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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 17-01-2007 |
 Rollerboy |
Bad weather out there, so just did a quick recovery ride on the rollers today. Nothing fancy but effective in keeping the juices flowing.
Ride Stats : 23.5K in 1h00
17-01-2007, 17:59 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 16-01-2007 |
| Tell me why |
People often ask me why I bike so much. I tend to answer it has something to do with hormones, biking for a certain time releases hormones, endorphines , that give a feeling of well-being.. Runners refer to it as the runners' high..
I have to admit, this runners' high exists, there IS a feeling of well-being to be had when biking, and it certainly is very addictive. I tend to feel bad when I skip a day, which I usually do when I'm too tired from a tough ride or through other circumstances. I have a feeling of guilt over me when I can't bike . So yes, it is a physical thing.
But another reason why I like to bike is that, for me, it is a great stress-reliever. I can go out on my bike, or even just close my eyes when riding on the rollers, and then I can start to run the film of my day; work that was hectic, personal stuff that came up, just thinking about all these matters, sometimes dreaming away and waking up some distance further on , like I am riding on autopilot.
Today on the rollers I just closed my eyes and rode along, thinking about life and how it treats us. People hurting other people, taking away things, for profit or just for the thrill of it. I have never understood why so many people find joy in hurting other people, just because they can? I am sometimes so ashamed when I read or hear what is happening in the world. Ashamed to be men .
At the same time I feel so lucky that in my life, at least , things are good. I have always been rather optimistic, not having had major setbacks yet, being in reasonably good health and being able to do what I want. How lucky am I.
I have been called a dreamer a lot of times but pray tell me, what else can we fall back on at all times, if not on our dreams? Dreams are free, they are the one thing NOBODY can take away from you. Yes, I dream on my bike, I dream of a better world, a world where people love each other instead of killing each other, be it mentally or physically. A world where nature will restore itself instead of being destroyed by our greedy race, hunting for the easy gain, forgetting that all we do is slowly killing our planet, and therefore is also slowly killing us.
But I dream of a better world, nobody can take that away from me. I am free in my dreamworld, I ride on my bike, my body feels good, with muscles gently aching, blood pumping and endorphines getting released, putting a smile on my face . The day falls off of me like an old shroud that has been worn to bits, evaporating as it touches the floor.
I open my eyes, stop pedalling, unclip my Polar and get off my bike. My heartrate drops from 119bpm to a steady 65, I'm already recovering. Time now for a good hot tub and with another dream safely locked in my memory I decide to open up just a little bit, put a little personal stuff in my blog...the other side of the Big Bad Wolf perhaps? You can wake up now, I'm done.
Ride Stats : 32.5K in 1h20mins
16-01-2007, 22:23 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 14-01-2007 |
| Spring is in the air |
Even the most stubborn negationist will have to admit, our environment is changing. And it is not for the good I tell you . Sure, it IS nice to have spring temperatures in the middle of winter, but lets not forget every season has it's place in this big regulated machine that our world is. It is NOT normal that we are half January and there hasn't even been as much as one snow flake and it has barely frozen one or two nights so far this winter.
Things are going wrong, badly, and more quickly then most will want to admit. Forget about saving the environment, things are changing and it's beyond our control, all we can hope for is that the global warming can be slowed down, and therefore actions have to be taken now. Let's hope those that have the power also have the enlightenment. I am not very optimistic about that though , the quick buck and profit will continue to rule the way those who have the power, think .
Oh well, enough world talk. Today saw me rising at 11am, after a night that was interspersed with work action and permanence calls. I was too late to go to an organised ride, and it was too wet in the fields too, so no big loss there.
I decided to go out on the road instead and put in a nice long ride in what appears to be early spring. Clean air rushing in from over the Northsea still is good for the lungs and brings in great boosts of oxygen with every breath. Lots of people were out today; walking, running, jogging, biking, and some even were riding in cabriolets with the hood down. Crazy world we live in.
Ride Stats : 60K and 445 heightmeters in 2h28.
14-01-2007, 17:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 13-01-2007 |
| Jelly Legs |
Woke
up with jelly legs today. Muscles hurting from the strain of
yesterdays' tough ride. Quite normal of course and in these
circumstances I choose not to ride out but instead do an easy recovery
ride on the rollers.
Just idling along getting the juices flowing
and flushing out all acid remains from the muscles. Managed to read
another Conan story (I wonder if I can ever read a book again without
getting on the rollers ? ) this one was called 'Shadows in Zamboula' and it is a classic Conan story written by Robert E. Howard himself.
Ride Stats : 21.5K in 1h01 mins
13-01-2007, 16:17 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 12-01-2007 |
| Climb-It |
Wow, today was such a fine day for riding in the forest. The wind had receded to a nice breeze, bringing some clean fresh air from over the sea inland, and the temperature was a sizzling 10 degrees C. I took half a day off to do a climb training in the Meerdael forest.
