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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 13-11-2008 |
 At last |
When I checked my bike out before leaving it turned out that my rear tyre was flat.. oh well, I replaced it before I took off and this time I wanted to do a longer ride than yesterday. And I did. I saw the full moon rising over the fields and took a picture before it got too dark.
The legs felt good and I made a mental reminder to get my winter gloves out because near the end of the ride I began to feel the cold biting at my fingers. A solid 2 hour nightride and I'm glad I didn't have another flat or other issue.
Ride Stats : 50K and 330/388 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h10mins
9024.5/88465
13-11-2008, 20:07 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 12-11-2008 |
| Flat - again |
Left for an easy road ride around dusk. Not far into the ride I felt that wobbly feeling again coming from my back tyre.. damn, not again ! Oh yes, another flat. I examined the outer tyre and this time I found a little chard of glass embedded into it.. just sticking out long enough to be able to puncture the inner tyre when this squeezed against the outer. I memded the inner again , put in some air and was on my way. But because the rim is a tubeless xtr, the outer tyre didn't 'settle' in well, leaving it to feel as if it had a bump in it. This in turn made it harder to get a good pedalling rhythm and I decided to cut the loop a little shorter than I had imagined. When I got home I immediately ordered two new outer tyres. My Racing Ralphs are worn to the thread and have become very soft . I think this must be the 6th year I have been using them. I ordered two Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 2.0x26 tyres at Chain Reaction Cycles. In view of the biking I do with this bike, I believe they are more suited than the new Racing Ralphs anyway. And they have inbuild flat protection which is always a plus, especially on evening rides. After all, mending a flat in the dark is not the easiest of things, even in the light of a 40W bulb.Ride Stats : 31K and 220/246 heightmeters in 1h23mins8974/88135
12-11-2008, 20:38 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 11-11-2008 |
| Windy intermezzo with 2 flats |
Very stormy weather last night with lots of rain and heavy wind gusts. This morning I couldn't be coaxed to go offroad, not did I want to really with all the mud and debris that was sure to make the going very tough. Instead I settled on what I hoped to be a long slow distance ride along the Red BLOSO route that starts in Heverlee and loops over Sint Joris Weert, Sint Agatha Rode, Terlanen, Neerijse and back over Egenhoven to Heverlee. The wind was still fierce and I was taking it easy, not wanting to burn to much calories. In Ottenburg I saw the participants of the yearly organised ride enter , their bikes a very muddy brown and their clothing painted along the same lines. For the 3rd year in succession the organisers of this fine ride have not been blessed by good weather. Either it rained heavily on the 11th itself, or, like this year, it rained heavily the night before turning the parcours into a difficult succession of climbs and mudpatches. A bit further, whilst tackling the Keyberg, disaster struck for me. I felt my rear tyre lose air and had to switch tyres. I had a suspicious inner tyre with me that I mounted instead of the punctured one, and 10 minutes later I was back on my way. Not for long because during the fast descent of the Smeysberg I could already feel that the tyre was not holding air properly. I tried to inflate it a bit more but upon exiting Neerijse I had to change tyres again. I looked for, and found, the hole in my first inner tyre and after fixing that I could finish my ride without any more troubles.
Ride Stats : 51.5K and 495/468 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h20mins
8943/87915
11-11-2008, 14:57 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 09-11-2008 |
| Perimeter ride |
I had rained quite a lot last night - as I was about to find out. I had slept like a log and didn't even hear the rain nor wind last night. I decided on a simple perimeter ride, which means that I follow the edges of Meerdael Forest , Kouterbos and Heverlee Bos as close as possible. I deciced quickly to avoid the smaller tracks as much as possible because they were swamped and very wet. Instead I concentrated on the bigger tracks, which was also not a bad idea in view of my muscle tiredness from yesterdays' ride. I let out a bit of pressure from my tyres, partly because they felt too hard yesterday and partly to have more grip today. My legs didn't feel too bad but I didn't ride very fast and stayed off of the big ring. Near Nethen I couldn't but take some steepish hills but I managed them all very well.
