Time to really test my legs after a couple of weeks of building up the workload. SO today I set off for a strenuous ride on one of my favorite trails. The Accro Bike , starting in Grez Doiceau , the Accro Bike is a track I have been riding so many times I can ride it with my eyes closed. The 56K version has around 800 heightmeters and consists of a big loop clockwise through Biez, Cocrou, Pietrebais, Longueville, Chaumont, Bonlez, Dion Valmont, Wavre and Doiceau. To this basic loop I have added a couple of extra loops, mostly descents and climbs, to spice things up. As it stands now, the track you see below will have close to 900 heightmeters, whilst losing a kilometre of distance.
Riding from Miradal to Grez, I have ample time to warm up and I take a picture when I cross the river Train in Archennes. From there it is only a couple of kilometers to Grez, where the track starts at the Grand Place near the Church.

The weather is fine, around 20 degrees C and a little breeze from the southeast. On the Merlin again today so the challenges that the track throws at me are easily digested by the bike. At Biez, to reach the church, I cut a corner whilst taking a small track along the field instead of going the long way around on cobbles. This already saves me 500 meters and it yields a technical climb towards the church. I pause here and enjoy the beautiful horizon from this viewpoint. A picture is taken and I move on.
In Cocrou I cut another corner, not going to the bottom of the descent , instead cutting to the right after the long sandy descent and starting immediately on a climb into the forest. In Pietrebais I have added an extra climb and the descent along a small singletrack is a tricky one. Gullies covered under grass. A nightmare for most bikers. You don't see the edges of the gully and when your wheel touches those edges you need all your skill to keep the bike moving. Love it !

In the Bois de Glabais I make sure I take in every climb there is, dropping down into the Gorge des Loups, climbing back out of it, down into another valley, and taking a special track with a very steep ascent to avoid the sandy road most bikers take. Upon completing that climb, there is a small tarmac road taking me towards Pietrebais. Here you can relax a bit . There is much more to come.

Another succession of climbs and descents in and around Chaumont as the trail moves towards Inchebroux for one of the longest climbs. I begin to feel my legs but my heartrate us still fine. Having a bite to eat at the end of the climb before descending towards Bonlez. Here I can throw away my powerbar wrapper into the bin next to the church. There is a loud noise of playing children as I pass the church. It must be around their noon break. I continue towards Dion Valmont and have to walk a couple of times during the descent in the Bois des Gottes. Some trees have fallen and they don't bother clearing up the trails around here. Pity because that descent is a nice and tecnhical one I love to -try - to ride. In and through Dion valmont for a long and steady ascent towards the 2 Chapels in Wavre. I undercross the N25 and find myself walking again on the steep uphill that brings me back towards the N25.
Moving towards Doiceau now with another ascent back towards the N25, followed by a singletrack parallel to that highway and a long fast descent that ultimately brings me to the Avenue Comte Gérard d'Ursel. Having crossed that, a little track between houses brings me to a trail that has me climbing again towards the Golf de Bercuit. One downhill to go and another climb, a very steep one, brings me back into Grez-Doiceau. A last downhill - mind the gullies ! - and I'm back where I started. It took me nearly 4 hours to round the 55K course. When I look at the heightmeters on my Garmin I see that I already am past the 1000m mark. It feels like that in my legs as well.
The bike has saved me from a lot of hardship, the rear suspension - provided by Elssworth for Merlin - works like a charm and the added comfort keeps the body happy and the heartrates relatively low.

I ride home over Gottechain where I wrestle myself up a very steep singletrack . Over Hamme Mille and into the Valduc grounds I reach the forestry and make my way home through the Groendreef and the Eleanordreef. A mighty fine ride but I am nevertheless pleased to be home. It has been quite a test for my body and fitness and it remains to be seen how well I will recuperate in the next couple of days.

