A couple of days' rest because I had a severe case of saddle soreness but today I decided to ride out anyway. Still not fully healed and the pain was the main reason I didn't do the Meerdael BLOSO routes completely but opted to do only the Blue. The more hillier of the 3 anyway. I rode towards the Zoete Waters and started there on the Meerdael Blue. One climb and a big descent later I was in Sint Joris Weert where I turned towards Sint Agatha Rode to make the connection with the Overijse '2 Valleien' BLOSO routes. The 2 valleys obviously refering to the Ijse and Lasne (Lane) valleys. I did a little extra loop in Sint Agatha Rode, with a nice singletrack between the houses and then I was in the Zesdagmaalstraat, where the Overijse Red passes. The tracks were extremely dry and dusty so I had no trouble at all except preventing my tyres to wash out in the turns and getting caught in dried-out gullies and ruts.

It took me 1h50 to complete the 32.5K of the 3 Overijse routes and returning in Sint Agatha Rode I made the connection back towards Sint Joris Weert following the yellow arrowing. Returning on the Blue Meerdael I immediately was in for a long climb out of Sint Joris Weert. This blue route is the more hilly of the 3 and offers 2 big climbs and a nice flowing descent towards Nethen. The descent was almost done without hitting the brakes. The long uphill alongside the Nethen wall was made more difficult by the sections of loose sands, draining my legs of energy. By now I had decided to only do the Blue Meerdael. The pain whilst sitting on the saddle was still too much. If you add the Red and the Green Bloso routes in Meerdael you will reach the 100K barrier quite easily. I have done this ride a couple of times already - you can check the Blog entries of July 19th, 2007 and September 8th of last year. I have uploaded my GPS track of today to EveryTrail and you can check it out by clicking on the link below.

Ride Stats : 68K and 800/915 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h42mins

Meerdael Blue combined with Overijse 2 Valley route at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: Travel Community

7718/78965

02-10-2009, 18:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Around noon the sun was peeping through the cloud cover and I gathered myself on my Moots for an easy ride. I put a little more pressure in my tyres because I was going out for a mixed ride, some tarmac, some offroad. Starting out into Heverlee forest I came accross a slow-worm (Anguis Fragilis or Hazelworm in Dutch) lying in the middle of the track. Probably warming up a bit in the sparse sunlight. After having taken its picture I moved on for a big loop, taking small tracks and bigger ones. During these kind of rides I never have an exact plan, I just follow my front wheel. After a passing through Heverlee and the Arenberg campus I came in the area around the Bertem petrol station alongside the E40. Making a few loops over singletrails, then crossing the E40 and following the Green Bloso route towards Korbeek Dijle.

Here I disappeared into the Doode Beemde. We have seen a considerable amount of days without rain so I wasn't bothered about getting my feet wet. On the contrary, every trail here was dry and hard. Passing over wooden boardwalks that normally stand over moory ground, there was no water to be seen underneath . There were big groups of young juveniles with guides, they were probably busy cleaning up the area or attending an explanation about the Doode Beemde. Crossing the pastures I saw some beautiful brown cows grazing, some with calves. The tracks pass straight through their pastures, so I musn't forget to close the fences. Nearing Sint Joris Weert I decide to ride towards Pecrot and La Malaise. Further on towards Bossut and then down towards Hamme Mille. I see a big white church standing out against the horizon and realize the old church of Tourinnes La Grosse is out of its scaffolding. It has been getting a thorough cleaning since last winter and now the big tower is back in all its splendor. I decide to ride up to it and take a couple of pictures. Looping around it I managed to get a picture from high up on one of the surrounding hills.

My last couple of kilometers then bring me back along the Chapelle Sainte Corneille in Mille and into the Meerdael Forest. After more than 3 hours but with an average heartrate of only 105bpm I am back home with a nice distance under my belt. Now its time for a days' rest and perhaps later this week I might go to Nandrin or the like. The only factor seems to be the weather. It has been dry for a long time but it looks like it 'might' rain nearing the weekend. Just have to wait and see I guess.

