Warm weather was forecast with only a slight chance of precipitation. A perfect day for a solid Ardennes ride. Meeting up with the KBC MTB club at the Theux railway station around 8.45am and just before 9am we set off on the Longest Downhill. As regular readers know, this is a ride that consists of 2 parts. One part is the uphill from Theux to Signal de Botrange. I have been perfecting this part for a couple of years now to include as much offroad as possible. In the days when the Downhill was published in O2 Bikers - issue #59 to be more precise - the uphill part was as good as ignored. I did publish a first part of what was a long tarmac uphill followed by a roadbook from Le Petit Normand up to the Signal de Botrange in 2001. But I was not satisfied with all the tarmac between Theux and Le Petit Normand, so I set out with 1:15000 scale maps to find a more suitable and mountainbike-worthy uphill. As it stands now I am pretty pleased with the result. Arriving at the Signal de Botrange you have around 750 heightmeters under your belt and have passed some nice singletrail sections on the 32k stretch.
Taking a rest with the group at the restauration/cafe up on the Signal, the figures on my GPS speak for themselves. During the uphill we had split up in 2 groups, each with a rider having my GPS track from 2 days ago on a Garmin Edge. I was leading one of the groups, taking a more leisurely pace upwards. As usual I stopped at the Passerelle Michel Thorez for a snack. Even so we only arrived 10 minutes after the faster group. Hearing the remarks at the table it looked like they liked the uphill bit very much. And the best part was yet to come - the famous "Longest Downhill in Belgium" . 

The Longest Downhill is a mixture of everything that make riding a bike offroad in the Ardennes so special. Starting in the Fagnes, we take in quite a bit of doubletrack before arriving at a small track with a river crossing. Then, arriving at the Vecquee, things turn wet and soggy forcing us between the trees to negotiate hundreds of roots. A very stony downhill follows, taking us close to the river Hoegne. Another very difficult downhill, with lots of stones, small rivulets of water and gullies, takes a victim. One flat tyre, from the looks of it a snakebite. Then we zoom down again towards the river Hoegne. A section with a couple of river crossings by wooden bridges, forest tracks interspersed with roots, rocks and small puddles, a little uphill section through a river, a fast singletrail downhill, its all there. During the downhill at one moment the group split up in 2 parts, unfortunately exactly at the spot where I had foreseen a very interesting singletrack. A singletrack out of the 2007 World Championship Marathon circuit in Verviers no less. The second group had taken a right turn where they should have gone left. My fault, I was assuming the group was more closely together. As it stood, I had no option but to leave the singletrack be and take my part of the group after the runaway members. We found them 1.5K further, waiting at the end of an offroad section not far from Neufmarteau.

19-09-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Since the KBC MTB club changed the date for their annual Ardennes ride from October 3rd to September 19th - meaning NEXT weekend - without first asking my opinion I was forced to take a day off from work to do a recon of the route. Why ? Because I am the guide and as such I need to know if there are any track changes and also because it was a while ago since I last did this route completely. Now, obviously, I am not sad to have a reason to go to Theux and muck about a bit on the trails, but the last time I did this ride - last year in September - I made a bad move on my bike causing my back to get hurt. Of course this was playing in my head and I didn't want the same to happen again.
I contacted my friend Roger to ask him if he would like to come along and I was glad he said yes. It's always safer to not ride alone on these kind of trips. I had manually prepared the GPS track on Mapsource and was set to follow it on the Edge 705. We arrived at the Theux train station at about 10am and quickly after that we were on the move. The weather was grim but dry and with a forecast of clearing skies later in the day.
The KBC MTB club insisted on leaving at the Theux station - me I much more prefer leaving at the Chateau de Franchimont. The extra couple of K's joining the Theux station to the start of the uphill were a bit of a maze into the Theux city back streets. Especially at the local school we were forced to find another track around the school. So I started off on the climb towards the Franchimont Castle. Halfway up there is a track leading down again, dropping us onto a meadow with a 'Private' sign. We could see the track we needed to get to, less than a 100 metres further , so we skipped underneath the barriers and quickly made our way towards the trail. No harm done.
Leaving Theux on the 'Devant Staneu' tarmac street, the climbing begins. Quickly the trail drops back down and re-ascends very steeply to run parallel to the railroad and next to the majestic "Bois de Staneu" for a while. Then I am skipping trails and we were climbing steadily along the Clementine ruisseau towards the Golf de Spa. A bit of tarmac and a nice twisting singletrack leads us towards another trail that Roger enjoyed very much. Me I had been here before but I also love this little singletrack, which goes up and down like a big tobogan with on the right a big dropoff and on the left the forest and the hill going upwards . In Sart another bit of tarmac but quickly we are on a singletrack again. This leads us upwards towards a big road. Crossing this we descend on a forest track towards the real start of the uphill, the "Passerelle Michel Thorez" . This was the exact spot where I hurt my back last year so I was a bit awkward riding here. We stopped to have a little snack and take some pictures.