Ride Stats : 81K and 1200/1245 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h55mins

7400/78755

08-10-2010, 20:32 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Just heard the sad news that mountainbiker Gerry Werckx is dead at the age of 39. He decided to step out of this life. To me, my first memory of him dates of 2002, when I was helping at the Inscriptions at the 2nd Hagelandse chrono. Gerry arrived there very late and in a hurry. He inscribed, had a leak against a hedge, got on his bike and won the race with more than a minute on the second rider.
I didn't see much of him since then but friends of his were always saying he was happy and good-humoured. More the sadder to hear of this news.
My thoughts go out to his family and loved ones. May he find peace.
[foto copyright MTB Lily]

07-10-2010, 14:25 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I felt a bit tired from yesterdays' ride but the calm weather beckoned me to go out. With the Litespeed having a wobbly crank and with the Moots still without wheels, I was forced to grab the Merlin. Forced is a big word since this may well be my best bike. It is certainly the bike I love to ride in the Ardennes, on the most difficult and technical trails in Belgium. Riding it in meerdael forest is a slight case of overbombing, but the added comfort and control the full suspension offers - in the climbs and during the downhills -  makes that on average I am around 1 to 1.5kph faster on any given trail. I have to add that this bike is about as light as my Litespeed, even a smidgeon lighter that the Moots, that also helps of course.
Following the trail from last saturday on my Garmin I noticed the trail conditions were better, the trails having dried up  during the last couple of days. This made for good traction. The Merlin floated over all the obstacles, even with my tired legs I was a lot faster than I normally am on these trails.

On the 2 technical downhills, I was in full control thanks to the performant brakes and I could even try out some new lines. The bike took it all. In the Nethen section, I managed to split my chain . My bad, I shifted too late upon entering a little mud pool and the chain just cracked in two. I was lucky that it happened on the exact spot of the chain lock. So all I had to do was connect the lock again and I was on my way. What are the chances of that, I wonder?

Zooming down the hill near the Kluis I only had to touch the brakes lightly - more due to caution than out of need - to correct my trajectory over a gully. When I arrived at the Zoete Waters I added a little loop in Heverlee Bos to bring me back home.
Read an article in this months Velo Vert about how full suspension bikes perform better than hardtails. I can only agree with their findings. For the same power input you go faster on a fully suspended bike than on a hardtail. And all that while enjoying the added comfort and keeping the heart rate lower.

Ride Stats : 29K and 440/480 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h46mins

7320/77510

Today I wanted to do a 3 hour ride. This meant some careful planning of the roads I was going to follow. I decided to start out over Haasrode , Bierbeek and Meldert to make my way to Hoegaarden. Here I got on the Ravel towards Namur past Jodoigne until I came on the trails of the Trace du Loup, the 1W ride, around Huppaye. To the right towards Lathuy and down into the valley to reach Dongelberg. Struggling up the slope after crossing the Govertange river I was marvelling at the views. The sun was playing hide and seek the whole time, and some dark clouds nicely contrasted with the earth colors.

Still following the 1W ride In came in Melin and then made my way towards the outskirts of La Bruyere. Following the N91 until I could cut to the right and reached Nodebais. From Nodebais I came into Tourinnes and then Hamme Mille. A little detour adding some time and kilometers . From Hamme Mille I decided to add another loop, going straight towards Nethen and then in Sint Joris Weert taking the Weertse Dreef back home.
I had a fine ride, the southeasterly wind was blowing warm air which made the average temperature a balmy 18 degrees C. Not to be scoffed at in the beginning of October. Legs felt stiff at the start but were fine throughout the ride. I did some elaborate 2-minute stretches coming out of my hot post-ride bath to put some stress on the tendons . I feel they have become rather stiff after my antibiotics stint. Possibly also due to the fact that I didn't ride - or stretch - for the first week into Lyme's disease.

Ride Stats : 69K and 445/580 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h06mins

7291/77030

After watching the Belgians and Italians lose the Mens' Elite World Championships to Norsk Powerhouse Thor Hushovd I had an appointment with some members of BigM at the Zoete Waters car park. We were to ride in the forest of Meerdael.
When I arrived around 10am it was heartwarming  to see some familiar faces again : Gail, Tom, David and José. I also met up with a couple of new ones. After the greetings were over, we set off for a 2 hour/ 30K ride into the forest. David - who has lived quite some time in Nethen - was our guide for today. He knows the forest very well and has conceived a solid ride that first took us up the ridge and away from the Zoete Waters, into Blanden and then into Mollendaalbos. The Litespeeds' Race Face Turbine LP crank arm had me a bit worried since it has developed quite some play during the last two rides , counting this one. The bearings aren't that old. As far as I remember they were put in during last winter and the bike has stayed in the shed during the entire summer. The Turbine uses a square tapered axis and it is very hard to find bearings for it. So this close to winter that is leaving me with quite a challenge. Or rather, I count on Filip Sport to sort this out. It wasn't easy last time and I imagine it will take some searching this time as well. But first I want to know what happened, it almost looks as if the bearings have shrunk.

