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Tales from the Woods |
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27-05-2007 |
Beautiful grace |
I just had to post this pic. I got it from the Litespeed Blog. No mention of a photographer but if anyone knows, please be my guest. I love the crispness of the shot, and the way biker and bike seem to form one whole , she really blends with the bike, grace, grit and strength are obvious .
Biker is Portugal Pro Vanessa Fernandes and the event is the Worlds Duathlon Championships in Gyor, Hungary. Bike is a titanium Litespeed Ghisallo. Check out Vanessa's Website
27-05-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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Pannekoek |
Living on the border of Brabant Walloon on the edge of the Meerdael Forest certainly has its advantages. Lots of hills and lots of forest just next to my door. One disadvantage is that I need to really make an effort to get a recovery ride in. Either I stay on the rollers, ride at 20kph or I ride to the North. Through Leuven and then further on towards Mechelen I can follow the Vaart canal which makes for a nice pannekoek ride. For those not familiar with the term, pannekoek means flat. In the week I tend to shy away from the traffic in the city but during the weekend Leuven is a quiet town and I have no trouble riding through it on my way to the canal. Today I set out for a short recovery ride - revovery for me means an average of below 109bpm - and I got in a fine ride averaging 106bpm. Only the first and last stretches of the ride had some denivellation in them , the sides of the pannekoek as it were.
Ride Stats : 30K and 100 heightmeters in 1h18mins
4723/39190
UCI Cross Country World Cup #2 , Offenburg, Germany
Definately NOT pannekoek was the 2nd leg of the UCI Mountainbike Cross Country World Cup at Offenburg. The girls had a dry race save for the last 2 laps, and Irina Kalentieva grabbed the win with a sizeable gap between her and Canadian Marie Helene Premont. Multiple World Champion Gunn Rita Dahle-Flesjaa was third.
all pics Copyright Adri Haine 2007
The Chinese delegation , which surprised us all at Houffalize earlier this year, could not pull that off again, but still Blue Jersey World Cup leader Ren Chengyuan got a solid 7th place. Marga Fullana got in another good ride finishing a strong 4th. Full story and some pictures at Canadian Cyclist. The full result can be found HERE
Here is the moment of glory for little Irina Kalentieva, when she wins after the race was rendered very tough and super-technical due to torrential rains.
Pic Copyright Rob Jones And this is the podium in Offenburg with, from Left to Right : Marga Fullana, Marie-Helene Premont, winner Irina Kalentieva, Gunn Rita Dahle Flesjaa and 5th place Sabine Spitz.
Pic Copyright Rob Jones
to end, here is a video interview with one of the sports greatest : Canadian Alison Sydor. Video was shot in Offenburg before the race.
27-05-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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26-05-2007 |
Snail Trail |
I wanted to do one long slow ride this weekend. First I was thinking about doing the Ludo Dierckxsens Classic - or at least the hilly part of it - but then Moster Blond, who is back form a fabulous biking trip to Spain, contacted me to check whether I wanted to ride in the Dyleland area. Yes, of course I would. So we set up to meet at the Zoete Waters but due to a last minute bug on her bike we met at Filip Sport in Hoeilaart instead. I had to get a minor thing on my bike fixed as well so we both took advantage of the little pit stop. Upon riding towards Hoeilaart I came along this little snail, that was leaving its wet trail whilst slowly crossing the tarmac bikepath. I took some pictures before gently lifting it off the dangerous road and putting it among the green grass at the side of the road.
 It was arranged that we would ride the Overijse BLOSO's . These are not too difficult but on the other hand do offer some minor technical challenges. MB was talking about her trip and I was talking about things back home, it felt good to open the chatterbox with her. The trails were great, here and there last nights' rain had left them a bit slippery but that only added to the fun. We said our goodbyes upon reaching Overijse again and I rode off towards Huldenberg, where I took the time to photograph a particularly gnarly looking tree.
 Further I went towards Terlanen and St Agatha Rode , where I made the fiendishly steep climb in the St Agatha Rodebos. Another climb in Pécrot and then descending towards Nethen and the Meerdaelwoud. I had a little drink at the Hertebron, a spring in the forest which is supposedly clean after a bit of coli infection 2 years ago. Well, let's hope so anyways. I was thirsty and the cool water refreshed me.
 Another few K's into the Meerdaelwoud brought me back home. The weather had been clouded but dry. The humidity was quite high although the outside temperature oscillated around the 20 degrees C mark. Amazingly it started raining about an hour after I got home. Big Thanks to whatever angel is watching over me for keeping our ride a dry one. Although the average speed was not high throughout the entire ride , I thoroughly enjoyed being out there and the fine company of MB and the chat we had helped me to see some things that had been bothering me in brighter light . I consider myself very lucky to have a friend like her.
Ride Stats : 83.5K and 895 heightmeters in 4h42mins.
4693/39090
26-05-2007, 22:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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25-05-2007 |
Rambo |
Here is our cat. His name is Rambo and he has diabetes. A few years back he was dropping weight and drinking most of the day, which made us go to the vet. The diagnosis was chattering, at least at first. The vet told us that if he didn't receive any treatment , he would die within a few months. But, if we were to administer him daily injections with insulin, he could live for a long time to come. We love our cat and that is why we have been doing this for 3 years now, twice every day. Since the injections need to be given every 12 hours to keep the sugar levels in his blood a steady as possible - we chose 6am and 6pm - this has taken some organising and missing out on holidays as well.
Most people don't bother or are just assuming that the loss of weight and drinking is normal - hence their cat dies. Most people suck.
Rambo was born on the 5th of June 1994. Yep, this makes him a senior alright. He has always been such a friendly cat, as cats go. I can't remember him being viscious or lashing out - ever. Lately he spends most of the day lazing around, eating and lazing around again. His hind legs have suffered from the diabetes so he cannot move for big walks, which means he just advances a few meters and has to take a rest. He doesn't suffer and has no pain. He can purr so sweetly when he is being stroked . He has never been outside since we live close to a very busy road. The closest he gets to beng outside is during the summer months when we open a window and he can sit , smell hear and watch the outside world from behind a mosquito net. He obviously enjoys these moments very much.
 I hope you like the little collection of pictures I included here. It took me a while to figure out how to include pictures in this blog but now I found out you can look forward to more pictures popping up in the text from time to time.
Some of these pics are without copyright notice - at least none visible to the eye - but that doesn't mean you can download them and put them on other media without mentioning the author . Copyright Adri Haine 2007
25-05-2007, 21:52 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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23-05-2007 |
Pruneaux d'Agen |
Met up with Christine Vardaros, former Lotto-Belisol and current Pruneaux d'Agen professional cyclist , to do a little exploratory ride towards Wezemaal. She had posted a story concerning a collectors' item bike that intrigued us by its age and I found out that the shop that had it made - Van Den Eynde - still existed , in Wezemaal indeed. So we got together to check that out. The weather was gorgeous - sunny and a little windy next to the canal, and we set out on a leisurely 103bpm pace - less with held breath - over Wijgmaal and Rotselaar to our destination. Christine had a real cool bike as well - I should've made a picture I know but if you click on the mascotte picture you will see a pic Christine made some time ago.. We found the shop and it turned out to be a glossy place with lots of cool bikes - none as cool as the collectors' item though - and the guy at the shop actually knew the bike as well . We looked around a bit for other peculiar stuff but apart from some flashy golden-coloured Campagnolo wheels we didn't find any more collectors' items.We had both a little more time so we set out back towards the Leuvense Vaart to chat our way up to Kampenhout, where we U-turned a couple of times while we decided which part of the Vaart we wanted to ride on to in order to catch as much of sunrays as possible. Christine had me enthralled with her stories and deep knowledge of food and supplements . I find myself eating too much of the same stuff all the time , and I'm hoping to get some more variety. So I have to check up on some of her writings on that subject. Anyways, I had a great ride and am looking forward to a next occasion. Gee , I might even consider taking my trusty non-titanium road bike off of the rollers (gasp ! kapow ! ) or - more likely - put on some 1.0 slicks on my Hilset because I have the feeling that when she really puts down the pedal and goes for Mach speed I will be hard pressed to follow her on my fat-tyred bike. Thanks Peanut for the fine company today, I really appreciate it . Be well and lets meet up again anytime soon. Ride Stats : 63K and 140 heightmeters in 2h46mins
4562/37770
23-05-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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22-05-2007 |
Transportation phase |
Yess , at last some news from my new car. Remember ? It has left Production Phase and has entered Transportation Phase. Whether that means it just boarded the boat from Japan or is on a lorry in Antwerp harbour is to be seen. I opted for a cool recovery ride today, and my average heartrate of 106bpm was cool enough I would say. Legs felt good but not yet fully recovered from Sundays' marathon ride. The weather was not great but still with 17 degrees C it was just about right for a slow ride. Tomorrow it will be sunnier which is nice because I will start a little earlier then today. Upon returning from work at 7pm , I jumped on my bike and after my hoth tub I jumped back in my car to have my hair cut. At home around 10pm , grab a bite to eat and get ready for bed. Been feeling pretty tired these last few days - weeks actually when I think about it. My morning pulse (42-43 ) , body temperature and weight (69kg) are normal yet I don't feel great. Could be I suffer from pollen since I cough up some flumes from time to time . I am taking it easy on the rides and we'll see what develops.
Ride Stats : 34K and 210 heightmeters in 1h29mins4499/37630
22-05-2007, 22:33 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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