The track then sets into the fagnes with a long ascend on bad tarmac turning eventually into a gravel road. The sun peeps through the clouds and Roger is thinking about removing a layer of clothing. I am glad he didn't because there are colder climes awaitign us higher up.
A little descent and then the trail meanders upwards towards the Signal de Botrange. At 692 metres this is officially the highest point in Belgium. It took us 2h30 to reach it and we were about 33K into the ride. Taking Roger towards the viewpoint looking out towards Germany, we noticed it was cold - 14 degrees and a cold northerly wind and still a bit misty. Although the sun was making an effort to pierce through the low cloud cover. We had a snack, took some pictures and got underway for the downhill part of the ride.
The downhill is a lot more technical that the uphill. At first it is easy with the big gravel roads, but then I take a little track through the Fagnes towards the Vecquee. Having to cross a little river and riding on some wooden elevated paths we reach the larger Vecquee trail. At some points on the Vecquee there was some water - not mud, but plain water - that forced us into the pine tree forest next to it. Here there were roots making life difficult for our full suspension bikes. But things got even more difficult when we reached the end of the Vecquee and came on a rocky and stony doubletrack leading us towards the Hoegne. Having a full suspension bike turns out to be a blessing here. And things got even more technical when I set onto the downhill towards the little pavillion looking out over the deep Hoegne valley. Rocks, ruts, little rivulets crossing the trail and the plain steepness of the descents made us enjoy these trails to the fullest. This is the real Ardennes stuff. Tough and rough. Quickly we were ejected onto the tarmac track we had followed less than an hour ago upwards. But this time we were speeding down towards the Passerelle Michel Thorez again. Here I turned to the right and we encountered the river Hoegne again, having to cross it several times using small wooden bridges. And between the bridges we followed a foothpath strewn with roots, rocks and small puddles. Again our bikes brought us joy.

At one point I got confused when the GPS reacted too slow to a number of direction changes and we took a wrong turn for about 100 metres. Then I came to my senses and turned around, and so did the GPS. A bit of uphill tarmac, a right turn and we were enjoying the Ardennes again. Track after track, at one point riding into a little river for a short uphill stretch. We came to some kind of chicken garden and again I hesitated and the GPS was too slow deciding where to go. We did a long extra loop. The good thing about navigating with the Edge 705 is that it always gets you back on the track you should be following. But the simple lack of trails made us do an extra 4 or 5K before we were back on the right trail. We were nearing Neufmarteau now and the last stretch of trail along the river Hoegne. In Polleur we had to climb again , and most decidedly so, since we were following a trail that brought us nearly 100 metres higher up the slope. Downhill again - we were on the Red Theux route but riding it in the opposite direction. Arriving in Sassor I take us into a right turn leading towards a steep uphill. Its the last one because after shedding many a droplet of sweat we can see Theux lying below us. Zooming down the downhill we arrive at the road to Verviers again and turn towards the Theux train station and our car.
We were very lucky with the weather. It was around 15 degrees when we started and it remained like that until we were descending again. Temperatures then went up towards 18 degrees and the sun was shining more, bringing us light and warmth. Furthermore the tracks were almost dry with only some water high up in the Fagnes. I really enjoyed the ride and from the grin on Rogers' face I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it too. Afterwards I edited my GPS track so that the KBC MTB club could use it next saturday. I uploaded the un-edited version to my Garmin account. Click on the link below to download it and ride this beautiful trail yourself. Be warned though, it takes a fair bit of fitness , some Ardennes experience and a good bike to enjoy it to the fullest.

Ride Stats : 66k and 1140/1215 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h29mins

GPS Track on Garmin Connect : CLICK

7135/71635

17-09-2009, 21:03 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today I settled for an easy recovery ride. The wind was pretty fierce and didn't make it any easier to keep my heartrate down but I could complete my lap without any problems.