Anyway, on with the ride. Despite the rain of the last couple of days the trails were not too wet. The sun was shining today and the warmth was a blessing . The climbs and trails followed each other in rapid succession as we proceeded towards the Mollendeel. From here David pointed his wheels towards the southern edge of the forest. We were greeted by a warm wind that dried out the trails and the small amounts of mud on our bikes and clothes. When we reached the Naamsesteenweg we paused for a little break. The pace had been good and at times I felt I still didn't have the legs I had before Lyme struck. But I also had to be careful with the pressure on the pedals. I didn't want to ruin the bearings in my crank. But as it turned out the play did not increase, it remained steady during the ride.
Reaching the western side of Meerdael Forest, the terrain becomes more accidented which meant the climbs were longer, steeper and with my worn rear tyre I had to use my power sparingly. Some of the downhills are a blast too. I was lucky when I escaped an OTB on a very steep one that ended in a step over roots. The Litespeed has V-brakes so my braking power is not as high as on my disc-equipped bikes. This meant that I couldn't brake after flying over the rooty downstep and I took another drop into a moderately muddy puddle at high speed, with the front wheel hitting first. I moved my weight backwards at the last moment, expecting the mud to be deep . I used all the travel in my front fork, but I managed to keep things rolling, partly due that the mud wasn't as deep as I thought it would be . Phew, narrow escape. David saw it all first hand and he said I looked pretty cool.

A long climb along a narrow trail follows. The trail is riddled with deep naroow gullies and on one side of it there is a barbed wire fence . So you have to be careful. I managed to ride it completely, a small victory on myself and the terrain. I just managed to keep my pedals from touching the sides of the narrow gullies, doing a sur-place a couple of times to reposition the pedals before moving on. Others were not so lucky but we all managed to ride most of the climb.

From there David took us to the Kluis area but not before another big descent and climb along a trail with ferns on both sides. It is one of the places were I might have picked up the tick that gave me Lyme. I told them to check their naked arms and legs after we passed through it . Me, you won't catch with short sleeves or pants in the forest anymore. I have learned my lesson. I usually wear long sleeved pants anyway because of my allergy for horseflies. I urge you, my reader, to do the same if you venture into the deep forest. Or use an effective tick repellent. Lyme's disease is for life.
Back to the Kouterbos and after 30K we were very happy with our ride. Thanks to David for a great adventure through the beautiful forest. The day was gloriously warm, the sun shone and the temperatures were above 20 degrees. An amazing day in october.

Ride Stats : 40K and 495/560 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h38mins

7222/76450

03-10-2010, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning I watched the final laps of the Womens' Elite World Championship Road Race in Geelong. As usual with the women, the race is a succession of breakaways and was very exiting until the very end. A late breakaway of Nicole Cooke and Judith Arndt was doomed for failure when the pack, with Belgian hope Grace Verbeke still in the running for a good finish, caught them some 400 metres before the line. Boyish-looking Italian Giorgia Bronzini took the Gold in a sprint with Dutch prodigy Marianne Vos, who took second place for  the 4th consecutive time. Sweet-looking Swede Emma Johannson took the Bronze after being hit on the helmet inadvertantly by a photographers' elbow in the sprint.
After that I decided to ride out myself. The weather looked foggy and some light drizzle was falling from time to time. Good thing I mounted some fenders on my Hilset. I did a good ride , almost 60K, looping over Pecrot, Archennes, Dion and Grez towards La Bruyere and Beauvechain.

Here I decided to ride back over Opvelp and Bierbeek. The drizzle became some light rain and when I entered Blanden it stopped alltogether with a watery sun breaking through the cloud cover when I finished my ride.

