Another relatively warm day, and no rain this time. A lot of wind with some heavy gusts so I decided to ride in the sheltered environment of the forest. Setting out at dusk with an unclouded sky I rode into Meerdael Forest. The trails were still wet but nothing that bothered me. Before long I was surrounded by shadows and only saw a couple of roe-deer and a cat . I heard a couple of owls making their typical noise. Very scary if you don't know what it is. I more or less followed the perimeter of the forest but stuck to the bigger roads, a little singletrail here and there notwithstanding. Had a good ride. On another note, my desktop PC is back up and running. It seemed all the troubles were due to a faulty hard-disk. I hope all stays up and running now, my PC-guy installed Vista Ultimate which I like better than XP . For the moment I only use it offline for my Polar and Garmin files. The online stuff - including this writing - is done on my HP HDX 16 laptop, also running Vista but the Premium edition. 
 
Ride Stats : 40K and 405/490 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h23mins

8722/90095

18-11-2009, 20:32 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Tomorrow rain, in the afternoon clearing skies and in the evening it was dry. Great ! I bought myself a new rear LED light and mounted it on the Litespeed. The Litespeed is the maid for all work since my Hilset is undergoing surgery at Filip Sport. Should be equipped with a new XTR crankset, coupled to Hope ceramic bottom bracket and Stronglight C116 chainrings any day now. Until the, the Litespeed is more than able to do its job.
Mounted my Lupine Tesla 4 on my helmet and rode out for a ride taking me through Blanden, Heverlee, Egenhoven and Bertem towards Leefdaal. The temperature was a mild 12 degrees C on average and there was a warm wind blowing form the southwest. The best conditions for a november ride. Only snag was that on some of the smaller roads there was quite a bit of mud from the farmers tyres. Riding offroad would be even more difficult since it rained quite a bit these last couple of days. From Leefdaal I turned towards Neerijse and then Sint Agatha Rode. Another little hill and I was riding towards Sint Joris Weert where I took the Weertse Dreef home.

Ride Stats : 36.5K and 265/305 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h46mins

8683/89605

16-11-2009, 20:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning saw a lot of rain, and a strong wind blowing. In the afternoon the rain went away but the wind stayed. It was warm with 15 degrees C so I decided to ride out for an easy long distance ride. Cleaned my bike after yesterday nights' ride but of course even on the tarmac roads , especially the smaller ones I tend to favor ,  there is a lot of mud and debris from the farmers' tractors. The wind was very fierce when I turned into it on the fields east of Hamme Mille, riding towards La Bruyere and L'Ecluse.

Past L'Ecluse I turned towards the North and could enjoy 30kph speeds without having to pedal.Soon I was in Hoksem and Kontich but turning towards Willebringen I could feel the wind blowing again, form the left side. Strong enough to be careful not to be tipped over when a rush of wind grabbed me between two houses. Nearing Bierbeek and descending into Neervelp I could hide a bit but the last section was full blast again. But I had a good ride and these days one has to take every opportunity to bike between the showers.

Ride Stats : 44K and 400 heightmeters (Garmin) in 2h11mins

8646/89300

13-11-2009, 19:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

After more than a week off from biking - due to a cold that first wouldn't break through and then wouldn't go away - I was eager to get out today. The 11th of November is a holiday in Belgium - in remembrance of the end of World War I - Armistice Day or Remembrance Day as its also called.
My Moots has been getting its yearly maintenance and the Hilset is at Filip Sport to receive a new crankset. The Merlin is having its yearly winter slumber so I was only left with the Litespeed to choose from. But that is no problem, this bike is very well suited for both on- and offroad riding. Because I was still on the mend from that cold I chose not to ride offroad but instead opted for an easy road ride taking me, not surprisingly, to the Ottenburg area. When I arrived at the start of the organised ride I couldn't help but notice that the attendance wasn't mindblowing. This could have been due to the condition of the forest and field tracks - wet - or perhaps also to the fact that there was a ride in Rotselaar. Not too far away not to be concurrent. I most certainly would not have been caused by the current weather, it was 9 degrees C and dry or the beauty of the region. You would be hard pressed to organise a BAD TT in Ottenburg. The area is just great for offroad pleasure.