Ride Stats : 84K and 425/540 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h15mins

7650/78050

29-09-2009, 18:52 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning saw a lot of mist so I had to wait until noon for the sun to come out. But then the conditions were ideal for a long ride. Not too warm and almost no wind. I decided to ride the 50K version of the Accro Bike, once an organised ride that was held in October and offered a 42K version, also as a chrono, and a longer 50K version. The version I ride dates from 2001 or 2002, after that the ride did not enter the Chaumont Gistoux area. In 2008 it was decided not to organise the ride any more. With the recent O2 bikers roadbook focussing on Grez Doiceau, I had not ridden the Accro Bike for a while. The O2 Bikers roadbook uses a lot of the same trails, but mostly in the reverse direction. It also offers some new trails, trails that I could use to make a special version of the 50K Accro Bike.
I started out as usual riding through Bossut and Archennes towards Grez Doiceau. The Accro Bike starts on the village square and then rides in a clockwise fashion through Biez, Cocrou, Pietrebais , Longueville, Chaumont Gistoux, Inchebroux, Bonlez and Dion Le Val. I added an extra descent over a singletrack in Pietrebais followed by a long ascent from downtown Pietrebais all the way up to the chapel in Longueville. From there I continued along the Accro Bike trail, descending into Heze and then clicking on the 42k version. I added and extra descent/ascent into the Gorge aux Loups , and then found a new trail in the Bois de Glabais, so that I didn't have to do the difficult - read, unride-able - sandy ascent. The new trail runs parallel to the sandy groove and is steep as well, but still manageable. A bit further, in Les Bruyeres I avoid the very steep ascent, taking a more moderate climb to reach the same connection in the Bois de Chaumont. When I climbed out of Bonlez, on a small tarmac road, a dog attacked me. Somehow it had escaped from behind its fence. It bit me but only superficially. I screamed my lungs out, partly to scare the dog, and partly to let go of my frustration towards the owners of the canine attacker. It didn't pursue me and after checking my upper leg I found nothing but some squeeze marks. No blood. So I decided to move on.

In Dion Le Val I also added a small extra loop , dropping down into the fields from the N25 and then turning left to ride back upwards towards the N25 again. Just before the tunnel I turn right and follow a singletrack that eventually reaches a long downhill into Dion Le Val. Another long climb into the Bois de Bercuit, followed by a downhill towards Gastuche. Back upwards on the same slope and after another downhill I'm back in Grez-Doiceau. The ride is 55K on my GPS and offers 900 heightmeters. Thats 5K and 100 heightmeters more than the original Accro Bike Trail. The dry conditions made it a breeze to ride it, taking into account that the relentless following of climbs and descents, some up to 27% makes this ride a challenge, both physical as technical. When it has rained you can add an extra hour to your total time, the trails become very heavy and very difficult when wet. Not to be underestimated. I offer the trail map and a link to the GPS track. Beware loose dogs and keep the noise level down on the small trails.
I returned towards Meerdael with a good feeling throughout the ride. I felt strong today and wanted to do some extra mileage in Meerdael Forest before arriving home after almost 5 hours on the bike.

Ride Stats : 84K and 1130/1250 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h59mins

Accro Bike 55k Special BBW at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: GPS Community

7592/77510

28-09-2009, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today I decided to do an easy recovery ride. My recent troubles with the shifting Sixpack axle precluded any real long rides, so I settled on a 60K loop. Starting over the Zoete Waters , Nethen and Hamme Mille, I turned towards Pietrebais and then cut left towards Sart Melin. Passing through beautiful little villages just south of the language border, Saint Remi Geest, Saint Jean Geest (pronounce SainJeanGee) I hooked up with the Ravel. Turning left again towards Hoegaarden. On the long climb out of Hoegaarden I noticed the axle had shifted again and the right crank started touching my frame when I applied the power. Luckily I found a solid cobble and I hit the left side of the crankshaft a couple of times to shift the entire axle back towards the left. High above Hoegaarden I took a picture of the view and then rode down towards Meldert. Another climb and turning right towards Willebringen and later left towards Neerijse. Passing Bierbeek I was nearly home. In Blanden I crossed my friend Roger and we had a chat in the warm afternoon sun. The warm and calm weather we have enjoyed this last week has been exceptional. But when the sun sets you feel the cold rising, after all it is late September.