Ride Stats : 33K and 320/358 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h04mins
Ride Map :
8892/87420
09-11-2008, 18:31 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 08-11-2008 |
| Autumn galore |
The weather has been quiet these last days. Not a lot of wind and so the leaves are not falling as quickly as during other years. This means that the dying leaves give the trees very beautiful colors. Today I set out for a long offroad ride. I took off towards Heverleebos first and then looped around Oud-Heverlee towards Korbeek Dyle where I first met the river Dyle. I stopped frequently to take some pictures. I wanted to go more or less into the direction of Ottenburg so I chose my trails accordingly. My GPS gave me the opportunity to check out some unknown roads without fear of getting lost. On one occasion - just west of Loonbeek I had to loop back because the road ended all of a sudden into a field. The trails were heavy with some mud in the lower areas but with good traction everywhere. My grippy green Michelin front tyre saved me from washing out on more than one occasion. I headed for the Smeysberg region next, and then made my way through the beautiful Lane valley and into the Rode Bos. When I finally reached Ottenburg I followed the Overijse BLOSO trails for a while, intermittently adding some extra sections. I dropped down towards Gastuche where I found the road next to the railroad to be blocked by road works. Bummer but no problem, I decided to add a bit of Accro Bike region to my ride and set towards the outskirts of Wavre and looped over Dion Valmont. I then followed a bit of the 2008 MX marathon track up to the N25 again and through a singletrack descending back towards Dion Valmont. I then followed the last kilometers of the Accro Bike towards Grez Doiceau. All the time obviously the climbs and descents were following each other mercilessly and I wasn't surprised I had quite a lot of heightmeters at the end. From Grez I headed towards Archennes where a steep climb took me up the Bossut plateau. I then headed for Les Claines and into the Meerdael Forest. The trails here were completely covered with leaves, making it very tricky in the descents because you didn't see what was lurking beneath the multicolored tapestry. I didn't look for any more challenges - my stamina was seriously waning at this point and settled for a straight path through the forest and back home.I hope the pictures I took bring a bit of autumn to all those who didn't have the chance to go out today. I provide a map so you are able to follow my tracks.
On a bike note, I am less and less pleased with the behaviour of my 2001 SID SL. It performs harsh and leaves with me with sore arms and neck. I have had it serviced a while back but that didn't improve it a lot. Furthermore its sloppy stiffness bothers me more and more - as compared to my other bikes that have much stiffer forks . To top it off, the fork arms are starting to wear out and are scratched. I think I will have to dig into my pocket for a new fork. At this point I think I will get my Moots YBB a 2009 SID WC and transfer the Moots' Fox RLT80 to my Litespeed. This because the 2009 SID WC range doesn't come with v-brake studs. The Moots will lose a few 100 grams and the Litespeed will gain a few, but will also gain some stability because of the stiffer fork.Ride Stats : 65K and 840/858 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h59minsRide Map:
 8859/87100
08-11-2008, 23:24 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 05-11-2008 |
| Beyond the Black |
Another nightride . I started around 4.30pm on this dark day and pretty soon the black was engulfing me. The backroads I was taking were rather smudged with mud. Farmers are harvesting and plowing and the mud doesn't dry out anymore. My bike was looking pretty bad when I arrived home after the ride. It looked as though I had been riding offroad. The temps were fine with around 9 degrees C. and there was a light drizzle at times. I wore my lightblue shades this time which are great for nightriding with the bright white light my HID front light produces. All the time I was humming on the sound of Metal Church's 1984 song "Beyond the Black"."...
We are off the beaten track
All the masses are rebelling
To withstand the dark attack
Will we make it back beyond the black?
.."
I did make it back beyond the black and when I got back home I had a long hot tub and did some of the stretches my kinesitherapist has shown me. They focus on the front lower torso muscles, iliopsoas and the muscles at the back of the legs. Holding these stretches for at least 2 minutes gives the muscles and tendons the time to properly stretch. I wasn't surprised I felt the result the day afterwards when I first did them. I also stretch my calves for a few minutes.