But not for me , not today. I have ridden the Ottenburg ride a couple of times already and I don't think there is any road they take I haven't ridden before. They do change their trace from time to time, but most of the highlights are the same each and every year. Since I have the Garmin Edge 705 I tend to go to organised rides even less than before. The ones I do go to are special to me for one reason or another. When I looped back over Terlanen and Sint Agatha Rode I came across the Ottenburg organised rides' bikers several times. They were all rather muddy but seemed to enjoy the ride. So did I.

Ride Stats : 38.5K and 345/360 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h52mins

8569/88535

Today is supposed to be the last dry day with november due to start with some rainy days. This morning I rode to Deinze to participate at the Dyno Days at Apec, a local car tuner. When I got home I wanted to do a ride even though I haven't been feeling top fit these last few days. It looks like a cold that just won't come through. So I took the Litespeed and rode out. Yesterday I had the battery of my Polar replaced by triathlete Peter Laureyns in Huldenberg. He also noticed that my old casing was cracked, making the unit prone to water intrusion, so he proposed to replace it as well. I now have a very shiny new Polar . Here is a picture of it. .

My ride was taking me around Meerdael Forest, the Kouterbos and Heverlee Forest. I included some new tracks to make it almost 40K long. The many fallen leaves made me cautious in some narrow hardly-used trails. There were also some trees blocking one of the singletrails but in all I made good speed, staying low in the heartbeats to avoid stressing my body too much.

I can't wait for my Hilset to be fitted with its new Shimano XTR/Hope Ceramics/Stronglight CT2 crankset. Riding offroad all the time is not the best way to recuperate. Normally all the parts should be at Filip Sport next week.

Ride Stats : 39K and 420/540 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h15mins

8531/88175

Bijlagen:
DSC01003_s.jpg (121.3 KB)   

When I arrived home from work the sun had long left the skies and darkness was upon us. But I wanted to do a nightride anyway, so I rode out just past 6pm for a ride that took me along the Blue Meerdael BLOSO for starters. My 700 lumen Lupine Tesla 4 headlight proved to be a good source of illumination as I rode along the dark alleys . Once past the Zoete Waters I was completely alone in the dark forest. When I arrived on top of the hill past The Kluis I paused for a bite to eat. I dimmed my light and the only source of light was the half moon shining high above me on the open spot where I stood. I heard an owl cry nearby and it didn't take a vivid imagination to imagine all kinds of shapes crawling up to me in the darkness. After all, Halloween is near, isn't it. With a little shiver running down my spine I continued my ride along the Blue route, riding towards the Savenel where I paused to experiment a bit with my Sony DSC-W300. Taking pictures in complete darkness isn't that easy as it turned out

When I arrived at the junction with the Red route I followed that in the reverse direction, taking the track parallel to the Naamsesteenweg and crossing the bridge on the Weertsedreef. I rode all the way to Mollendaal and then turned back towards the Blanden cemetery and back into the Meerdael forest until I arrived home, glad to have done a ride. My Polar seems to be nearly through its battery, high time I take it in for its yearly maintenance. I've been told there is a shop in Huldenberg where they replace the battery while you wait. I must check that out one of these days.

Ride Stats : 26K and 280/325 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h29mins

8492/87635

Today I had a day off from work and when I saw Roger yesterday after the end of the Meerdaal 2000 organised ride I had told him I would like to ride the furthest loop of the Meerdaal 2000 TT again, with some of the extra bits they had taken out . He agreed to come along so today we met and rode out together. When we arrived at Gottechain we noticed a tree had fallen over the road, and smashed the fence holding in a couple of horses. We decided to do the right thing and rode up to the first house we could find, alarming the inhabitant of the danger of the horses escaping. The - lovely - girl assured us she would call the community and have them clean up the debris and fix the fence. Thus re-assured we rode on.
Starting at Gottechain the loop took us first on a steep and rooty track upwards and then towards Cocrou . Yesterday the ride didn't enter Pietrebais but today I added the extra downhill and uphill to my ride. The leaves were starting to change color and we could both enjoy fantastic views in this very beautiful area. Each time I am riding here I am very grateful to be living where I do, so close to such beautiful forests and landscapes.