Ride Stats : 61K and 415/475 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h52mins

7508/76260

26-09-2009, 19:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

A beautiful sunny morning and I couldn't wait to get on the Moots and hit the road. Short road section to Bierbeek and the start of the "Meerdaal 2000" ride I was going to recon today. This organised ride is taking place on Sunday the 25th of October,starting next to the Borre and the football fields. Please mark this ride on your calenders, it will be worth it.
The organisers gave me the GPX track to the longest distance, supposedly 65K. The track was made by someone connecting the dots on a map, and what that meant I was about to find out later.  Starting at the Borre the track veers to the left towards the southeasterly section of Meerdaal Forest. The forest was still fairly cold but the sun was heating up the fields I arrived in after a first section of trees. I noticed the trail on my GPS was not exactly following the road lines on the map, and at one time I was sent into a track that dead-ended. Mm, first drawback of drawing tracks on a map, you are never sure if the road you select is still there. But no worries , I turned around and chose another road to arrive where I should arrive. After all, this is my backyard and I know every nook and cranny here. A passage through the fields into and out of Tourinnes la Grosse. The sun is out in full september force and warms up my skin. Life is great.

Crossing the N91 and making my way towards the south I notice a hunting party to my left. But the guns are pointed in the other direction, no worries. A very nice section leading up through a difficult stony and rubbly track into the Bois de Linsmeau and then back down into Cocrou. Crossing another busy road and I'm making my way towards yet another forest patch. A 20% uphill makes me sweat and at the top I turn left for a quick downhill on tarmac. My GPS dictates me into a very narrow singletrail I know from the 2008 Belgian Championships Marathon track . Going down it is easier to negotiate the narrow track with a rivulet running parallel to it. Its dry now and everything is fine but I can imagine a lot of slipping and sliding when this trail is wet. At the bottom I cross a concrete bridge and then follow the track towards a tarmac road. Taking left here and then after 500m turning right for a very beautiful climb in a hollow road in the Bois de Beausart. At the top of the climb I stop for a little snack. While I'm eating I'm noticing 2 F-16 jetfighters passing. They are making fly-by's on the Beauvechain airstrip and I advance into the fields to make a couple of pictures. The powerful jet engines make the air tremble - chicken skin on my arms and legs.
When I look at my GPS I notice something is wrong. It is pointing me back to the north, back to the start. What has happened ? I stop, manually stop the navigation, select my track again and let it re-navigate and check my position. To my surprise I'm way off the trail! I turn to the south down into Pietrebais to reconnect with the proper trail I should be following. A bit further I see that the track veers off again. The Edge beeps and re-calculates its position when it loses the track, and when it does that it doesn't navigate you back to where the track lies, but it navigates you back to the start ! 
So that is what happened before as well. At one point it must have lost the track, and it can recalculate very quickly. So quickly you don't even notice it. In fact, there is only one way you CAN notice it has recalculated you towards the start. There is NO trail behind you ! Normally when navigating a gpx track you see a purple trail before you, but there is also a purple trail behind you. When it has re-calculated, you only see one part of the track. Check the pictures to understand what I mean.