Ride Stats : 25K and 150/235 in 1u12mins

7069/70420

14-09-2009, 15:23 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

13-09-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

 

11-09-2009, 21:07 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

There are also disadvantages to using it in navigational mode though. Sure, you get a beep and  directional indications of an upcoming turn. But after taking a turn the unit has to recalculate its position and this takes a couple of seconds. Obviously when there are lots of tracks or when you are on a fast downhill a "couple of seconds" could take you past your next turn. Of course it does suggest a U-turn to bring you back on the right track or, if you persist in the 'wrong' direction, it re-calculates and proposes another route back to the original track. That is a definite advantage of using it in the navigational mode.

I think I did miss a little section in the Hoog Linden area because at one point I could not make out the direction I needed to take. That is another disadvantage of the navigational mode. It tends to switch the map scale all of the time, and manually zooming in is not always possible. Remember I'm on a mountain bike and I need both my hands on the handlebar/brakes and I best keep my eyes on the track as well. Trying to figure out which direction I should take should only take a fraction of a second. Most of the time you are OK with the Edge. It beeps when a turn is upcoming and it displays the track and the direction you need to take. When you are really close to the turn it beeps again and counts down the meters/seconds to the turn. But sometimes it gets complicated .

I started at home today and picked up on the trail after Korbeek Lo. I had put the Edge in navigation mode when I left and it immediately picked up on the trail when I crossed it. The first couple of kilometers were very nice with some passages in a forest and a great and tricky downhill leading me towards Pellenberg. Before coming at the Pellenberg church there is a really steep and narrow climb, with steps and all, making it necessary to really grind down and give it all you got. I had noticed a lot of thorns on the tracks during a singletrack passage in some backwood and surely enough, not long after that I could feel my rear tyre loosing all pressure.

Damn, I retracted 2 thorns from my outer tyre and indeed found 2 pinpricks in the inner tyre. I only had two patches left so I used those and re-inflated the tyre. Sadly enough there seemed to be a third hole because the tyre wouldn't hold pressure. No more patches so I used one of my spare inner tubes.
This left me with only one spare inner tube and no means to patch a tyre. I needed to be extra careful. When I arrived in Lubbeek - where the route starts - I asked around but no-one could point me to a bike-shop.  I continued and the track leads me towards a steep climb up to some Jesus statue. Calvarieberg, indeed it was quite a struggle to ride it. Nice singletrack after that zooming down again. The trail then meandered over small tarmac roads towards the Diestse Steenweg that I crossed to arrive at a very nice singletrack that consisted of trees put across the track. This is a very wet area and I imagine the wood is the only way to keep the track manage-able in wet conditions.  A bit of suspension is welcome here and after a while I arrived at the end of the track. The track is on the Sassenbeek walking route and the area here is called Gempe. Some nice passages follow, a lot of singletracks in the fields and near Tielt Winge a great passage in a big forest.The track then turns towards the West to reach Sint Pieters Rode and Kortrijk Dutsel. I needed to be extra careful because it seemed that a lot of thornbushes had been pruned and sometimes there were branches left on the track. I did not need another flat! Arriving in Linden and looking for a small track that seemed to be dug over by some construction workers. I asked a local and he pointed me to another track that lead me where I needed to go. I particularly remember a very steep downhill, that ended with a tight turn to the right.. great! A nice section in Hoog Linden followed and soon enough I was back in Kessel Lo and crossing the Diestse Steenweg again. A last bit of singletrack taking me up the crest and I was back at the point where I had injected myself onto the route.

I continued to use the Garmin in its navigation mode and asked it to take me home. It needed to recalculate a lot because I was taking more than one turn it did not foresee, but it got me home allright. A good experience today and I might just switch back to using gpx tracks in the future.
A good workout as well and an interesting track. Of course the height differences are not what they are in the Ardennes or even in Brabant Walloon, but the O2 Bikers trail incorporates some nice singeltrails and some surprisingly steep uphills and downhills. The many sections on small trails in the fields are testimony to the fact that the guys really know this area very well. To be recommended , not to be underestimated though and take enough patches and spare inner tyres with you to survive the thorns. Oh, and a good pump of course.