From Pietrebais the track now took us to Heze and then all the way up to Longueville. Here I added another left-out section. After plunging down into the valley we took a left turn and then took a very steep climb out of the valley towards Chaumont Gistoux. On the top of the ridge I turned right and we had a very long descent into Bonlez. Here I added a little singletrack next to the river - very wet and muddy at first but then the steep ascent soon left it dryer and we were emerging on the road from Bonlez to Grez. Following this for a while until I turned right and down towards the river Train again. Another secret singletrail - Roger was very pleased to discover these little trails he had never noticed before - brought us to the Royenne region. Right and left and I was at the Gorge du Loup where a long ascent brought us back to the forest edge . A quick zooming descent and we were in downtown Heze. From here I followed the "chemin du Ry de Heze" until past the Royenne farm. A quick right-right and we were on the "Chemin de la Planterie" . To the unwary a dead end but for those in the know it goes on along and between the gardens to end in a very steep climb bringing us into Biez. We stopped briefly at the church to enjoy the beautiful view over Grez Doiceau. The view was made especially beautiful because of the sun breaking though the cloud cover, highlighting the autumn colors. Pity there was a lot of noise here - a screaming radio of the workmen that were renovating the church roof - or we might have stayed there a bit longer. The view is really breathtaking. We rode on and took another narrow singletrack down towards Grez-Doiceau. From here it was only a couple of field tracks and a very steep climb to arrive back at the reststop in Gottechain where our exploration had started. I noticed we already had more than 500 heightmeters, so we rode to Bossut and then down the "Trou des Chiens" trail towards the "Ferme du Grand Royal" . From there we were close to Meerdaal Forest which we entered through Les Claines and the Bois Nicaise. Roger told me it had been a while since he did a particular loop close by so I guided him to that spot and we were zooming along the edge of the valley, down and a bit further grinding our teeth due to a steep ascent bringing us back up the slope. After that we rode down towards the Warande and from there a succesion of big forest roads brought us back to where we started. We said our goodbyes, both very pleased with the ride we had done. The pace had been low but the many hills had taken their toll on our tired legs. Ours is a strange hobby, the more we suffer, the more we seem to enjoy it, in no small amount helped by the beautiful landscapes we cross.

Ride Stats : 47K and 655/705 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h54mins

8466/87310

26-10-2009, 18:06 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Early rise at 6am to be at the start at 7. I had the task to check the arrowing on the longest distance of todays "Meerdaal 2000" organised ride. Regular readers of my blog will have read about the buildup to this organised ride since I already rode the 65K and the 45K in the last couple of weeks.
I had to use the Lupine Tesla headlight for the first 45 minutes, because in the forest it was still pretty dark. I rode alone , the others were already going to check some lost arrows in Blanden. Once I was out in the fields past Valduc I could do without a light since the sun was now up, albeit hidden behind menacing clouds. It had rained a little bit yesterday and last night, but for today no more rain was forecast and with 11 degrees C it looked to be a good day for a ride. The track had been changed in the last couple of days because of refused permissions. Also the approach to the first feed zone was different from what I had in the track they gave me a few weeks back . But when I arrived in Gottechain  the arrows were still very much in place. I paused briefly a the feed zone - they were still building it, along with a stand from Concap - to remove the headlight from my helmet and put it in my Deuter backpack. Then I rode on for what promised to be a hilly and technical 20K, the extra loop the 65K did.
The 45K distance split was at that first feed zone. Permission to enter Pietrebais had been denied so the track was changed here, with the loss of a very nice singletrack downhill and an uphill towards Heze. Instead the trail looped directly to Heze after the technical climb in Cocrou.

The long climb from downtown Heze to the Chapelle du Cheneau was still there, 60 heightmeters in one go. But in Longueville the track was also altered. Instead of a very technical loop with a tricky downhill and a very difficult ascent up towards the fields of Chaumont, the track now stayed in the valley and followed the little rivulet/trail towards the "Pink Fishery" in Bonlez. These two alterations cost them at least a 100 heightmeters but there is no other option than to obey the rules set by the communities you are passing through. The trails seemed a bit wetter here than around Meerdael Forest, perhaps it has rained a little more or a little later last night. Back in Heze and then working my way up towards Biez I was joined by a another biker.
I was surprised to see a biker overtaking me so soon so I asked him what distance he was on. Seemed he had left Bierbeek at 8.15am and was set to do the 45K. But he did not pass the first feed zone so he must have missed an arrow and must have joined the 55/65K track beyond the feed zone. Unfortunately for him this also meant missing the 45K split. But I told him we were not far from the 2nd feed zone - which was the first feed zone again, it served as a double feed zone - so from there he would still have 25K to go. After the 2nd passage at the feed zone in Gottechain the trail turns towards Archennes and Pecrot for some interesting tracks, some very difficult - and dangerous - descents and then in Nethen we disappeared into Meerdael Forest again. In Sint Joris Weert the 3rd feed zone was situated, with the ever lovely and friendly Red Bull Girls offering every biker a Red Bull and a smile. A joy to behold after all the hard work.