Ride Stats : 57K and 435/465 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h39mins

7182/75890

02-10-2010, 14:54 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Good and bad news from the cycling front today. Powerhouse Fabian Cancellara won his 4th consecutive World Title in the Mens Elite Time Trial in Geelong. He proceeded Flying Scotsmen David Millar and the German Panzerwagen Tony Martin. Tony even had to change his front wheel after a flat. Spartacus Cancellara rode more than 1 minute faster than the second man.
At the same time , the bad news came that Alberto Contador had tested positive for clenbuterol on July 21st in the Tour de France. The amount found was tiny, 50 picograms, but it was there. He argues that he must have eaten something that contained the forbidden substance. Questions that can be raised are, amongst others ; was he the only one of his team that had to give blood samples that morning? Did the other team members eat the same thing he did (steak, powerbars, whatever) and if so, why didn't they test positive? Will he get away with it?
And to add to the insult, also Ezekiel Mosquera - second in this years' Vuelta - also tested positive for something forbidden that can be used to mask EPO and convicted CERA doper Riccardo Riccò was compromized again when suspiscious vials were found at his home, and the brother of his former fiancé Vania Rossi , Enrico Rossi, was emprisoned for dope traffic. To be continued for sure.
Me, I had to wait until 3pm for the drizzle that had been falling since last night, to subside. When it did, and the sun came out, I couldn't resist doing an easy recovery ride , short but sweet.

Ride Stats : 30.5K and 210/250 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h25mins

7125/75425 

30-09-2010, 18:25 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Felt a bit tired and not well rested when I got out of bed at 8am this morning to watch the Womens Worlds' Elite Time Trial event in Geelong, Australia. Amazing how Jeannie Longo could hold on to the fifth position overall. She is 52 years old and when she had the best time she was flanked by 2 girls who - counted together - didn't have her age. What a career this woman has. Her first participation at the Worlds' was way back in 1982 ! and she has become very famous after that. Check out her website for her amazing string of results .
Today English girl Emma Pooley was the quickest of the lot. Check out the latest on http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/uci-road-world-championships-cm/elite-women/results . Tomorrow morning the Elite Men are going for it. Curious who will beat Cancellara for the title.
Me, I wasn't going to ride first but when the clouded skies seemed to break open a bit around 11am I decided to go out anyway. Did another easy ride . Had a spot of trouble with my Polar heartrate readout. Looks like I am in need of a new breastband. The signal is bad and only in the second part of my 2-hour ride did I get the exact heartrate on my Polar wrist watch. Very frustrating to see your heartrate leap to 170 for 5 minutes, then drop to 52 for another couple of minutes, and so on. Must pass at Filip Sport anyway soon so I will try to make do with this breastband for now.
The ride was uneventful, and I focussed again on keeping the heartrate low - yeah, right - and pushing low gears.Temperature was a mild 15 degrees C and there was no wind to speak of.

Ride Stats : 43K and 295/345 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h00mins

7095/75175

29-09-2010, 15:20 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This morning saw a dull grey sky. Yesterday afternoon and evening it had rained leaving the streets still moist this morning. And with the sun nowhere to be seen and almost no wind it didn't dry very quickly. It almost looked like a fine mist was hanging over the country, but no rain was forecast. So I decided to take the Hilset out and do an easy road ride. Temperature was 12 degrees on average and with the cloudy skies that made for excellent conditions for riding along at a leisurely pace. I rode towards Nethen and then made my way to Pecrot, Ottenburg and Wavre. From Terlanen I tried the Bergstraat but this was closed on top so I had to take a cobbly road to connect towards Maleizen. From the ridge I could see Wavre and the VRT masts, with their top part hidden by the low cloud cover.

From Maleizen, I rode down towards Overijse and then connected to Huldenberg. A long ascent up the Smeysberg and then following the Nijvelsebaan for a while before descending towards the Langerodestraat and further on to Sint Agatha Rode. From there I closed my loop over Sint Joris Weert, the Zoete Waters and Vaalbeek.
Again a solid 51K and with an average heartrate of 117 also easy on my body. The grey skies were fine by me, they hide the sun which suited me fine today.