Ride Stats: 50K and 385/449 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h11mins8759/86015
05-11-2008, 20:43 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 03-11-2008 |
| Into the beckoning darkness |
Had a good stretching session at the kinesitherapist this evening and I decided to ride out a bit later as well. Got my trusty Lumicycle Halide out - which is going into its 6th winter season now ! - and I took advantage of this ride to get acquainted once again with the peculiarities of riding in the dark. First off - wear sunglasses with blue or clear glass. I forgot and even though my Specialized is fotosensitive, it still was a bit dark, even with the bright white 40W HID beam. You also need to re-adjust your angle of view, or rather, you need to constantly shift your attention from the bright white column in front of your wheel to a point some 30-40 metres away. Things arrive very quickly in the darkness and you have to be on the lookout for all eventualities. Parked cars, roadsigns , fallen branches, potholes... you name it, they are there lurking and one thing you cannot afford during nightrides is a fall. There was a crescent moon - which looked a bit red because of my sunglasses - and some whisps of mist were hanging around the little streams and rivulets I crossed. Near the end the mist was also gliding through the trees of the Meerdael forest as I took the Weertsedreef back towards Blanden. Temps were great with an average of 8 degrees C throughout the ride.Ride Stats : 26.5K and 170/219 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h11mins8709/85630
03-11-2008, 20:19 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 02-11-2008 |
| Haasrode Tour |
No rain this morning and with temps climbing up to 11 degrees C a good opportunity to ride out. I took the Hilset which is already fitted with my Lumicycle HID light and thus ready for the coming evening rides. I decided to do the Haasrode Tour which starts in Haasrode and loops over Bierbeek, Willebringen, Hoksem, Oorbeek and L'Ecluse towards La Bruyere and Pietrebais. Here I decided to leave the loop and return directly towards Hamme Mille and Meerdael Forest. The small roads were covered with mud which left my bike nicely specced in brown. Ride Stats : 54K and 420/418 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h22mins8683/85460
02-11-2008, 14:09 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 25-10-2008 |
| Nero long version |
The weather was looking great today so I decided to go for it and do a long ride. First I set out into Meerdael forest to ride towards the Zoete Waters from where I made my way over Korbeek Dyle towards Duisburg. I decided to explore some new roads and, helped by my GPS, explored some trails I never rode before. At one point the trail ended into a field and when I started to cross the field to make it to a road I knew was there, I was halted by a company of hunters. They were not pleased to see me on the fields they were hunting in, since I was "scaring the wildlife". I didn't argue too much - they had guns, I didn't - but they let me continue towards the road I was aiming to reach. Behind me all hell broke lose - poor wildlife!Onwards over nice trails towards Duisburg I rode, making a few loops when the road I was following didn't quite go into the direction I was supposed to go. But with the GPS I quickly discovered other routes and how to get there. Into the Sonian Forest I made my way towards Jezus-Eik and further on towards the Chapel 'Welleriekende'.There I could catch up with the Dreve des Bonniers that led me nicely to the track of the Nero route. This is a BLOSO route that starts in Hoeilaart and is some 25K long. I had decided to follow this BLOSO today. I could start directly on a singletrack section next to the railroad. They have been working here on the HST project for a few years now, but the first bit of singletrack can again be used. Further up the barriers still prevent further passage.
The few singletrack sections were really wet and dirty and at one point - a steep downhill not far from the Grote Hut - it was dangerous with deep wet ruts that forced me off the bike. I took the long version, taking me past the Queens' Chapel and then back towards the Dreve des Bonniers. The singletrack next to the Dreve Lorraine was great. When I connected back with my virtual starting point I decided to ride the old BigM beginners' loop towards Trois Fontaines. I had to think of my friend Minna at this point. She taught me all these routes a while back and I am very grateful to her for that. I remembered them well and when I arrived at Trois Fontaines I connected to another of Minnas' Loops, this one passing next to the Rouge Cloitre Abbey and then looping back towards Jezus-Eik. By now , I had almost 70K and I began to realize that I was undermining my chances of riding tomorrow. My back was starting to make itself feel and I still had nearly 20K to go. Back towards Duisburg and then looping towards Korbeek Dyle again. Here I caught up with the Green Meerdael BLOSO which I followed all the way to Vaalbeek. From there it was only a few K's back home. I had a great ride in glorious weather conditions. I mailed the organisers in Bierbeek that I would not attend their ride tomorrow. I am satisfied with my ride today but it has left me with more pain than I had bargained for. And since it has been a while that I did a 5-hour ride I am suspecting a lot of muscle aching tomorrow as well. At best I can hope for an easy recovery ride, probably on the rollers since rain is forecast to reach us by midnight.Ride Stats : 92K and 880/909 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h50mins8584/85040