I stopped a while to chat up with another member of the organisation, giving him some feedback about my ride and the difficulties some riders had . He told me that at this time they already had between 1400 and 1500 participants which was a very high attendance. The last kilometers were spent on the big ring for most of the time, with still some nasty little climbs here and there. When I reached Bierbeek I was glad to see my friend Roger, who had done the 45K. Another 6K and I was back home for a warm bath and a good meal. I had a good ride, the trail traction was ideal, some wind on the plains, a good amount of heightmeters and very clement weather conditions. I have uploaded the 65k track to EveryTrail for those who would like to ride it again, just click on the link below.

Ride Stats : 77K and 890/1005 heightmeters in 4h6mins

GPS track on EveryTrail
Meerdaal 2000 TT 65K 25okt2009 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: Share GPS Tracks

8419/86606

25-10-2009, 13:10 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today I was home at 3.30pm so I had about 3 hours time before darkness to do a ride. I decided to head out on the Meerdaal 2000 track and try to ride the 45K distance. The organised ride of Meerdaal 2000 is to be held this sunday, with the start being at the 'De Borre' cultural center in Bierbeek. I did the 65K distance a couple of weeks ago and sunday I help the organisation. My task will be to check the arrowing on the 65K. This means a very early start - first light - at 7am.
I was curious at the amount of heightmeters on the 45K distance so I followed the 65K until it veers off to the left just before Gottechain. I turned to the right and could enjoy a very steep climb next to a field to reach Gottechain. I met another member of Meerdaal 2000 who was also doing some recon for next sunday. After Gottechain the tracks meanders on to Archennes, Pecrot and Nethen. The trails were nice and dry. Care had to be taken on some of the downhills though. The fallen leaves and erosion make the trails very treacherous. But I was riding in exploration mode, heartrate way down and with an average speed around 18kph. When I reached Meerdael Forest again for a last long stretch in and next to this beautiful forest, the sun was setting and darkness was upon me. Reaching Bierbeek and quickly heading home over tarmac roads I was happy to be able to ride on bikepaths instead of on the road. It was borderline without lights. This weekend the clock is set to Winter Time, meaning that riding out after work will always involve taking lights on the bike or on my helmet.

Ride Stats : 58K and 560/670 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h4mins

Meerdaal 2000 45K TT profile :


Meerdaal 2000 45K TT map :


8342/85600

22-10-2009, 21:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I was home just before 4pm and I had figured out I had about 2h30 to ride before the sun would be down. So I set out on the Litespeed for an offroad ride. The plan was vaguely to ride to Grez-Doiceau because I had an errand to do there, and from there I would just follow the direction of my front wheel.
Arriving in Hamme Mille and then making my way to Bossut and further to Gottechain, preferring offroad connections to the faster tarmac roads. From Gottechain the connection to Grez was easily made. My errand done I rode on to Cocrou and then did the long ascent towards the Ferme de la Sarte. 60 heightmeters in one go. I then descended into Heze and further down to Bonlez. Another climb to make my way to the Golf de Bercuit and from there down to Dion and up again on the ridge that would bring me to Gastuche. Here I crossed the Chaussée de Wavre to start my last big ascent towards Ottenburg. The sun was gone by now and it was time to head home. Following the Overijse Red BLOSO route down into Florival and then into the Bois de Hocaille for anothe rclimb over another ridge to get to Nethen. Here I could disappear into the Meerdael Forest. It was getting pretty dark under the trees but I could still see where I was going. I didn't want to do any more tarmac because I didn't have lights so I stayed in the forest until I reached Vaalbeek where I briefly followed the road to Blanden. Back into the fields and into the forest for the last stretch home. Just in time before it really was dark and with a good ride under my belt.