Ride Stats : 64K and 705/810 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h34mins

6902/68520

09-09-2009, 18:35 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The weather was overcast and with temps of around 15 degrees C it wasn't too warm either when I rode out to do my Secret Meerdael Loop. It had been a while and with the Ardennes being wet it was a good opportunity to ride it and check out some new sections. Obviously I can't tell much about it, if anyone wants to ride it, contact me and we can work something out to ride it together. My Polar missed a section so I had to rely completely on the Garmin Edge 705 for all facts and figures. As you can see I went over the 1100 heightmeter mark, which is due to some new sections I added. The bike performed flawlessly - no creaks or groans - and the conditions of the trails was excellent. Some of the narrow singletracks were a bit overgrown but wearing long trousers protected me from all the nettles and other brambles. 

Ride Stats : 58,5K and 1110 heightmeters (Garmin) in 4h6mins

Decided to pick up on the Gordel trail today. I noticed yesterday that the Gordel trail passed at the Zoete Waters. A little searching on the Gordel website quickly revealed that this was a 50K trail concentrating on the regions between Leuven and Overijse. Nice.
So I rode this trail today. There was a lot of wind and the temperatures weren't very high when the sun disappeared after one of the many clouds. Apart from a few droplets in the wind it remained dry during my ride but when I arrived in Sint Agatha Rode on the last stretch of the loop the tarmac was wet, so it had rained here. The trail itself wasn't very spectacular but offered a nice succession of quiet backroads and even some gravel tracks. Luckily the Marathon Supreme tyres on my Hilset laugh at those conditions and I had a good easy long distance workout. In Overijse I stopped to take a picture of the starting gate. Tomorrow this place will be inundated with literally thousands of bikers doing the annual Gordel event around Brussels. The event started out as a 100K loop to accentuate the Flemish presence all around Brussels but through the years it has evolved, offering longer road loops of up to 177K, local loops - like the one I did - of 24 and 50K and a plethora of mountainbike loops also starting in Overijse and focussing on the tracks of and around the 2 valley Bloso routes in Overijse, Tombeek and Ottenburg. I have done the 100K once, a couple of years ago, and what I remember is that it is a fine loop but way too crowded for my liking. Still if you haven't done it , its a nice experience and to be recommended.

Ride Stats : 64K and 425/490 heightmeters in 2h57mins

6780/66600

05-09-2009, 15:51 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

04-09-2009, 20:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yesterday it was raining lightly most of the afternoon and when I rode aout today I was surprised the forest and other terrain was dry again. I decided to go offroad and do some more K's on the Moots.
I received some bad news from ABC Fietsen about the Tune bearings. Seems the Tune importer for the Benelux - Peza trading I believe - decided to pack it in , leaving ABC without a source for Tune goodies and putting the responsability to get the bearings with me. I contacted Tune about direct delivery to me, but they are slow reading their emails it seems. ABC Fietsen is OK with installing the bearings once I have received them.

I rode through Meerdael Forest and St Agatha Rode towards the Overijse BLOSO routes and with a menacing sky above did all 3 of them, adding some extra climbs in the process. My Moots YBB has been making creaking noises for the last couple of rides and I was trying to figure out where the noise came from. It only happened when I pedalled and being seated or standing up didn't make a difference. Weird.

So it either came from the XTR bottom bracket or perhaps from the small YBB suspension unit which has 5 years in it and is in need of a rehaul. The aluminium slider is getting worn by the continuous movement. I already have a replacement part but am not very keen to do the overhaul myself. Perhaps I will ask Filip Sport to do it for me when I turn the bike in for its yearly checkup.
Anyway I blocked the rear suspension and the creaking seemed to lessen, but did not disappear completely. Having the Moots turned into a front-suspension-only bike didn't add to the comfort and I quickly loosened the rear suspension after a couple of kilometers. The clicking sounds seemed to increase until all of a sudden they disappeared completely for the rest of the ride. Funny things, titanium bikes, aren't they?
I felt very good today and had a strong average and good feeling in the many climbs. Near the end of the ride, making my way back into Meerdael Forest for some last climbing, the skies got dark but still no drops fell.

Ride Stats : 55K and 805/870 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h53mins

6693/65895

02-09-2009, 20:20 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning my legs felt like a train had run over them. But I wanted to ride the Ronde Van Leuven today so around 10 I was at the Primary School in Blanden to get inscribed, receive an apple and be on my way for a 55K big lap around Leuven...the ride went in clockwise direction this year. So I came through Winksele, Kortrijk-Dutsel, Linden, Lovenjoel and Bierbeek in succession. The weather was Ok, with a strong wind nevertheless that was noticeable in the plains. After I went round the big lap I added the local lap in Blanden for another 20K of beautiful landscapes . This lap was more rural with some passages on field roads and even a big chunk in Meerdael Forest. So it was more suited for mountainbikes than the big lap, which was completely on tarmac. Still, on my Hilset with the big Marathon Supreme tyres I couldn't be bothered with the condition of the trails. These tyres take everything what comes in their stride. At the end of the ride I had nearly 80K on my counters and a nice 500+ heightmeter figure.

