I took a couple of pictures along the way, but if you search for 'Accro Bike' or 'Grez' in this blog you will find many more entries and more pictures of the region.

At the end of the ride I had 945 heightmeters in 55.55K. Which says enough about the difficulty. The trails were great today and the sun was out most of the time. I add a link to the GPS track for those who want to download it and ride the track as well. I would like some feedback , it's always interesting to hear what others think about a track.

Ride Stats : 80k and 1120 heightmeters (Polar) in 4h37mins
GPS Track on Garmin Connect : CLICK

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20-07-2009, 19:58 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Tonight saw a lot of rain and this morning there were still scattered showers, hurried on by a fierce southwesterly wind. I decided to take my chances and ride out before noon. Just a quick ride around Heverlee, Oud-Heverlee and Sint Joris Weert. Along the way I had a few raindrops falling around me and when I got to Nethen the road was wet and the skies in front very menacing. Just close the loop over Hamme Mille and I was back home already. My legs felt OK and the forecast for tomorrow calls for less rain and a little more sun.

Ride Stats : 29K and 215/217 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h15mins

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19-07-2009, 13:39 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

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

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