Ride Stats : 47K and 545/595 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h33mins

8284/84930

20-10-2009, 20:06 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another night close to freezing left the forest cold in the morning. Even when I rode out around 11am it was still only 5 degrees C. I was able to make a nice picture of the sunlight filtering though the autumn leaves. Soon I was out of the forest. The plan was to ride through the fields to the south-east and conenct with l'Ecluse and if possible Sart-Melin. Only obstacle was the Beauvechain airfield I had to leave on my right. The fields felt a lot warmer than the forest, because here the sun shone freely and there was no wind to speak of. Using the sun for direction and the Edge 705 to find the trails I could conenct the dots and arrived at l'Ecluse. Here and there I was able to include some singletrack and before long I was on my way towards Melin. I wanted to get home before 2pm because I wanted to watch the cyclocross World Cup race in Plzen. In Mélin I turned my bike towards the northwest and conencted back through the fields towards La Bruyere, Beauvechain and Tourinnes . I spotted the Saint Corneille chapel from afar, its white wall shining in the sun. Then I entered the Meerdael Forest again and made my way home in time for the World Cup.

Tomorrow I have to go back to work after 4 weeks of holiday. I had a good holiday, the weather was great in the first couple of weeks and then a bit of rain in the last 2 weeks but nothing really bad enough to keep me inside. I was able to ride my bike for more than a 1000K and 11000 heightmeters during that time.

Ride Stats : 40.5K and 365/400 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h9mins

8238/84335

18-10-2009, 16:41 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

17-10-2009, 15:09 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Freezing last night and still that cold northern wind blowing. I waited until 1pm to ride out for an easy recovery ride. I decided to do part of the Haasrode toer, which brings me to Haasrode, Bierbeek, Neervelp, Willebringen, Oirbeek, Hoksem and then back over L'Ecluse and La Bruyere. Here I decided to ride in over Beauvechain and Hamme Mille. A good ride with the Litespeed on road tyres. I have decided to treat the Hilset to a new crank. This will consist of a Shimano M960 XTR crank, Hope ceramic or Chris King bearings and Specialités TA C116 chainrings. So its bye bye to the Tune Fastfoot which has served me well but also presented a fait bit of annoying side-effects like loosening crank bolts and a shifting axle.

Ride Stats : 51K and 390/455 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h21mins

8144/83375

15-10-2009, 17:02 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

A bit frisky this morning so I waited until noon to ride out. The weather was sunny but rather cold. Riding up to Pietrebais I had the northeasterly wind more or less in my back. Which was fine because I needed the time to warm up a bit. The Pietrebais TT was held a couple of weeks ago but I couldn't attend so I was glad to be able to ride it following the gps track someone mailed me. Thanks for that !
I have ridden the Pietrebais TT before , but then it only was a 45K affair. Even then, the trail builder surprised me with a lot of nice trail combinations and a thorough knowledge of the area. So I was eager to ride this one, a full 54K and announced to be around 900 heightmeters.
As it turned out, it was even a bit more, and thats exactly how it felt in my legs as well. The start is relatively easy on the legs with a long steady uphill. Care has to be taken. Even though it hasn't rained for a couple of days the trails underneath the trees' green clover are wet and slippery. Once in the fields things dry out and before long I'm back riding downhill towards Pietrebais. Crossing the "rue du Fond de Village" and I'm on another uphill leading all the way to the outskirts of Roux-Miroir. The trail then turns back towards Pietrebais for a nice loop including some singletrails along the forests' edge and between two green fields in a valley. After that it points me towards Longueville. A first passage next to the Chapelle du Cheneau. Now follows a very nice and difficult loop taking me towards Chaumont-Gistoux. I know the area here very well from all my Accro Bike adventures and other trailbuilding duties. Good thing because that way I can easily predict where the GPS wants me to go. The Bois de Chaumont is a real maze to the unwary. The trail builder succeeded in making a very good and consistent loop here. With some steep descents and a hell of an uphill. The fact that a recent thunderstorm has washed out the trails didn't help either. But I'm glad to report I could ride it all. The heightmeters are added liberally in this area and the track slowly loops back to the west and towards Bonlez. A nice long climb and then a difficult descent into the Bois de Bonlez. The trail becomes a rivulet and remains so for 500 metres. Down past the rose fishery and then upwards into the Bois de l'Etoile. Again I zoom down deep into the valley and then turn right for a long climb that brings me from 60 metres all the way up to 145 metres and back to the Chapelle du Cheneau. From there its inevitable that the trail veers down again, this time towards Lower Heze and Grez-Doiceau.