Ride Stats : 79K and 440/525 heightmeters in 3h34mins
Map :


6638/65025

30-08-2009, 15:45 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yes, this morning I took my Mazda and drove it to the Franchimont castle in Theux. My plan was to start on the Green, hop over on the Blue and then on the Red. On the Red I would then descent into the Ninglinspo valley, looping over the Blanches Pierres and the Tour Drouet, ascent along the Ninglinspo and then follow the Red again, hop over on the Blue and finish in Theux. At 10am I was ready to roll. It was fresh with only 14 degrees C but at least it promised to be dry. It took a little while to get back into Ardennes mode but once I found my rhythm I found my legs to be better than I expected. The tracks are rocky here, so I took care to add a couple of psi to my tyre pressure. Even with a full suspension bike, and especially on tough circuits like the Theux Adeps routes, a little bit more goes a long way. The tracks were surprisingly dry as I thundered into Polleur where I rejoined the Red route for a little while climbing into the outskirts of the Bois de Staneu. The Red then goes straight while the Green veers to the left for the first long climb of the day. I could do the climb on my middle chainring but after a while I decided it might be better to put it on the little ring in front. Better not tyre my legs unneccessary. Arriving on top I had to follow the tarmac road for a while before coming to the first long descent. A rocky number this one, and I had to change lines quite a few times in order to stay on the bike. But as usual, the Merlin did its magic and inspired me with the confidence needed when doing rides like this one on your own. Into the valley and hopping onto the Blue route for another long climb, back over 300 metres. Another descent and I was on the road to Spa. Crossing it and then disappearing into the forest again for the next - very rocky - climb. After a while you leave the forest and I noticed the sun was shining intermittently, just warming things up a little bit. The cool temperatures were great for my form because I was really feeling strong. Onto the Red route and slowly climbing up to the 400 metre mark.

Just before reaching that I came to the edge of the Ambleve valley. Here I left the Adeps route for a descent into the valley I call dreamland. Descending towards the Blanches Pierres rivulet and on a big forest track making good speed on the 18% slope before arriving at the Tour Drouet, which offers a great view over the Ninglinspo valley. The Ninglinspo is a little river that drops from the plateau down towards the Ambleve river, some 270 metres deeper. I took a break at the Tour Drouet, some  26K into the ride. Having a bite to eat and taking some pictures, I notice som white constructions on the horizon. Strange, they look like big blocks, but what is their purpose? Time will tell for sure.
Deeper down into the valley and I was ready for the long ascent, following the little Ninglinspo river on its trail. Some 3K long and offering a height gain of 250 metres, this is a nice climb and especially today, when it was very dry and offering good traction to my Nobby Nics. I met up with a runner who was a local and was doing a 16K run in and out of this valley. Strong guy! When I arrived at the top I had already decided I would abandon my plan to get back on the Blue and follow that into Theux. I felt good and so I decided to follow the much more difficult Red route. This offers quite a bit more climbs, and some tricky descents, especially the drop into the Forges Thiry is to be treated with respect. As is essentially every descent on the Red route, which has its toughest section near the end.

Near the end I was suffering on the last climb, a very steep number climbing from downtown Theux up towards the Franchimont castle. The slope is between 11 and 18% and even reaches 20% at one point. After 60K in this kind of terrain is a tough cookie. But i managed it and with some relief I saw my red Mazda standing still on the parking lot near the Franchimont castle. This combination of the 3 routes + the descent into the Ambleve valley is a nice ride, not for the meek I hasten to tell, the terrain is not to be underestimated and has surprises around every corner. A good bike and some experience in the Ardennes is a must on these kinds of rides. There are some sections that offer a bit of recuperation but - especially on the red route - most of the time you are either climbing or trying to ride one or the other technical downhill. I nearly lost it when my front wheel washed away over some stones in a corner whilst descending a 14% slope on a double trail field track. The tracks were narrow and extremely rockstrewn and only a quick reflex and possibly a combination of a good bike with good tyres saved me from a trip to the hospital. Things like that tend to happen near the end of the ride, when concentration is a bit less and fatigue is building up. But they might just as well happen in the beginning, when you underestimate the trail and/or overestimate yourself. So be warned, stay safe and keep the rubber side down.

