Having a day off from work I wanted to take advantage of the nice and quiet spring weather to do a long ride. I chose for the eastern part of a trail that is called the SGR BW 217. This is a 217K long looping trail though Brabant Walloon that follows mostly GR paths. You can ride it as a whole but given the sheer lenght this might take you an entire day. I decided to pick in on the trail as it passes Nodebais. My plan was to follow it to the east and then back until it crosses the Ravel 2 just before Perwez. It started along familiar tracks, lots of cobbles and zigzagging through Nodebais and Tourinnes la Grosse before moving towards Beauvechain. The trails were mostly dry - this is mainly an offroad track so that does matter - but here and there in some hollow road I would still have to be careful not to ride through some puddle. I was riding with the Nokian NBX Lites 2.0 and with a road cassette so I wasn't looking for steep hills. In the beginning the trail ondulates up and down, but nothing drastic. I was enjoying the fine weather and breathing in the spring air. Making my way towards St Jean Geest and then towards St Remy Geest this was about the furthest I had already ventured before on my offroad expeditions in that direction. From now it was all 'new' so I was exited. More cobbles and by now I began to feel them. Passing through the Parc in Helecine and then making my way towards Linsmeau I was now close to the eastern border of Brabant Walloon. To the southeast I could see the chimneys of the nuclear powerplant in Huy, breathing out hot steam. In the region of Orp Jauche follows what I consider a highlight of this track; a nice singletrail following the river Gete. I stopped to take a picture of the Roman church in Orp-Le-Grand before venturing along another backtrack further to the southwest.

A bit further I was pleased to be on small tarmac roads for once. The kilometers were adding up nicely and I felt my neck and legs ache from the continuing bashing of the sometimes very narrow and rough offroad tracks. Paris-Roubaix came to mind from time to time. Remember these are GR trails, some are easy on the bike, but some are pretty tough. And that, of course, is what makes them so exiting. Passing Folx-les-Caves and spotting the windmills of Perwez at the western horizon I understood that I had to start to look out for the Ravel crossing. After Ramillies-les-Offus it was suddenly there. The tarmac trail connecting Hoegaarden to Namur. I wanted to check how much heightmeters I had at this point on my GPS but screamed out my frustration when I noticed I had forgotten to press the START button. This doesn't bother you following a track, but it doesn't record the actual ride. Bit of a let-down and I was suddenly feeling very tired. But I still had to bike quite a distance. First following the Ravel towards the north and passing Jodoigne and Hoegaarden. Then from Hoegaarden riding towards Meldert. The climb out of Hoegaarden hurt my legs; I rode towards Meldert and then onwards to Beauvechain. From here it was only 12K to reach my home. 
I had a fine but very demanding ride. I did 50K of the SGR BW217 trail and about the same distance 'getting there' and 'getting back home'.  


Ride Stats : 101K and 760 heightmeters (Polar) in 5h11mins

2393/23180

09-04-2010, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The weather was still pretty warm today and it even felt hot, as if the would be a thunderstorm later in the day. I rode out with the Litespeed because I wanted to do an easy mixed ride. Mixed rides - for the uninitiated - are rides where I mix on- and offroad trails. In general, I can go anywhere I want. For that I want a bike with at least front suspension. I had mounted the old XTR wheels I have been using in the winter on the Hilset and left the race cassette on them as well. The Nokian NBX Lites are on the skinny side in their 2.0 format but I didn't plan on doing any serious offroad sections so I left them on. With a 26 tooth small ring in front the race cassette still allows me to climb almost anything at an easy pace. I started out over Ottenburg and Wavre towards Rosieres and then went offroad towards Terlanen. Here I followed the renovated Bergstraat for a while before turning towards Overijse. Downhill in the Hertstraat and a little later I was easing along the bikepath next to the big road to Huldenberg. Following the Ijse for a while I felt a couple of raindrops falling , but nothing to woory about. I climbed over the crest of the Smeysberg and then dropped towards Sint Joris Weert. A small loop bringing me close to the Doode Beemde - which I didn't enter because I suspected it would stll be wet-ish - and then towards the Kouterbos and onwards towards Vaalbeek and Blanden. In all I had a very relaxing ride along some trails I don't frequent too often. And that is exactly the purpose of these mixed rides. Go where I usually don't dare to go when on the Hilset.