Next comes the climb to the church of Biez, a tough cookie along a singletrail that becomes steeper and steeper. Then the track drops down again on some cobbles and another narrow singletrack brings me back up ; in Heze this time. From here the trail goes towards Cocrou in a long sandy downhill through a forest. In Cocrou I cross the busy N91 and another cobbly climb brings me upwards into the Bois de Linsmeau. A track alongside the forest edge, sometimes a bit muddy delivers me into the fields where the wind welcomes me straight in my face. I pass the landing lights of the Beauvechain military base and a couple of Marchetti SF260s  and an Alpha Jet amuse me by passing over my head and landing on the strip. No F16s today.
The trail now descents back towards Pietrebais, through a nice but slippery hollow road in a forest. But we are not there yet. Another climb awaits, out of Cocrou and ultimately into the fields south of Pietrebais. A great singletrack then drops me into Pietrebais where a last and steep climb - on tarmac this time - takes me north of Pietrebais again. Turning to the right and easing down on tarmac I am back before the Girls' School where my ride started a couple of hours ago. The numbers are 54,2K and 935 heightmeters. I uploaded the GPX track to EveryTrail. You can check it below.
From Pietrebais I ride back home, through Grez-Doiceau and I can't resist taking the difficult climb up to Gottechain. The trail next to the Gottechain church is completely washed away and I have to walk a couple of metres. Next down into Hamme Mille and into Meerdael Forest to complete this 5-hour ride.

Ride Stats : 84K and 1080/1155 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h56mins

Pietrebais TT 54K 2009 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: GPS Community

8093/82920

14-10-2009, 20:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today I wanted to re-ride last saturdays' Nightride. That ride was a great sampling of what Meerdael Forest has to offer and obviously, I had the GPS track now. So I set out from the CC The Borre in Bierbeek and did just that. The trails were still moist but one advantage you have during the day is that you can oversee the complete trail and point your wheel in the dryest direction. My GPS surely had some troubles last saturday. I noticed this because the heightmeters were way off, but also at some points it placed me on another trail as the one I actually was riding on. I'm thinking perhaps in the evening there are less satellites on the horizon, making the error in position bigger than during the day. I cannot explain the missing heightmeters, on the rides' profile there it seems that during the last hour the height only varied by 10 to 15 metres. Today the recording went fine and I had the correct amount of heightmeters. I am bound by secrecy where it concerns the track but I can make your mouth water by showing the profile. I stopped along the way to take some pictures. The sun was out and even though there was a cold northern wind blowing I was protected by the forest. The average temperature was around 14 degrees C, just enough for an enjoyable ride.

This week is the Week of the Forest, and the trails around the Kluis were crowded but everyone was very friendly to the other , each enjoying the forest in his or her own way. I already mentioned it last time, but I am very impressed by Solo's ride. I recognize a lot of tracks out of my own Meerdael adventures but there are also some new connections he made that make his ride stand on its own. I'm told he also has an XXL version , close to 80K and 1200 heightmeters, which is quite impressive. Can't wait to ride that one and compare it with my own Secret Meerdael ride, which stands at 62K and 1100 heightmeters in its last form.

Ride Stats : 51K and 540/580 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h00