Surely enough, now that I begin to pay more attention to the track I notice there are often moments when it runs next to the lines on the map. This is because it has been drawn on a PC, and is not an actual track made by riding on the trail. And when cutting a corner, or by plainly sending you into the field or the forest, the GPS gets confused, "loses" the track and promptly recalculates. OK. Lesson learned. I would have to stop at least 15 times, more frequently towards the end of the trail. Perhaps the trail drawer got sloppy I don't know, but it surely breaks the rhythm.
Ok, back to the trails. In Pietrebais there is a very nice singletrack climb bringing me towards the "Ferme de la Sarte" . This is Biez and there now follows a nice loop bringing me up towards Longueville. At the Chapel they choose a track that leads down into a deep gully, passing this and a very steep and difficult climb awaits. Great, I'm really enjoying this part of the ride. Long downhill down into Bonlez and directly turning to the right for a long climb up the ridge again. Dropping into downtown Biez and then taking the trail towards la Royenne. I notice my rear tyre seems to be slowly losing air and I stop to put some more pressure in it. I take the difficult and steep singletrack up towards Biez and after the church another singletrack leads me down towards Grez-Doiceau. This is "Accro Bike" country and the trails are very familiar to me. The heightmeters quickly accumulate and the pace needs to be watched, lest you overstrain yourself. The track now turns to the north and of course the singletrack climb towards Gottechain could not be left out. Great and difficult track. Will be slippery when wet though.

After Gottechain the trail then heads for Archennes, using another rarely used trail. Care has to be taken. The grass has been mown but still there are some ruts hiding and waiting to catch the wheels of the unwary. The climb out of Archennes and onto the La Malaise plains will surely start a lot of bikers wondering why they did not choose one of the shorter distances. Full attention is needed for the downhill that almost brings you into Florival. But the next hill is already waiting around the corner and after that a sweeping trail through the fields brings you high above Pecrot. Down along a sandy forest track with roots, ruts, drops and back up again in a long hollow road. Arriving in the Bois de la Hocaille, passing the beautiful white chapel, crossing the Rue de la Malhaise and veering left into a singletrack taking me eventually down towards the railroad. But not quite since the track turns right and then left to follow the railway for a while towards the Bois de Beaumont. Arriving in Nethen and passing the La Hetraie camping I am back in the Meerdael forest. And a 22% climb makes sure immediately that the ride is not over yet. Past the Weertse Dreef into the Kouterbos the terrain finally becomes less hilly and in the neighborhood of the Zoete Waters I have another bite to eat and put some more pressure into my rear tyre again. The last couple of K's into the Mollendaalbos and past the Blanden cemetery make for a nice cooldown .
I arrive back at the start with close to 70K on my counter and indeed almost a 1000 heightmeters. Not to be under-estimated, and I hope the trails will be dry on October 25th. The region is beautiful and demanding but the reward is a very nice ride and some challenges along the way, both technical and physical.

Ride Stats : 84.5K and 1015/1145 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h50mins

7447/75795

25-09-2009, 21:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I had plans to do a big offroad ride today but when I woke up it was raining and it kept on raining lightly throughout the entire morning. So I had to change my plans. Looking at the Time Trial World Championships in Mendrisio where an astonishing Fabian Cancellara degraded the rest of the field to also-rans I decided to do an easy recovery ride in the late afternoon. So I took out the Hilset for an easy spin along the 30K Road Bloso route starting in Heverlee. Nothing much happened , it was around 19 degrees C and very quiet and the roads had dried up nicely.
When I got home my attention was pointed to a big bird sitting in a tree around 200-300 metres from our home. It looked like a blue heron but to make sure I got the big 300 F2.8 lens out and was able to get a couple of shots in, despite the long distance, the waning light and the difficulty to keep the heavy camera and lens steady. It was a big heron indeed, no doubt resting and checking out the swimming pool of the neighbors.