Ride Stats : 47K and 445/455 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h13mins

2292/22420

07-04-2010, 20:15 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today saw the return of the sun with a pleasant temperature but still a nasty wind from the east. I decided to do a ride since it had been a while. My Hilset was once again ready for duty, with new brake lines and a new shifter and cable for the front derailler. With an average temperature of nearly 20 degrees throughout the ride it was fun and good to be on a bike again after a couple of days of rest. In the next couple of days I have to get back into the rhythm so lets hope the weather stays more or less dry and with temperatures above 10 degrees C. Todays ride took me over Bierbeek, Neervelp, Opvelp, Beauvechain, Tourinnes and Hamme Mille , then onwards to Nethen, Sint Joris Weert, the Zoete Waters and Heverlee before returning to Blanden following the Naamse Steenweg. The offroad trails looked already a lot dryer than last week, so maybe in a couple of days it might be feasable to try them out.

Ride Stats : 41,5K and 285/305 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h47mins

2245/21965

06-04-2010, 18:15 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

My cold seems to get worse so I decided to not participate at the Ronde van Vlaanderen tomorrow. The weather forecast isn't very inviting either. Today I just rode the same track than last monday and tuesday. I took the Litespeed with the wheels of the Hilset. The Hilset is in for service and to get a new front derailler cable. I'm also getting new brake cables, inners and outers.
The ride itself was marred by a strong southern wind. I didn't feel very strong because of the nose cold and I just paddled along, trying to keep my heartrate low.

Ride Stats : 34K and 205/235 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h34mins

2204/21660

02-04-2010, 13:10 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The weather was less stable than yesterday when I rode out for a ride that would take me along the exact route I did yesterday, but in th eopposite direction. I had a bit of a shower when leaving Bierbeek but things dried out quickly once I reached Opvelp and it would stay dry during the remainder of the ride. The wind was a bit more fierce than yesterday and the average temperature was 3 degrees less with 12 degrees C. When I was on the last hill of the day, shifting to my big ring in front upon reaching the top, I broke the cable.
Since it still was the first cable, installed when the bike was configured back in 2005, I cannot really complain about the dependability of the XTR shifting cable with LX shifting gear . I called Filip Sport and I can pass the bike along on thursday. Luckily the cable broke only 2K from my home, leaving me to peddle along with the chain on the small ring in front for just a couple of minutes. In hindsight, I already suspected it to be a little looser when I left home, but obviously no-one can foresee the exact moment when a thing like this will happen.

Ride Stats : 34K and 200/230 heightmeters in 1h33mins

2170/21425

30-03-2010, 20:58 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Some intermittent showers but temperatures around 15 degree C so I rode out around 6pm for an easy ride at a good pace. Still recovering from a cold but it looks like its getting better now. Got my gearing correct for the new wheels and shifting went flawlessly today. I did a medium ride over the Zoete Waters, Sint Joris Weert, Nethen, Hamme Mille and the over Tourinnes, Beauvechain and Opvelp towards Bierbeek and Haasrode to close the loop. Managed a good pace in general and the wind was also less than yesterday which helped considerably.

Ride Stats : 34K and 210/220 heightmeters in 1h23mins

2136/21195

29-03-2010, 20:25 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

After a couple of days of rest, due to nasal restrictions, I wanted to ride out again, albeit for just an hour. I had put my summer wheels on my Hilset, with the Schwalbe Marathon Extreme tyres, and even though the forecast called for rain and wind, there was only a bit of wind to be dealt with. I took it very easy and rode a relaxed ride over Hamme Mille, Tourinnes, Beauvechain, Opvelp and Neervelp. When I turned towards Bremt I felt the wind in my face and things got a bit more difficult. But no drop fell so I came home dry and with another ride under my belt. Not long after I arrived home it started to rain, only a shower it seems but still it was better to be inside than out on the bike at that time.