25-10-2008, 20:38 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 23-10-2008 |
| Vestiges of a dying day |
Lovely sunshine this evening and even though it was only around 15 degrees C it was feeling pleasant to drive out. First I made my way into Meerdael Forest to interconnect to Sint Joris Weert. Passed the 'steps' downhill again, just to make sure I have the right line for this sunday. All went well even though the leaves make it tricky. I then rode towards the Margijsbos where I did a nice loop incorporating a few up-and downhills and some lesser-known paths. The GPS is really a big help here. I leave the map on and I can distinguish roads that are hardly noted when you ride by them, but are there nevertheless and also lead you somewhere. From the Margijsbos I climbed the Smeysberg - partly offroad, partly on tarmac and then dropped down offroad towards the Sint Agatha Rode Bos. Here I also made a very hilly loop to interconnect after a while with the Red Overijse Bloso. I followed that up to Ottenburg and further on until I arrived at Sint Agatha Rode again. When I blasted down along the side of the Sint Agatha Rode bos I stopped to make a picture of some sheep in the shady part of the field, with the sun dropping fast behind me.
23-10-2008, 20:31 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 20-10-2008 |
| Ride the Red |
Another nice evening, with temps reaching almost 20 degrees C. So I rode aout for a quick spin into Meerdael forest. The Red BLOSO was the path my green Michelin tyre followed. I felt surprisingly good and my lower back didn't give a twinch during the ride. The sun and the warm southern wind made for a pleasant environment in which to speed along over the fallen leaves.The tracks were just right. Dry and not dusty because of the leaves which had fallen, and were still falling.
 
Furthermore, I got an email from an acquaintance I believed had left this planet. Not so , as it turned out. You know who you are, thanks for contacting me again .. We'll meet up soon for a spin around my forest. Ride Stats : 21K and 180/198 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h01mins8425/83580
20-10-2008, 22:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 19-10-2008 |
| Meerdaal 2000 pre-ride |
Today was a fine day to try a longer ride. I had set my sights on the 55K distance of the upcoming Meerdaal 2000 TT, starting in Bierbeek next sunday. I got the map of the organisers so I made a GPS track out of it using Mapsource. Saving it as a gpx track, converting it into a course my Garmin Edge understands and hey presto, I was ready to go. Only uncertainty was how my lower back would behave. Since I already stressed it yesterday I wasn't sure I would be able to complete the whole ride.Riding up to the start in Bierbeek the sentiment I got from my muscles was good. I needed to warm up exhaustively, and my overall average was around 18 kph. Not much but I managed to go the whole distance, and that is what counts. The ride, then, takes you first into the fields surrounding Bierbeek and Mollendaal , with some nice little singletrails and a bit of mud from time to time, but nothing drastic. In fact, the few puddles that remain are easily contoured. Some cobble sections as well but fortunately, these are only short passages and they were dry, which made it easy to tackle them. Looping back towards Meerdael Forest for the first time, the trail follows the inside edge of the forest and then heads back into the fields. A tricky downhill into a hollow road down from the Cayberg ,with a big puddle smack in the middle of the singletrack made me hope that it would stay dry next weekend. The trail now more or less descents to the south and into Beauvechain where a first rest stop will be situated some 21K into the ride. It then meanders on towards Tourinnes-La-Grosse. Care has to be taken when crossing the bigger roads. A nice little climb takes me out of Tourinnes and another singletrack awaits me to get me closer to Hamme Mille. A steep climb on tarmac takes me to the outskirts of the Meerdael Forest again but I need to be patient just a little more. After 30K at last a hollow road takes me into the forest - mud hole alert - and the next 24K will be spent in the shade of the majestic trees. The autumn colors the leaves in all shades of brown, yellow and red . Already a lot of leaves have fallen onto the trails, making them a lot trickier. You hardly notice the potholes, roots, branches and other dangers so you have to be very alert - always expecting something to try and pull you off of your bike. The trail follows the Meerdael BLOSO tracks for a while - it is nearly impossible to get permission for anything else from the Forestry - but they are fun and almost dry. Around the Chateau Chavenel it takes the Blue trail in reverse direction, which means a steaming fast downhill followed by a sandy passage along the ancient wall. Then the trail goes up towards the Herculessalon and again the next downhill takes the fast and furious in a few minutes towards the Kluis. Another climb follows. I had to be careful because the BLOSO trails are always filled with bikers - this time coming downhill towards me . Close to Sint Joris Weert another tricky section awaits me; the downhill with steps. I was with the Litespeed - which means front suspension only - and I nearly lost it. The steps are eroded and some gullies and roots demand a lot of courage to let go of the brakes. But the bike did it, and the long climb afterwards was made easy because they opened up the trail a bit and cleaned out all the branches and trees . A nice twisty singletrack section before arriving where the 2nd rest stop will be. I now have 40K on my GPS counter. The remainder of the trail takes me into the Kouterbos with a passage along the Zoete Waters and then loops back over Pragen and the Lange Delle towards Blanden. Here we cross the N25 and disappear into the Godensalon for a nice little stretch through the Mollendaalbos. From Haasrode the remainder of the trail takes you down some tricky cobble road and then the last climb up to the finish. The numbers were 56.8K and 625 heightmeters for this lap. I can deduct 300 metres because at one point I was looking for a trail that wasn't there anymore and I had to retrace my steps. So lets make it 56.5K . Here is the profile of the ride . You will notice that the first 20k or so are reasonably flat, with some more height differences when you enter the Meerdael Forest.
The trip back home nearly got me involved in a crash when a fool with a BM double U ignored my right of way. Good thing I was too tired to get into an argument. Upon arriving home I felt tired but very satisfied because I had made this long ride. The glorious weather obviously made it a blast to be outdoors. The forest was full with walkers, runners , bikers and horses and they all enjoyed this sunny day to the fullest.
Ride Stats : 69K and 690/726 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h48mins8404/83400
19-10-2008, 18:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 18-10-2008 |
| Meerdael Blues |
Today the sun was out, it was rather frisky in the morning so I decided to leave around noon for a spin around the Blue Meerdael BLOSO. This is the toughest of the three Meerdael BLOSO's so I was sure to get a good workout for my muscles and lower back tension. This proved to be correct since my back was protesting when I was on the steep climbs. I did not press the issue and stood up instead of remaining seated when the steepness of the climb demanded too much hip power. I had mounted my GPS with 2 zip ties but I'm putting the stem mount from my Merlin on for the remainder of the Fall and Winter. 
18-10-2008, 15:13 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 13-10-2008 |
| Neanderthaler |
Wow, almost 23 degrees C when I got home around 4pm. No way I was going to miss this occasion to ride out. I had decided yesterday to try some offroad and I had equipped my Litespeed with big fat tyres. In front an old green Michelin tyre and a trusty Big Jim in the back. I had to get used to the straightforward action of the Michelin. Its high side knobs almost prevent you from taking a turn, and you feel as if the whole thing will collapse when you are actually making the turn. The high knobs make for excellent traction on sloping berms but demand a firm hand when taking turns. I won't start about how they behave on wet cobbles - it raises your hair. But I was warned and in all I had no troubles. I started out with a fast pedalling pace to warm up my legs and hips. To my surprise the ride turned out to be easier on my back than the tarmac ride I did last saturday. Of course the Green BLOSO is not exactly one of the most technical or hilly rides imaginable and the fat tyres and front suspension make for a comfortable ride. The titanium bike obviously also helps but my Hilset is also made of this material even though it is a bit less comfortable than the Litespeed frame-wise. The high temps made for a pleasant ride. I made a little detour on the Green Loop to check out Ad Wouters' latest forest sculpture - called the Neanderthaler. The pics will show you why. Check out some more pics of Ads' work in this gallery with pictures made by one of the Foresters . Being out in the forest again felt great . Autumn in settling itself and the leaves are changing color and beginning to drop. The wetness of the morning dew never dries out anymore but the warm southern wind managed to make it pretty warm today. I had completed the loop and returned home very satisfied and with good hopes for the future.Ride Stats : 27K and 185/197 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h16mins8292/82465
13-10-2008, 20:05 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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