I set out towards Nethen where I have this fine figure-eight loop that yields 2.6k and 80 heightmeters, incorporating two steep climbs and one fast and one technical downhill. I decided to do that loop 10 times, which netted me 25.8K and 809 heightmeters ( Yes, thats a Hill Factor of 31! ). Legs felt great although due to the technicality and steepness of the climbs I could feel my strenght being drained lap after grueling lap. I love this. It is good training, both physically (obviously) and mentally. You set your goal (10 laps) and even though about halfway you start thinking "Mm, maybe I will do only five laps, how about it, dear Wolfie ?" , you kick yourself under the butt and crank out another lap, and another one...
I could only be stopped a few times to pull some branch out of my wheel or rear derailler- the track had suffered badly from the storm yesterday, with lots of branches fallen over it, but it was surprisingly dry.
Credit for this must go to the wind I guess and of course also to the fact that water doesn't stay put on an uphill or downhill track.. it tends to pour down ( whoah - the things you learn here ) and accumulate at the bottom. And since that bottom was sandy, even there the track was dry-ish.
So, I am tired but happy to get this workout under my belt.
Ride Stats : 41K and 930 heightmeters in 2h42
12-01-2007, 16:07 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 10-01-2007 |
| Conan |
Stormy today so no good to ride outside. I ordered a red Mazda 3 MPS today, hope to have it by May 2007.
After that I took a good hour out to ride on the rollers, better than nothing. Clearing my head, listening to Ewa Sonnet on the MP3 and reading some Conan novell, this one called 'A Witch shall be born' I see in this novell the duality that lies in every woman, the good person and the evil one. Of course with men it is just the same. Conan saves the day, as he usually does. I believe it is from this novell that the famous scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger hanging crucified in the tree of Woe in the desert, getting attacked by vultures and biting one of those birds' head of, was taken. Love it.
Ride Stats : 26.5K in 1h01
10-01-2007, 20:18 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 08-01-2007 |
| Race against the Rain |
I don't like to ride in the rain if I can help it. Some people love to ride in the rain, most don't . I don't.
OK, if you are caught by the rain during a ride, then thats tough luck, you put on the raincoat you have with you (we're in Belgium, we ALWAYS take a raincoat with us, right?) and you ride along, taking perhaps a shorter route home that you would have if it had remained dry.
A few summers ago - time flies, doesn't it - I got caught in a thunderstorm , found shelter, waited for the storm to end and rode on, but it was hot then, so I didn't mind.
I set out around 4pm today and while darkness gradually fell, so did the first drops of rain. I wanted to ride around 40K, the wind was still there but not as fierce as yesterday and with 10 degrees C it was hot for the time of the year. The first 20K were with the wind, and the raindrops, in my face but then I turned back and things became a lot easier and more comfortable, despite the rain that was now falling with big droplets. I got home relatively dry though and while I'm typing this, I see it's still not raining very hard, but steady big drops. Sometimes I get lucky.
Ride Stats : 38K and 250 heightmeters in 1h31
08-01-2007, 18:44 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 07-01-2007 |
| Windy |
A lot of wind today. Wanted to do an easy ride because I kinda felt my legs from yesterdays ride. But the steady wind blowing decided otherwise. I started out against it and 3/4 into the ride I finally had it blowing in my back. Wonderful moment, going 40kph without having to pedal, or almost.Misjudged the starting time of the cyclocross so I was home too early.. but this gave me the opportunity to play a little with my D2X and my newest lens, a 105 Nikkor with Vibration Reduction technology. Check the result HERE.Ride Stats : 43K and 280 heightmeters in 1h45
07-01-2007, 17:54 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 06-01-2007 |
| Secret Meerdael Loops |
I wanted to check out some passages on my Secret Meerdael training loop so I set out this morning whilst all was dry but with menacing skies. Riding these little trails I always meet lots of wildlife, birds, squirrels and at one time 4 roe-deer jumped over the trail, their white tails disappearing quickly into the now leafless undergrowth. I love these little moments you only capture if you ride alone. Come here with a big group and all the shatter and clatters scares the wildlife long before you actually get to see it. The trails were moist, and that is an understatement. The temps are pretty high for this time of year so all the mud just remains wet , making the top soil very slippery indeed. I prefer nevertheless to ride with low-profile tyres, in this case the excellent Nokian NBX Lite, which has more than sufficient sideway grip to avoid sliding away on offcambers and in corners, but has low knobs running along the center of the tyre, thereby making it more difficult to find grip while climbing and descending. This has two advantages, it makes for an excellent bike-skill training and it avoids damaging the trails . Slipping and sliding is an excellent way to master the handling of your bike. Speeds are low and the wet soil makes it feel as if you are skating on ice.
This first part of the loop is fairly flat, nevertheless accumulating 240 heightmeters in around 24K, and consists of a lot a small trails, meandering through the forest. When I emerged from the forest both my bike and myself looked like something out of a swamp. Mud , leaves and little branches covered the bike and my clothes were full of specks of mud, thrown up by the tyres. As the ride progressed it started raining more and more and by the end it was fairly wet. I never had the intention of doing the whole loop, which consists of more than 60K and has some 1000 heightmeters in it. This first part is more than enough on days like these.
Had a great ride though, rinsed the bike as soon as I got home and took a good long hot bath myself. My average speed of just over 15kph says a lot about the trail conditions and the inherent difficulty. After all, this IS my training loop so it's not supposed to be a stroll.
Ride Stats : 26K and 280 heightmeters in 1h40
06-01-2007, 14:54 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 31-12-2006 |
| Year Ends |
So, that was that, the last ride for 2006 has been ridden. I did the 30K BLOSO road loop, which goes over Sint Joris Weert; Sint Agatha Rode, Neerijse , Leefdaal and Heverlee. Nice and easy ride. Met up with Roger L. just a few K out and we rode together, talking about the things we did this year and things we would like to do next year. Roger is also a titanium adept, he was riding a Seven Sola and has a Litespeed Sewannee at home, so both our bikes share the same color although not the same pedigree. The year has been good, I rode a bit too much on the road if I look at the figures although I have had some good Ardennes rides this year and certainly plan to do some more of that next year. The 2006 figures can be seen HERE (click )Ride Stats : 33K and 240 heightmeters in 1h27
31-12-2006, 13:45 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 29-12-2006 |
| Chain antics |
Was home just in time for a 1h30 ride in the forest before dark. Took the Litespeed and I noticed that the shifting was not as crisp as it used to be. I am running my chain on borrowed time, checking it with a chain tool revealed that it is over and out. Back home I replaced the chain with the Hilset one, which has another 2 or 3 offroad rides in it (I hope) and the Hilset got a new Rohloff chain. This should be sufficient for another year at least.
It was not too cold, in fact I averaged 7 degrees C during the ride which took me from the start of tomorrow's organised ride in Blanden over parts of the Red, Blue and Green BLOSO routes. I was unable to complete the whole 45K because of the falling darkness which forced me to take a shortcut. I am in two minds about what to do tomorrow. There is a Rode Lintjes ride going from Theux upwards to the Signal de Botrange and back again , a trajectory very well known to me since I was at its inception a few years ago. But the chain might not last the whole ride which yields 60K and some 1100 heightmeters.
Since the group might be large, I fear the tempo will also be too slow for me. I like to ride my own tempo, if I ride too slow I get cold and cramped , especially this time of year. On the other hand, it might very well be that the Ardennes are the only area without rain tomorrow, the prediction is for moderate to heavy rain over the coastal and middle areas of Belgium, and only some drizzle later in the day in the higher eastern regions. Oh well, I will decide tomorrow.
Ride Stats : 30K and 245 heightmeters in 1h27
29-12-2006, 18:33 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 27-12-2006 |
| Paris |
Aargh, I had Paris Hilton on my MP3 player today whilst turning my rounds on the rollers. As most of you will know, she does not sing, she just kinda whispers in a husky voice over some nice musical arrangement. Well, she is loaded so she can buy nice arrangements. I really pity her, she looks kinda sexy (she does, click the pic if you dare - don't if you really hate her ) but being who she is, she will never be taken serious. I suppose she doesn't care either. At least I hope she doesn't.
Boring stuff those roller workouts, and Paris whispering in my ear just how "sexy" and "screwed" she was and how she was "gonna get me" really didn't help pass the time any quicker. Oh well, its a test of endurance in more ways than one I guess.
Ride Stats : 25K in 1h
27-12-2006, 18:51 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 26-12-2006 |
| 2 Valleys |
I looked at the outside thermometer this morning and it showed zero degrees C. Hmm, winter is here after all. Ok, need some thicker gloves but I'm out there, no matter what. Low temps never bother me that much. Ok it is cold for the first half hour or so but then the internal heater is on and things level out for an hour or two. The colder the weather , the shorter the ride becomes of course, I may be somewhat crazy but not stupid.I wanted to do the Overijse BLOSO routes today, commonly known as the "2 Valley Route". For those who are unfamiliar with them, they yield around 34K and 500 heightmeters, there are a couple of moderately tricky downhills that require a better than average mastery of the bike and some of the climbs can be called technical and steep. I like to do these routes every now and then, mostly in conjunction with the Meerdael routes, which brings the counters on a nice 110K and around a 1000 heightmeters. But those rides are for the warmer times, today I just did the Overijse trails, biking to Sint Agatha Rode and joining the Red route there, then lap all three routes and return over Sint Joris Weert and Meerdael.The mud was thick, slighty frozen and where it stuck to my bike it froze. The windchill factor was responsible for an average ride temperature of -1 degree C. There was a little breeze blowing from the East but alltogether it was very nice weather, a little cold but great for biking. Found some time to take a few pictures, click on the small pic next to this article for one of them.
Ride Stats : 54.5K and 630 heightmeters in 2h51mins
26-12-2006, 18:25 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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