Ride Stats : 30K and 225/245 heightmeters in 1h22mins

2102/20975

28-03-2010, 13:30 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today it was again very mild and with temperatures around 17 degrees C it really was too good to stay home. So I rode out for a little ride, even though I didn't feel very well. The rest of the week doesn't look too good weather-wise. 

Ride Stats : 20K and 145/155 heightmeters in 53mins

2072/20730

24-03-2010, 19:08 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

A dry day so I decided to ride out in the afternoon after work . My legs didn't feel very strong and my throat had been giving me some concern the last couple of days but I would ride gently, not overdoing anything. I rode through Meerdael forest and then checked my GPS to bring me to Beauvechain. Through the fields and with only a slight wind this was very enjoyable. I checked my GPS map and took direction towards the church tower of L'Ecluse which I saw protruding over the next crest. The trails were mostly dry except for some patches in hollow roads. After a while I was in Sclimpre and from there it wasn't far anymore to Melin. Here I decided to turn around, take a picture of the church, try out some singletracks I had noticed before when passing on the tarmac, and then I made my way back towards La Bruyere and Nodebais. I had the wind behind me now so this was even more fun to do.

In La Bruyere I turned towards Tourinnes and from there made my way into Meerdael Forest for a last loop bringing me back home with another ride under my belt. My average heartrate was 112bpm so I did certainly not strain myself any more than I should. The temperature was 14 degrees C on average which felt good with only a mild wind from the east.

Ride Stats : 41K and 370/415 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h17mins

2052/20575

As nice and pleasant as the weather was yesterday, it was a whole different story today. It had rained quite a bit last night but the temperature had also dropped considerably during the latter part of the night. Whence I had 18 degrees C yesterday, today I only managed 7 degrees C average during my ride.
I had more or less plans to ride the SVK 65K, or at least selected parts of it . As it turned out I started on the trail not far from my home but soon discovered the trail was wet and to top things off, it began to rain slightly. A light drizzle but with the low temperatures and the wind that got bad once you were out of the forest I didn't feel too inclined to ride more than about an hour or so. What a pity the SVK ride didn't go through yesterday. It would have yielded them a lot more attendance and it would have yielded me more than only selected bits and pieces of their track. As it stood, I inclined myself before the weather deities and decided to call it a day after doing a loop around Valduc. The rain was getting more intense and my Nokian NBX Lites were meeting their limits on the slippery trail.
Spring has begun, and yesterday and most of last week indeed felt like spring, but today was an off-key note in the carmina burana.

Ride Stats : 20.5K and 195/230 heightmeters in 1h12mins

2011/20160

21-03-2010, 13:47 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning it was raining so I was fearing today might be a day off from biking. But around 10am it stopped raining and I decided to go for an easy ride. Riding through Heverlee and around Leuven to reach the Leuvense Vaart . I followed the Vaart for about 16K until I reached the Kampenhout Roundabout. Here I turned around and rode back along the other side of the water. I achieved an average speed of nearly 25kph during the first hour of the ride but when I rode back I felt how strong the wind could be. I also saw some dark clouds gathering on the western skies and this made me even more wanting to get home. But in all I managed to escape the wind quite nicely by leaving the Vaart in Kessel Lo and riding home over the Martelarenlaan, then along the Park Abbey and further following the narrow bikepath next to the Leuvense Schaatsbaan. Here I was at the winds' mercy again for some time, following the Expressweg towards Blanden. But I then added a little loop bringing me in the Duivestraat and the down the Brainestraat before I reached the Prosperdreef where I had the cover of the Meerdael forest.

Ride Stats : 48K and 155/200 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h1min

1991/19930

Just a relaxing ride along Hamme Mille, Nodebais - taking a new section of bikepath between Hamme Mille and Nodebais - then onwards to Beauvechain and Meldert and coming back in along Opvelp, Bierbeek and Haasrode. The weather was still OK with 15 degrees C and an overcast sky announcing the arrival of some rain later this night. The legs were OK and I also removed my Lumicycle lights from the bike. Normally I will have no more use of them since the days are getting longer quickly in March.

Ride Stats : 34K and 230/255 heightmeters in 1h28mins

1942/19730

19-03-2010, 19:43 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today a recovery ride was on the menu. I rode out with the Hilset and was aiming for a 2 hour drive. The temperature was near 18 degrees Celcius so it was short trousers time. Well, 3/4th since I added a pair of knee leggings just to be on the safe side. I rode over Egenhoven to Bertem and there took the little bikepath along the river Voer . I followed this path towards Leefdaal - check the castle pic - and then further on towards Tervuren. The path was dry and had been receiving some maintenance lately so trail conditions were great. In Tervuren I turned towards Eizer and then further to the south-east towards Huldenberg.
Here I quickly joined the river Ijse for a ride along its edges on another bikepath. This took me all the way towards Neerijse. Here the path disappeared so I rode into the Doode Beemde to cross the boardwalk over the wet fields towards Oud-Heverlee. I emerged out of the nature reserve just south of the Zoete Waters.

Another couple of easy kilometers and I was back home, with a nice and relaxing ride under my belt.

Ride Stats : 44K and 255/285 heightmeters in 2h2mins

1908/19475

Today it was even warmer than yesterday, it was almost 13 degrees when I left home, but there was also a strong wind blowing from the west. Even so I chose not to underdress. I only wore my summer gloves . The feeling of the thinner gloves on the handlebars was strange to get used to. I felt good so I chose for another offroad ride. I wanted to ride in the region of the Dyle and Yse so I rode towards the Margijsbos where I had a bit of a climbing frenzy, doing no less than 4 climbs and descents in this forest. At the end I followed the river Yse towards Huldenberg where I attacked the Smeysberg offroad. I then went to the other side of this hill dropping down into Terlanen. From here the Sint Agatha Rode Bos was beckoning me for another climb. A very steep one for sure. I had to sit way up front of my saddle, struggling to keep the rear wheel from spinning. It said 23% on my GPS readout after I uploaded the ride to my PC. But I made it. Dropping down on the other side back into Terlanen for another uphill, back up the Smeysberg. Another 21% slope. Then I followed the road towards Sint Agatha Rode, down the Keiberg and then towards the church and Sint Joris Weert.

In Sint Joris I couldn't resist doing a loop into Meerdael Forest, with another climb or 3 against the Nethen slope. By now I began to feel my legs getting saturated so I decided to call it a day and make my way back home. I came across a region I call Weather Top where they have been felling a lot of trees, exposing the trees that are left to the winds. The result of the storm of a couple of week ago can be seen on my picture. Almost 10 healthy strong trees were uprooted, a very sad sight to see. The road was blocked but I took advantage to climb all the way to the top , 102m , adding a couple of more heightmeters to my conto. From there it was all downhill as I crossed the Naamsesteenweg and sped along the Sint Margrietendreef back into Blanden.

Ride Stats : 41K and 585/630 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h32mins

1865/19190

17-03-2010, 20:29 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning saw some light drizzle but during the day things cleared out and what was even more important, the temperatures were around 10 degrees C when I took the Litespeed out for a spin. I couldn't resist going offroad, the trail conditions were just perfect. I rode towards Gastuche and then made my way up and down the many hills , passing crest after crest. I passed more or less in Wavre, Dion Valmont, Grez Doiceau, Cocrou and Gottechain. The Nokian NBX Lites in 2.2 were ideally suited for this kind of terrain. I never felt I lacked traction and even at the few spots were there was just a smudge of mud, the tyres didn't falter. I am still waiting for a replacement jockey wheel for my rear derailler but it didn't bother me during the ride. The gear shifts are as crisp and smooth as I have come to expect from Shimano XTR. For all the years I've been using it I have never been disappointed by the craftmanship and practicality of Shimano's top offering in offroad apparel. My oldest XTR gear dates from 1999, and it is still working like it should. This certainly warrants the higher pricing of the series. 

I had a great ride, riding relaxed and fully enjoying the warm temperatures and the lack of wind. You can really feel that spring is near. The birds are singing a different tune and the air somehow smells different. I already was making plans for a first ride in Nandrin but I believe that there is still more mud at those regions. The snow has been slow in the melting at the higher regions and this week it will surely melt everywhere, leaving behind a big muddy mess. So unless I get signals that the trails are as good over there as they are here, I think I will stay in our region for a little while longer.

Ride Stats : 44,5K and 570/590 heightmeters in 2h34mins

1824/18560

16-03-2010, 20:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Well, yes, almost. I decided to do a ride anyway. After yesterdays' century I wasn't too keen on riding a bike today but figured that active recovery is always better than doing nothing at all. So I rode a little loop over Heverlee and then back to Oud-Heverlee, Sint Joris Weert, Nethen and Hamme Mill to close my loop along the Naamse Steenweg. My legs felt not too bad but I noticed I was tired overall from a rather heavy week.

Ride Stats : 27.5K and 230/250 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h19mins

1779/17970

14-03-2010, 13:13 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The day was announced to be dry but cloudy. When I left in the AM it was around 6 degrees C and there was a bit of wind blowing from northwesterly directions. I wanted to do a long ride today so I set out towards Meldert and Hoegaarden to connect to the Ravel going to Namur. I followed the Ravel past Jodoigne and where it split up a little bit before Eghezee, I followed the track towards Perwez. I hadn't been here before so when I arrived in Perwez I wasn't sure which road to take to connect to Wavre. So I stopped and fiddled a bit with my Garmin to try and figure out where the road to Wavre was. I must have hit the stop button accidentally at this time. I ended up asking for directions to be sure and then followed the N243 towards Chaumont Gistoux and Wavre. In Thorembais-St-Trond I stopped to make a picture of a bovine triplet, standing in the middle of a turnaround.

The road towards Chaumont was a very solitary one, high up in the fields and at the mercy of the wind which was now blowing full in my face. I also noticed a couple of stray drops of rain. But when I arrived in Chaumont I had some more coverage from trees and houses but also some more hills to tackle. I rode on towards Basse Wavre and then to Gastuche. From here I made a little loop towards Dion and then crossed the N252 again to make my way towards Archennes and Florival. After Pecrot I rode towards Sint Agatha Rode and then Sint Joris Weert. On my way from Weert to the Zoete Waters I met Roger. He was also doing a ride and we stopped for a while to chat about the Summer and how we both wanted the Spring to arrive after a long and cold winter. He told me I should go for the full 100K and I decided to try. At the Zoete Waters I continued straight on towards Oud-Heverlee and then turned right into  Heverlee and climbed to the Pakenhof. Down towards the Geldenaaksebaan and then to the right towards Haasrode and Blanden. I did another loop over the Wijngaardberg and this yielded me the extra couple of K's to make it an even 100 today.
Unfortunately when I arrived home I noticed my Garmin had switched itself off. When I uploaded my track later I understood what had happened. In Perwez I had more or less 1h50 of riding time and there I must have hit the stop button. The Garmin doesn't record the speed anymore but it keeps recording the positional data for another 2 hours before switching itself off. This coincided exactly with the 3h50 mins of track I had for today. 85K and 645 heightmeters and an average speed of nearly 47kph!  Which is normal since the Garmin thinks I did all this in 1h50. Its a pity the last 15K are missing. But I still have the heightmeters from my Polar of course.

Ride Stats : 100K and 725 heightmeters (Polar) in 4h31mins

1752/17720

13-03-2010, 16:07 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today the sun was hiding behind a cloud layer . This made that the temperature didn't rise above 5 degrees C. The wind was still there but less noticeable than yesterday. I decided on a recovery ride with the Hilset. I had switched tyres between the Litespeed and the Hilset yesterday so now the Hilset was on 2.0 Nokian NBX Lites instead of the 2.2 versions. On the road the tyre size doesn't matter too much to me so the 2.0 performed fine. They made me ride just that little bit faster. My average heartrate of 109bpm coupled to an average speed of 23.5kph proved that I was riding very relaxed. 

Ride Stats :  26K and 150/185 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h6mins

1651/16995

11-03-2010, 18:31 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today saw another bright and sunny day with temperatures just a couple of degrees higher but also with a stronger wind from the north turning towards the northwest. I decided to do a climbing session in Meerdael Forest. I had mounted my XTR wheelset with Nokian NBX Lite tyres in 2.0 width. These are rather narrow and I have to put in at least 2.5 bars in them to prevent snakebites. Also, the narrower footprint makes for less effective braking and certainly not as much comfort as its wider brethren. The forest tracks were mostly dry though and with temperatures of 7 degrees it was pleasant enough to drive through the forest. Before I took off I noticed a strange rattling noise coming from my XTR M952 rear derailler. It took me a while to figure out why my chain seemed to jump on the lower jockey wheel. One of the teeth of that little wheel had been sheared off, cleanly. Thinking back to my last ride I remember catching a big branch into my rear wheel whilst riding the Pecrot railroad singletrack. A branch that also hit my rear derailler. It must have hit it pretty good to take that teeth off !

Anyway, riding the bike it didn't matter that much , but I need to get me a new pair of jockeys one of these days. In Meerdael I followed more or less my secret training loop, leaving out the steepest of descents because I didn't trust the skinny tyres to be able to stop me on time. But as I rode more distance I became more confident in them. Nevertheless upon arriving home I swapped them with the 2.2 versions that are on my Hilset. The Hilset is only used on the road and the skinnier tyres are no problem there. The Nokian NBX Lite is quite a nice tyre. It doesn't have a lot of knobs in the center, making it a good roller, but it has some longer knobs on the side, making it grip pretty good in offcamber situations and in the corners.

The climbs and descents followed in a relentless succession and even though I was riding at a pretty relaxed pace I began to feel the heightmeters accumulating in my legs. I was not surprised to see I almost got 600 heightmeters by the end of my 30K ride. The weather forecast calls for a change of weather tomorrow, with the wind turning even more to the west and thus making the air a bit moistier. In Belgium that usually means its going to rain - or snow as might be the case if the temperatures stay this low. Anyway, we might have seen the last night of freezing for this week which must be a good thing too.

Ride Stats : 31K and 560/585 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h11mins

1625/16810

10-03-2010, 20:31 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Beautiful sunny day but a dry and arid wind blowing from the northeast made it feel a lot colder than it actually was. I decided to ride the Haasrode tour, one of my regular rides, following some old arrowing leading me towards Haasrode, Bierbeek, Willebringen, Hoksem and Oorbeek. The Goudberg geosite  marks the furthest northeasterly point of this route, so from there onwards I had the wind more or less blowing in my back. But by then I was already starting to feel like an icicle.

I would see a real icicle in a field not far from L'Ecluse whilst making my way towards La Bruyere. From there I left the Haasrode tour and rode back home over Beauvechain, Tourinnes and Hamme Mille. The air only contained 40% of humidity which made for a bright red sunset. The sun's color was due to the smog over Brussels I believe. Still it was a nice sight and I'm sorry I didn't stop to make a picture. But by then I began to feel the cold in my fingertops and the setting sun made me speed home even quicker. The last half hour it was 'lights on' making this a nightride after all. The average temperature was with 2 degrees C one degree less cold than yesterday, but the wind made it feel a lot colder.

Ride Stats : 50K and 360/440 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h18mins

1595/16225