8010/81765

12-10-2009, 18:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

A lot of rain last evening and also during the day, so I was a bit hesitant about going to the nightride that was organised by Stef 'Solo' Reynaerts. Planned and on the 4Bikers.be website, a lot of people who initially agreed to come didn't fancy riding in the mud and cancelled. But when around 3pm the rain stopped and the sun came through I thought by myself 'why not' and decided to go. Had to return when I was halfway to the starting point because the mudfender I mounted on my front fork clashed with the Fox RLT 80 . It touched the forks bridge on compression. So I turned around and took off the front fender, and then rode towards Bierbeek and The Borre were the start of the ride was.
Stef was there, as well as Magura and Magura senior, Fully Fetzl and I believe the sixth was Supernaut. The ride was very good. A lot of twisting and turning, with only the occasional screech of an owl and the rustling of an escaping roedeer to break the silence of the forest. The heavy rains had left a lot of deep, washed out ruts so care had to be taken in the descents. Fortunately you don't see most of the dangers in your cone of light, so you don't have to worry about them either. I used the Lupine tesla 4 which behaved flawlessly. I had it on the middle stand which should last for 6 or 7 hours. Even then I heard remarks that it was very bright. I had to react with catlike quickness a couple of times when my front wheel hit a log, or skipped into a rut I didn't see. Also puddles are sometimes a lot deeper than you think and this takes the speed out of your bike very quickly. Some 38K and 400 heightmeters later we were back at the starting point. No mechanicals, no falls, 6 experienced mountainbikers who enjoyed a great ride in the dark, wet and silent forest. The smell of the wet pines was overwhelming and my bike now looks like it has been dragged through a mudhole - which, come to think of it , is more or less correct.

Still the overall impression was that it was not as wet as I had expected. A couple of puddles yes, some a bit deeper than others but for the rest just an overall dampness of the tracks , nothing more, nothing less. My GPS had less heightmeters than my Polar, which is quite strange. But the Polar only had 25.5K recorded since the speed sensor looks like it needs a new battery. The sensor died 1h30 into the ride. It did record the time, heartrate and heightmeters though so if you couple both instruments, and my Classic Cateye Enduro 2, you get a good idea of the rides' length and difficulty.

Ride Stats : 54K and 565/375 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h12mins

7959/81185

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

Due to the ongoing troubles with the Tune crank on my Hilset, I decided to set up my Litespeed with the road wheels and ride over to Filip Sport. The Hilset will have to wait until I have a solution for the shifting axle. I noticed an interesting Shimano M960 crank lying around at Filips' and decided to ask its pricing. If Tune does not deliver by this weekend I think about cancelling the order and put another crank on my Hilset. Shimano XTR has never failed me - I have a 2000 M952 XTR version on my Moots and a 2007 M-970 XTR crank on my Merlin.
I will not moan about Tune anymore, people who read this blog frequently will know about the ordeals I had to go through. There's a price to be paid if you want light and flashy stuff.
Riding along in Maleizen and just entering La Hulpe I noticed a nice Ford Mustang. I have no idea what country the number plate is from but the car sure was nice, a real muscle-car by the looks of it. Nice color too.

Riding back the clouds were becoming more and more covered, and sadly more rain is forecast for this night. I would like to do an offroad ride tomorrow evening so lets hope it doesn't rain too much.

Ride Stats : 52K and 330/390 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h17mins

7905/80620

Yesterday evening saw the passing of very violent thunderstorms. It rained incessantly from 7pm up to 10pm and the thunder and lightning was really bad. It rumbled on until way past midnight.
This morning I took the Hilset out and when I was making my way past the Zoete Waters and further on to Nethen and Tourinnes, I couldn't help but notice the damage that had been done by the water. At some places they were still cleaning up the streets and the rivers and rivulets were all filled to the brim. I stopped at some places to take some pictures.  

I had to stop around the 25K mark to knock my Tune sixpack back into its place. This might very well have been the last ride with this crankset. I've been waiting for 3 weeks now for replacement bearings and quite frankly I just about had it with Tune. The only real advantages are that the crankset is very light, pretty to look at and that the titanium triebtreter chainrings seem to last forever. But without a dealer in Belgium getting replacements is a tedious process. All this has prevented me from making longer rides with this bike for the past weeks. I am looking at alternatives, including a new crankset alltogether.
The weather was dry and with temperatures around 15 degrees and a nice sunshine it was fun being out. But more rain is forecast and the offroad is pretty muddy at some places.

Ride Stats : 36K and 230/275 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h40mins

7853/80230

08-10-2009, 14:05 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yesterday saw a whole day of rain, but this morning was dry and before it started raining again I decided to ride out for a quick ride on the Hilset. Just my shortest lap riding over Bierbeek, Opvelp, Beauvechain, Tourinnes and Hamme Mille and then back home. In Tourinnes I took a picture of the church that gave the town its name. Its still being restored but the main tower is already out of the scaffolding.

Ride Stats : 25,5K and 160/190 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h10mins

7817/79955

07-10-2009, 12:59 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf