The weather was overcast and with temps of around 15 degrees C it wasn't too warm either when I rode out to do my Secret Meerdael Loop. It had been a while and with the Ardennes being wet it was a good opportunity to ride it and check out some new sections. Obviously I can't tell much about it, if anyone wants to ride it, contact me and we can work something out to ride it together. My Polar missed a section so I had to rely completely on the Garmin Edge 705 for all facts and figures. As you can see I went over the 1100 heightmeter mark, which is due to some new sections I added. The bike performed flawlessly - no creaks or groans - and the conditions of the trails was excellent. Some of the narrow singletracks were a bit overgrown but wearing long trousers protected me from all the nettles and other brambles. 

Ride Stats : 58,5K and 1110 heightmeters (Garmin) in 4h6mins

Decided to pick up on the Gordel trail today. I noticed yesterday that the Gordel trail passed at the Zoete Waters. A little searching on the Gordel website quickly revealed that this was a 50K trail concentrating on the regions between Leuven and Overijse. Nice.
So I rode this trail today. There was a lot of wind and the temperatures weren't very high when the sun disappeared after one of the many clouds. Apart from a few droplets in the wind it remained dry during my ride but when I arrived in Sint Agatha Rode on the last stretch of the loop the tarmac was wet, so it had rained here. The trail itself wasn't very spectacular but offered a nice succession of quiet backroads and even some gravel tracks. Luckily the Marathon Supreme tyres on my Hilset laugh at those conditions and I had a good easy long distance workout. In Overijse I stopped to take a picture of the starting gate. Tomorrow this place will be inundated with literally thousands of bikers doing the annual Gordel event around Brussels. The event started out as a 100K loop to accentuate the Flemish presence all around Brussels but through the years it has evolved, offering longer road loops of up to 177K, local loops - like the one I did - of 24 and 50K and a plethora of mountainbike loops also starting in Overijse and focussing on the tracks of and around the 2 valley Bloso routes in Overijse, Tombeek and Ottenburg. I have done the 100K once, a couple of years ago, and what I remember is that it is a fine loop but way too crowded for my liking. Still if you haven't done it , its a nice experience and to be recommended.

Ride Stats : 64K and 425/490 heightmeters in 2h57mins

6780/66600

05-09-2009, 15:51 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

04-09-2009, 20:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yesterday it was raining lightly most of the afternoon and when I rode aout today I was surprised the forest and other terrain was dry again. I decided to go offroad and do some more K's on the Moots.
I received some bad news from ABC Fietsen about the Tune bearings. Seems the Tune importer for the Benelux - Peza trading I believe - decided to pack it in , leaving ABC without a source for Tune goodies and putting the responsability to get the bearings with me. I contacted Tune about direct delivery to me, but they are slow reading their emails it seems. ABC Fietsen is OK with installing the bearings once I have received them.

I rode through Meerdael Forest and St Agatha Rode towards the Overijse BLOSO routes and with a menacing sky above did all 3 of them, adding some extra climbs in the process. My Moots YBB has been making creaking noises for the last couple of rides and I was trying to figure out where the noise came from. It only happened when I pedalled and being seated or standing up didn't make a difference. Weird.

So it either came from the XTR bottom bracket or perhaps from the small YBB suspension unit which has 5 years in it and is in need of a rehaul. The aluminium slider is getting worn by the continuous movement. I already have a replacement part but am not very keen to do the overhaul myself. Perhaps I will ask Filip Sport to do it for me when I turn the bike in for its yearly checkup.
Anyway I blocked the rear suspension and the creaking seemed to lessen, but did not disappear completely. Having the Moots turned into a front-suspension-only bike didn't add to the comfort and I quickly loosened the rear suspension after a couple of kilometers. The clicking sounds seemed to increase until all of a sudden they disappeared completely for the rest of the ride. Funny things, titanium bikes, aren't they?
I felt very good today and had a strong average and good feeling in the many climbs. Near the end of the ride, making my way back into Meerdael Forest for some last climbing, the skies got dark but still no drops fell.

Ride Stats : 55K and 805/870 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h53mins

6693/65895

02-09-2009, 20:20 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf