I decided to ride to Hallerbos again today. The weather was great with the sun out and temps reaching over 21 degrees C. I rode the Hilset this time and made my way towards 3 Fontaines passing in Jezus-Eik and following the bikepath parallel to the highway down towards the Rouge Cloitre area. The Sonia Forest was even greener than yesterday and there were a lot of people out and about - on foot, horseback or bike - enjoying a beautiful sunday . When I reached the edge of the Sonian Forest near the Middle Hut I followed the Zonienwoudlaan towards Halle. Following a - it seems to some Latvian people - romantic little cobble-paved hollow road brings me over towards the drop into 7 Fontaines area. I made my way towards Dworp and then followed a tarmac road into the Hallerbos.
Time for some pictures and a little snack before I turned around and made my way back following the saùe route. This time I had what little wind there was blowing gently in my back and I enjoyed this part of the ride even more. I filled my drinking bottle at the well near the Zoete Waters and headed on home. A good hot bath and then I threw myself in front of the TV watching the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race.
Met up with G. from Latvia today at 3 Fontaines. Together we rode to the Hallerbos where she was clearly awed by the bluebells in bloom. Yes, they were still in full splendor and with the sun peeping out of the clouds every now and then the blue/purple hues were amazing. But Hallerbos is also a very hilly region and we managed to get a good ride in. It had been a while since I was there and I had to get out the map very often to make sure I didn't miss any of the most beautiful spots. We started out as usual at 7 Fontaines but we chose the 'cobbles from hell' instead of the "muddy blob" to make it up to the hilly crest overlooking Hallerbos. A little bit of tarmac brought us to the Colpain area where we dove into the forest and were surrounded by millions of bluebell flowers amidst the trees, their scent sweet and overwhelming.
From there I was trying to find my way over to the southernmost parts of the forest, with some really steep downhills and tricky uphill sections. Still following more or less the track that "Moster Blond" pieced together during her numerous reconnaisance rides of the area. I really missed her today, the last time I was here was with her and it brings back some sweet memories. But my current company was also very pleasant. G. is a strong rider, and she is quick to learn the technical trickeries of mountainbiking. She also knows by now that my favorite tracks usually go uphill . Today we rode some 60K and nearly 800 heightmeters together. We said our goodbyes in the Rouge Cloitre area, me thanking her once again for her company and wishing her the very best for the LCMT next week. It will be quite an experience for her I'm sure.
Ride Stats : 116K and 1145 heightmeters in 6h09mins
Another lovely day with sunshine and temps reaching 20 degrees C. Who can resist going out in such conditions?? My legs felt a little better and I decided to ride out today. I took the Moots on a ride around the Meerdael BLOSO routes, some 55K in total and just shy of 500 heightmeters. After a few hectometers I fiddled a little bit with the pressure in the Fox RLT80 shock, which seemed too soft initially. It just came out of maintenance and its making sloshy sounds on big bumps.. hmmm..I need to keep an eye on that.
I had a good ride, even though I felt a little tired I managed a good average speed , especially considering the fact that I took some extra hills along the way. I rode the trails in the opposite direction , opting for alternative downhills and avoiding one mud-trap along the E40 highway. Although it might have been rideable, the trails were amazingly dry .
Ride Stats : 56.5K and 495 heightmeters in 2h35mins
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