Ride Stats : 63K and 1500/1550 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h00mins

GPS Track on Garmin Connect : CLICK

6560/64500

29-08-2009, 20:03 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another strange day weather-wise. It was clouded but warm most of the day and when I got home I was sure I would see some rain whilst going out biking. But apart from some moist asphalt at one time things stayed dry, and the sun even returned near the end of my ride. It looks like the summer is going into its last quarter. The days are getting shorter, the smells of ripe prunes is in the air and some trees are dropping their leaves. This might well have been caused by the very hot temperatures of last week but nevertheless one can sense a turning point has been passed. The summer is now turning into its last weeks before autumn will set in. For me this is the best period.
Today I started on the Haasrode tour and followed that until I reached La Bruyere, here I turned towards Beauvechain and then onwards to Tourinnes and Hamme Mille. I added another loop over Nethen, Sint Joris Weert and the Zoete Waters to finish with a nice distance and a good feeling in my legs.

Ride Stats : 61k and 425/495 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h46mins

6497/62950

27-08-2009, 20:53 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

It didn't look like it would stay dry when I left, but it was warm enough and the sun did shine through the clouds from time to time. So I went for a road ride, following more or less the 30K road BLOSO starting in Heverlee. My tune sixpack axle is still wandering around but I already contacted ABC Fietsen in Merksem to order a new set of bearings. I just have to knock it back in place each time I get home.
The ride went well, very relaxing pace - 107bpm average - along Sint Joris Weert, Sint Agatha Rode and over to Loonbeek and further on to Everberg and Egenhoven. A little loop into the Arenberg castle park and I was in Heverlee and nearly home. And yes, it stayed dry and after a while the skies cleared out completely.

Ride Stats : 39K and 325/355 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h47mins

6436/62455

26-08-2009, 19:39 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Intrigued by a book I read , I rode towards the Chateau de Valduc today, on the east side of the Meerdael Forest, not far from Hamme Mille. The parc of this chateau , which stands on the grounds of an old abbey, is said to hold the oldest pine tree in Belgium, a taxus which is estimated at being 770 years old. Since the Cistercienzer abbey was founded in 1232, this might be a correct assumption. Obviously the grounds are private but I managed to penetrated through a hole in the wall and check out some parts of it. Unfortunately I could not find the taxus. I did spot some very big trees though, proving that there are indeed some very old vestiges of greenery here. I must return here and ask about the tree, but I only saw a farmer and some playing children on the castle grounds. Neither of them seemed to be bothered by my passing on what are after all private grounds. 

After this I set my course towards Archennes where I dabbled along in the Dyle valley. Looking for a possibility to cross over from Archennes to the Bois de Laurensart, but I didn't manage to find a way. The river was blocking me and there seemed to be no bridges between Gastuche and Florival.

I set towards Gastuche next to ride up to the Bois de Laurensart on its western border , with the steep climb near the Tomme. I had spotted some dark clouds gathering in the southwest, and decided to hurry home over Pecrot and Nethen and through the Meerdael Forest. In all I had a pleasant low-effort ride and with the cloud cover the temperature was manageable as well, around 26 degrees C.

Ride Stats : 39k and 365/435 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h19mins

6397/62100

24-08-2009, 20:26 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I had planned to go to Theux today to ride a combination of the Green and Blue Adeps route. But a splitting headache that started last evening and lasted until today made me decide otherwise.
I waited for the warmth to subside a bit to grab my Moots and do a ride towards Lubbeek. I let my GPS navigate to the start of the O2 Bikers route in front of the Lubbeek church and I must say, it navigated well. Unfortunately at one point the road I was supposed to follow was gone. It was in a big forest and I guess the local landlord let the roads slide into wilderness. You could still vaguely see the contours of what once was a path but the forest had taken possession of it, forcing me to walk several hundred metres before I emerged at the other side of the forest and could continue riding my bike. The Edge didn't freeze like it used to do in the beginning when it had to navigate more than an hour, so that is good news. It means I can follow GPX tracks instead of having to convert them into non-routed Course format tracks.
At the Lubbeek church I followed the first couple of K's of the Lubbeek route - also in GPX format - before deciding to call it a day and find my way back home. The Lubbeek route will hold, for now I was glad that I could navigate with the Edge and that my headache wasn't getting any worse. I arrived home just before dusk set in.

Ride Stats : 41K and 390/440 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h17mins

6358/61665

23-08-2009, 20:39 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yesterday was the hottest day of the year. Temperatures soaring way over 30 degrees C - 34 degrees in Ukkel and a record-breaking 38,2 degrees in Kleine Brogel. No way you could go out and bike in that kind of weather. The heavy thunderstorm that reached us in the early evening dropped the temperatures by 25 degrees and cooler air reached Belgium after that.
So today evening it was great biking weather. The warlth got washed out of the skies and the trails were moist but not overly wet. I took the Moots out for another exploratory ride in Brabant Walloon. But since the weather was more favorable I made it a much bigger loop than last wedsnesday. Starting out in the usual way over Nethen, La Malaise, Bossut and Archennes and then making my way to Gastuche and over the crest towards Dion. Having a bite to eat near the two Chapels close to Wavre and then I was following the big road to Perwez for a while to arrive in Dion Valmont. Here I spotted some white arrows pointing into small tracks and decided to try and follow those for a while. With my GPS on I could see they were actually leading somewhere so I discovered some interesting new singletrails. Pity some of the trails are barred by neighboring owners. They just put a gate in the middle of the track, sticking a ' Propriete Privée' sticker on it and be done with it. I once rode into what looked like a road going somewhere only to find a gate on the far end. The owner of one of the houses next to the road rode up to me - he was sitting on one of those big lawnmowers, people are generally well off in this area - and began making a lot of noise. Not to be shaken I told him my GPS indicated a road implicating I had every right to be here. He gave up and motored away while I opened his gate and let myself out into the other side of the road.
Some of the tracks were real jewels, in downtown Dion le Mont - or it might have been Dion Valmont - I found a little track starting off between a high wall and a dark patch of forest. Going up very steep , going down again and up once more before arriving at a busy road. Crossing the road there was a flight of stairs going down - I didn't ride those - and the track meandering again uphill. The heavy rains had cleared most of the tracks and left a hard trail, sometimes debris and washed-out holes made things a bit technical but also added to the enjoyment.

Making my way into another garden, the owner pointing me in the right direction in a very friendly and bilungual manner, I slowly arrived in the neighborhood of Bonlez. Here I encountered some more familiar trails from the Accro Bike or other O2 Bikers roadbooks. I felt good throughout the ride and decided to make a big loop here before slowly returning towards Biez and Cocrou. The heightmeters were accumulating nicely but I still was surprised at the amount when I arrived home. I included a loop in Gottechain - sister town to Bossut - and nearly rode the church stairs. But I chickened out at the last moment. Stairs don't agree with me unless I am on a real full suspension bike. After Gottechain I made my way towards Hamme Mille and Valduc before entering the Meerdael Forest for a quick visit to the Dikke Eik and then returning home over Hoog Blanden. I had a very agreable ride and was a bit surprised at my fitness level. Not feeling very strong in the beginning but getting better throughout the ride.

Ride Stats : 60.5K and 810/975 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h34mins

6317/61225

21-08-2009, 23:55 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

It was very hot today, around 34 degrees C still when I left home for a ride that would take me to Gastuche. I chose the Moots because I wanted to ride as much as possible offroad though the forests. Through Meerdael towards Nethen and then Bossut and down to Archennes. A bit of tarmac now and I was at garage Francorchamps in Gastuche. I had heard Simons' Lamborghini Diablo SV Conversion was there for some maintenance and I would like to see the beast in real life. The car was there but it opened up and there were lots of people working on it so I chose not to take any pictures, instead I will upload a picture to this topic.
Next I moved on up the hill towards the N25 and then dropped back into Gastuche to cross the N268 and move towards Ottenburg. I climbed up the hill and then took the private road through the Bois de Laurensart towards Eerken. Followed the Red Bloso for a while to end up in Sint Agatha Rode to check up on the young donkey that I had seen there a week ago. The little one had grown quite a bit and he wasn't shy at all.

I next rode towards the Meerdael Forest again to finish with a little loop towards the Kluis and the Zoete Waters. Temps had dropped to a more reasonable 26 degrees C when I arrived home.

Ride Stats : 43.5K and 425/429 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h20mins

6256/60250

19-08-2009, 21:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

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

6173/59340

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