Ride Stats : 35K and 215/260 heightmeters in 1h34mins

7363/74650

Another beautiful day and even though I felt tired form yesterdays' ride I decided to go out. On the Hilset this time. I am still waiting for the new crank bearings and am bearing up with the shifting axle for the moment. It seems to get worse because I had to stop along the way to hit it back in place with a piece of stone.
I set out over Hamme Mille and Bossut and rode all the way to Dion Valmont before looping back over Bonlez - where I took a picture of a nice F430 with a personalized numberplate . I discovered a tiny little backroad and this brought me towards La Royenne and further on to Grez Doiceau. Back along the busy N25 towards Hamme Mille and I noticed the axle had moved again. But I let it be until I got home were I treated it to a couple of firm blows with a big hammer. Tune may make light and exclusive stuff, but ever since I got this fastfoot crankarms I have had some kind of trouble with it. First the bolts would loosen all the time, the bearings are crap and now the axle is moving perpendicularly. The bearings are won and stiff and I'm guessing (hoping ?) this is what causes the titanium axle to shift. Anyways, if it keeps on shifting after it has received new bearings I might be on the lookout for a new crank.
For now I had an easy ride - really easy because my average heartrate was 99bpm - in fine sunny weather, even if there was a strong wind blowing. I leave you with a picture taken near Bossut.

Ride Stats : 37K and 330/445 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h50mins

7328/74390

This "old wives' summer" doesn't seem to end. Great ! After the 2 straining Ardennes rides from last week I needed to do something less difficult so I opted to ride the 73K distance of the organised ride the Leuvense Brandweer organised a few week back.
Great invention, GPS, because someone was kind enough to upload the track and hey presto, you can ride it yourself.
I connected with the track in Korbeek Dyle. Got the GPS aligned and off I went. The track first goes to the area between Neerijse and Leefdaal. Some very beautiful hollow roads here and of course the track builders take advantage of the rolling hills to score a lot of heightmeters. After a while the track turns to the north towards Bertem where it crosses the E40 a first time. A lot of field trails here, dusty and hard. But after crossing the N3, Bertem forest looms on the horizon. A very nice and difficult first loop here, with a 21% ascent that makes me strain my muscles to make it. Out of the forest for a loop towards the south to gather some momentum for another climb over the ridge. A fast descent along the forest edge and the track then turns towards the east. Another stretch of forest brings me up towards the radar buildings overlooking Bertem. I have a feeling the trails become a little easier now, as we turn towards the east again towards Everberg. But since 'berg' means 'hill' obviously before long another climb announces itself, this time on tarmac. But before long I am back offroad enjoying a nice descent and the trails aims towards the northwest now in the direction of Veltem Beisem and Winksele. My legs begin to tyre from the constant succession of climbs and descents. The trails are still hard and dusty. As I arrive in Winksele and undercross the N2 my GPS is having trouble finding the right direction and I have to take a moment to stop and stop the navigation. Letting it re-navigating the route again brings it back to life and on the right track. The trail now turns to the west for a last but very nice singletrack loop in a forest. It then runs parallel and eventually returns for another playful loop into this little wooded park, called Mollekensveld, if I'm not mistaken. There are some nice dropoffs here. I ride them without much trouble and am grinning when I remember that some people were complaining about them not being marked as 'dangerous' spots. Hey, it's mountainbiking, you can't expect it to be a road-ride. I pass the starting point, the Firemen caserne at exit 16 on the E314 and am now doing the first couple of K's of the ride bringing me back to Korbeek Dyle, where I started. Some nice tracks along the E314 , luckily they are dry , I've done them in other conditions as well and I can tell you, when wet or muddy they are a lot more difficult. When I arrive at Korbeek Dyle, I already have 78K on my GPS and riding back towards Meerdael along the Green Bloso route I stop at the Zoete Waters for a refreshing drink at the well near the chapel. I had a good long ride, not too difficult - especially when coming from the Ardennes - but certainly not easy. The amount of heightmeters will testify to that. I cannot but congratulate the track builders, I'm sure "Carlito" is one of them, on a very well laid-out ride. Here are a couple of pictures I took during the ride.

Ride Stats : 90K and 1060/1220 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h58mins

7291/73945

21-09-2009, 20:48 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

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

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6560/64500

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