Ride Stats : 51K and 400/450 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h30mins

7051/74830

27-09-2010, 15:53 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I had made an appointment with my friend Guna today to meet at the Zoete Waters and have a ride through Meerdael Forest together. I hadn't seen her since the Houffalize World Cup in May and since that time she has been doing 10 full marathons in Belgium, making for a fine result in the O2 Bikers Marathon Trophy. I am very proud of her .
This also meant that she was the one in shape while I was the one still struggling with Lyme and especially the antibiotics and their effect on my body. But, since this was a leisurely ride, just 2 friends meeting up and chatting up the last couple of months, I was going to be fine with the pace.
I was the guide and I decided for a mix of bigger forest roads and fine singletrails. The rains had made the forest floor wet and we would encounter several showers during our ride . Luckily the heavy leaf cover would protect us from the rain but of course the trails, especially the ones in thinner forest, were wet , muddy and slippery. But we both have enough technical prowess to deal with those kind of trails, making for a fun ride at a relaxing pace. My health did not allow me to add a lot of the very steep trails I normally do but I still managed to cram in almost 450 heightmeters in a 29K ride. First concentrating on the area above Sint Joris Weert and then making my way towards Nethen and to the Warande Ponds. I then crossed the Naamsesteenweg and showed her the biggest tree in the forest, the Dikke Eik. We also stopped at the Mollendaal refuge but by then the showers had stopped . Pity there are so few refuges left in the forest. There used to be a shelter near the Warande Ponds but this has long been gone.

From Mollendaal forest I closed the loop going towards Blanden, vaalbeek and then a short stint into Heverlee Forest. When we arrived back at the Zoete Waters another little shower made us seek refuge beneath some big leafy tree. Guna still had to ride home to Brussels but I reckon she would keep it dry. It was good to meet up again and chat about all the rides she did last summer.



Ride Stats : 38.5K and 440/525 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h30mins

6950/73965

25-09-2010, 18:01 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today was another warm day, but around 3pm it started to get overcast, with thunderstorms announced. I decided to ride out, making the most of the warm september weather before it would run out on us.
I started - again with the Merlin - towards Heverlee forest. Crisscrossing at the start and then more or less following the green Bloso route . When I crossed the Naamsesteenweg I decided to leave the Green trail and started again following some smaller trail. The tracks were easy, the Merlin was smoothing all that came into its stride, and the kilometers added up on my counter. When I reached the Zoete Waters I fell a couple of drops but a look at the sky teached me it would still be some time before any real rain would fall. So I entered the Kouterbos and made my way towards the Meerdael Forest, passing the Kluis and then circumvening the forest at its Nethen edge.
Taking my time to climb up to the plateau I then made my way towards the Warande pond and crossed the Naamsesteenweg again to make my way into the eastern part of Meerdael Forest and Mollendaal forest.

I then decided to call it a day when the number of raindrops started to increase. But I didn't see any real rain until I got home. When I am typing this, however, a real thunderstorm has just past the Meerdael region. Short but with quite a bit of rain and a lot of wind. Good thing I didn't wait longer to start my ride. I made the most of the short Indian summer we enjoyed these last couple of days. The trails were still perfect today and I already felt a bit stronger than 2 days ago. Even though I still have to take my antibiotics for 7 more days I feel confident that, if I keep the intensity low, I can keep on doing these short easy rides in the forest .

Ride Stats : 32K and 270/320 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h41mins

6912/73440

Another day and I felt like another ride. The sun was out the whole day so again I had to wait until 4.30pm to ride out. Since I took the Moots' wheels to Filip this morning, I had to take Mr. Merlin. That bike is setup for the toughest Ardennes trails so it is serious overkill for the trails I was going to ride today but hey, it made for a very comfortable ride where I was always in control of every situation. In the downhill I could just let it go without brakes, not having to worry about violent bumps and other nasties. The full suspension bike is made to cope with all that without even breaking a sweat. So for this bike it must have been a walk in the park, or a stroll through town.

I stopped for a little while at the refuge in Mollendaal forest, took the obligatory picture and rode along. Nothing too difficult although I couldn't resist passing near the Dikke Eik and doing a bit of singletrail to get there. But long sleeves took care of me. The temperature was an average of 20 degrees C so I was glad to have the shade of the forest. Having passed the Zoete Waters I did a loop into Heverlee forest to finish with a bit of tarmac into Blanden.

Ride Stats : 24k and 200/250 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h15mins

6880/73120

22-09-2010, 18:44 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Holy Fenrir, what a long time without biking. Whilst I was undergoing the healing and sickening effects of the antibiotics in their battle against Lyme, I normally refrained from any physical activity. But today, after a visit to the doctor who prescribed me another 10 days of Doxycycline - "just to make sure all the nasty bugs are gone" - I had to grab the Moots and ride out.
I had to wait until the sun was almost down because one of the effects of the antibiotics is a higher sensibility to sunrays. This also meant I would be better off riding in the shadowy forest. Didn't feel like riding on the road anyways so I went for a loop into Meerdael Forest. I took it very easy and only took big forest tracks without too much hills or other challenges.
Taking a break every now and then to let my heartrate drop down a bit. The legs felt like I expected after nearly 2 weeks of rest and I concentrated on revs instead of watts.

When I closed my loop going through Blanden I flatted - again. Again the rear tyre. I took it with a grin and changed my rear inner tyre. I had already decided to contact Filip Sport about putting in some NoTubes and when I got home I made an appointment to bring in my wheels.

The temperatures were great, around 21 degrees with an average of 18 degrees C in the forest . Even more of a bitter pill to swallow. Normally I would have been riding epic stuff  in the Ardennes now, but when I got Lyme that changed all those plans. I do have a holiday for the next 3 weeks so I better take advantage to heal and rest, with the occasional ride as long as the antibiotics permit it.

Ride Stats : 14K and 120/175 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 49mins30secs

6856/72870

A little update for those who are wondering why I am not biking anymore.
Last sunday I noticed a little red rash on my right calf. I didn't make much of it since I had several bites from mosquitos, and also some rashes from nettles and other bushes.
The next day the red spot was a little bigger but on wednesday it had grown considerably and to my surprise I noticed the typical bulls-eye (erythema migrans) pattern associated with Lyme's Disease . I went to the doctor that same day and she put me on strong antibiotics. I have been taking them for 5 days now and the rash seems to be subsiding.
That being said, I do remember pulling a tick out of my calf after my forest ride on the 24th of August. My blood has been examined and there was no sign of migrating Lyme. So if the antibiotics do their job it may be that we can stop the disease from entering the next phase.
Obviously, these last couple of days, the antibiotics have been hitting me like a hammer and my mind has been far from riding my bike. I have to take the antibiotics till friday so this week won't see me riding either.

12-09-2010, 17:48 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yesterday my muscles were very sore from the 8K walk so I decided to rest a day and do an easy ride today. My legs felt better and I actually felt good riding at a leisurely pace on tarmac. I got 3 new inner tyres but when I got home I noticed I had taken the wrong valves, a fat one instead of a thin one. This means I can not use them on all of my wheels .So tomorrow I will try to have them swapped at the store.

Ride Stats : 30.5K and 180/205 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h23mins

6842/72695

07-09-2010, 18:18 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Beautiful sunny day so I set out for a cool ride along the extra loop the Meerdael Classic 100K does over its 60K distance. I have done this before and I know it nets around 700 heightmeters in 40K, not something to be laughed at. Furthermore it incorporates a couple of difficult climbs, really steep ones and technical bits.
I started as usual with the railroad singletrack in Pecrot, followed by a climb/descent of the Malaise plateau. The start of the singletrack is interrrupted by some workings below at the railway track, but once passed those its as usual big fun, trying to ride it in one go. The uphill and downhill that follows is very sandy but I manage to get it done without stopping. When I arrive at the Pecrot station I start the Garmin on the Meerdael Classic track. I have posted the track already so I refer you to look for Meerdael Classic in my blog.

On the trails I come accross a lot of bikers who are riding the offroad trail offered by the Gordel. Sometimes they ride in the same direction than me, sometimes they are coming from the opposite direction. The collection of heightmeters and singletracks takes me to Ottenburg, Sint Agatha Rode, Huldenberg and then towards the Margijsbos along the Yse. I have to be patient because the small track along the Yse is very busy with Gordelaars. When I see a small singletrack going upwards on my right I don't hesitate and take it. It is the first of 4 climbs that take me up the Margijsbos/Smeysberg hill. When I am zooming down at high speed towards the Wolfshaegen disaster strikes. A flat tyre. I take out one of my spares and change the inner tyre. I continue along my way with a last climb up the Smeysberg ridge along the Kleine Keistraat. On the tarmac that follows on the crest I notice my rear tyre is a bit flat. I continue down along the Koestraat and then ride towards Sint Agatha Rode and after a passage following the river Dyle through a nature reserve and crossing the 2 Marbaises I arrive in Pecrot. Before tackling the Beaumont hill I decide to stop and add a bit of air to my rear tyre. Another disaster. Whilst I'm pumping I hear a hissing sound and my rear tyre flats. Bummer. I take out my second spare but when trying to inflate that I quickly notice that it won't hold air. It seems to be losing air at an old patch. So there I am with 3 inner tyres and not one of them that wants to hold air. I try looking for the hole in the second tyre but I can't find it. I put it in again but I just can't keep the pressure in. So I am faced with a log walk home.
After 8 km and 1h15 of walking I arrive home. Pity the ride had to end like this. Lessons learned : never keep a tyre that is already patched.

Ride Stats : 55.5K and 855/980 heightmeters in 4h8mins (1h15 walking included)

6812/72490

Time to get Mr.Merlin out and do some serious biking in the Ardennes. Or, in this case, the gates to the Ardennes, Ben-Ahin which is a suburb of Huy, near the river Meuse. The O2 Bikers roadbook of Ben-Ahin is already an old one, dating from their number 70 issue from June 2001. It is however, a roadbook that received a lot of credit as being tough, both uphill and especially downhill, with the drop from the Tour Joseph back to the town of Huy as being the epitome of downhill tracks in the region. So today, at last, I rode my MPS towards Huy and parked at the parking lot opposite the Hotel du Fort.

The mist that hung over the country was slowly getting dissipated by the sun so things looked good weather-wise. The roadbook promised nearly 900 heightmeters over close to 34K. More was not needed to draw me out and give it a try.
From the start a section of tarmac brings me along the borders of the river Meuse towards the roundabout where a tarmac climb starts. I pass the Chateau of Ben-Ahin - I think thats what the sign said - and then I am riding offroad and getting used to my first couple of kilometers on the Merlin again. The route climbs gently out of the valley and on top of a long climb I am presented with a magnificent view of the river deep below, with some shrouds of mist still hanging over the faraway hills. The trail drops down again and some sharp rocks remind me that I am in the Ardennes and care has to be taken. Below I follow a river upstream until where a multitude of tracks come together on my Garmin screen. I know this is the spot where the trail comes 2 times but I am not sure which direction I should take first. I fumble with the screen and see there is a loop lying ahead of me. I decide to go for that and it takes me onto small singletracks vlimbing more or less all the time. Sometimes a fallen tree blocks the track and getting over it isn't always easy. At one point I make a wrong turn but I can see on my GPS that I will connect to the track again a little bit further. I arrive at Solieres and after some tarmac I drop down on a rooty singletrack into the forest again. Getting my feet wet riding through a little river and then a long steep climb though a hollow road. Steep but just manageable. After a while a tricky downhill brings me into Ben-Ahin where I am taken on a second loop.

This loop starts with a very beautiful but very steep and dangerous downhill. Think in the region of 25% grade, even more. Near the end I am literally sitting on my rear tyre to keep the weight back while I control the speed of the bike. Luckily there are some ground patches between the rocks where I can apply the brakes without risking a washout. I arrive on a tarmac road I follow briefly before entering the forest again. Another climb takes me to a next patch of tarmac and another trails brings me ultimately into Boussale. From there I move towards Andenne, where - at the Col de la Flismes - the track at last veers to the right and brings me back to the river Meuse. Some very nice trails here in the forests.
I follow the river Meuse for a while and if I might give a tip to anyone wanting to ride this track, take advantage of this flat section to recuperate because the climb that will follow is a very nasty one. You follow the Meuse valley until you reach Ben, and there starts a climb that will have you dig deep into your strenght and technical prowess. In fact , you are following what looks to be a little dried-out river and it takes you up along the outskirts of a rocky outcrop. Later when I download the track to my PC I moticed peaks of 24% in this climb.  It takes a while before it gets less steep and then brings me back into Ben-Ahin, where I have started this second loop a while ago. Seems like I did the first loop in the reverse direction so I decided to do it again, in the right direction this time. So back to Solieres and back down along the track with the many fallen trees. Back at the junction I am taken to another very steep climb.

There is a sign with 'Pietons Seulement'  - pedestrians only - and I'm betting that most will be indeed going on foor here. The climb is steep, and the trails is riddled with rocks making it very difficult to find traction and keeping the wheels spinning.  At the top I follow a narrow track taking me through a field with two basculating gates. The trail then turns back into the forest for another drop down the slope. At the end I nearly have to make a 180 turn that brings me on a small singletrail following a river. The trail ascents and after a while it again becomes too steep to ride. So I walk another 100 meters before the slope lessens. The peak grade on this slope shows 38%. No mere mortal can ride that I'm sure. I arrive in Saint Leonard and have to climb some more on tarmac roads before reaching the Tour Joseph.
All that is left now is a 150 meter drop along some switchbacks down towards Huy. This is one difficult downhill. At first there are so many trails and tracks crisscrossing it is very difficult to choose the right one. They are steep and with hairpin turns. At times I just stop the bike and make the turn on foot. After a while some trees block the road. I climb over them and continue. I can see the town 50m below me when all of a sudden the track is blocked to the right. There is a small track leading left and it looks like my only option. At times I am very close to a big abyss to my right , I realize that there is no room for error here. Mind you, the trail is dry, I would not want to do this when the trail is wet. A steep drop brings me to the mouth of a railroad tunnel. I'm nearly there.

Crossing the tunnel and I arrive at a bridge from where I see my car down below on the parking lot. Some steps take me down to the road and I am very happy to have survived this difficult ascent at the end of a very physical ride.

When I look at the numbers on my Polar and Garmin screen I realize that the 900 heightmeters announced were a bit optimistic. certainly so if you take into account I did one 4K loop 2 times,adding perhaps 70 heightmeters to the normal number. Afterwards on the PC the Garmin software gives me 870 heightmeters. And I can live with that. Especially since most of them were very hard-fought, steep height differences.  I realized today that I need some more Ardennes rides to get into better form. I have the endurance but it has been a while since I had to tackle long steeps climbs and descents. 

Ride Stats : 38,5K and 815/870 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h00mins
Hill Factor : 22.5
O2 Bikers Roadbook Ben-Ahin at EveryTrail

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6756/71510

03-09-2010, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

After a couple of really cold, wet and windy days the weather seems to take a turn for the better. Even though the temperature was only 16 degrees on average during my late afternoon ride, and it was really dark with clouds, it stayed dry . This enabled me to do an easy ride for a couple of hours. Roughly making an elliptical loop along Heverlee , Egenhoven and Bertem, I came along the Sint Verone Chapel. It is undergoing some cleaning but I still managed to get a picture, albeit it a bit sombre due to the weather conditions.

From Bertem I made my way back up the plateau and then set towards Leefdaal and the outskirts of Neerijse. Huldenberg and then Overijse were next. In Overijse I climbed towards Maleizen and then turned left towards Wavre . From Wavre I set towards Ottenburg and then down to Sint Agatha Rode and Sint Joris Weert. I closed the loop over the Zoete Waters and Vaalbeek. Nice little ride netting me nearly 60K and 2h30 of riding.

Ride Stats : 59K and 400/480 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h29mins

6718/70640

Due to other obligations I could only start around noon for the Ronde van Leuven. The skies were looking threatening but after checking meteox.be I decided it would not rain anytime soon and started for this loop around Leuven. Starting in Blanden meant first riding towards Bierbeek, then Lovenjoel. Followed by Linden and Kortrijk Dutsel. There was a very strong wind, blowing cold from the northwest. This hampered me between Kortrijk Dutsel and Winksele. There was not a lot of traffic on the ride, partly due to the adverse weather conditions but also due to the fact that you could start at 5 or 6 different places. When I reached Winksele I only had a little while to go. Egenhoven and then Heverlee and I was back at the start in Blanden. The skies darkened and I began to feel a couple of raindrops when I arrived home. Pity the weather was not more inviting, I might have added another small loop in Blanden. But as it stood I arrived shortly before 3pm and they were already taking away the arrows anyway. The last start was sheduled for 3pm.

Ride Stats : 59K and 360/405 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h37mins

6660/70160

29-08-2010, 19:35 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf