This morning saw a rather cold but clear and bright sunny start. When I rode out around 10.30am it was freezing still but the sun was already upping the temperature . There was a cold northeasterly wind blowing. I wanted to play around a bit with some trails around Overijse and Meerdael so I started out in Meerdael Forest slowly working my way towards its southern edge where I could drop into Nethen and then climb towards Pecrot. Here I made sure to add the famous railroad singletrack in my trails and from Pecrot I made my way towards the Bois de Laurensart for some climbing and descending along interesting trails. The bike was handling well with my tyres on a low pressure of 2.0 bar. It takes some getting used to on tarmac - especially in the corners they tend to roll a bit - but the grip is great and so is the comfort from the 2.25 Big Jims on this low pressure. 

The sun made the trails tricky. In short, whenever you saw the sun on the trail, you had to beware because the top layer would have defrosted just enough to make it slippery. So when you were in the forest, there were no worries, the trails were dry-ish and dependably stable. But whenever you came into a field, or a patch that would accumulate some sunshine, care had to be taken to keep the rubber side down. I made my way along the Overijse red route, in the reverse direction, for some time, adding a little loop here and there to check out some interesting trail and/or ascent/descent. When I arrived near Ottenburg I descended towards Terlanen and from there I made my way into the Sint Agatha Rode forest. In Sint Agatha Rode I added a couple of heightmeters and then made my way back to Meerdael Forest over Sint Joris Weert.

In this forest I did a bit more trail-exploring and ended up in the Speelbos near the Everzwijnbad. I did not ride the bridge over the hollow road. Instead I made my way over it, bike in hand, careful not to slip into the netting. I wonder if anyone would try to ride this. I would surely like to be there and record it on film. Its not that long but if you miss the narrow bridge you end up in the netting, bike and all. From there I rode back towards the Naamsesteenweg, crossed the bikers bridge and added another loop over Hoog Blanden and the Wijngaardberg before returning home with a nice amount of pleasurable kilometers under my belt. The weather was just fantastic, if you didn't mind the cold wind, and I had an average temperature of 2 degrees C. This was quite OK with the right clothing and the shelter of the forest.

Ride Stats : 46,5K and 700/770 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h08mins

1511/15505

07-03-2010, 15:36 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today was another dry and sunny day with some light frost overnight. I noticed when riding home from work that the forest tracks seemed dry and figured I might as well ride offroad. There was a cold northerly wind blowing when I rode out and made the connection the the Green BLOSO trail of Meerdael Forest. The tracks were indeed dry, with some light moisture here and there and some soggy patches in the lower regions in the Dyleland. When I crossed to the Blue BLOSO near the Zoete Waters I could start with the more hilly sections of this trail. The bike felt fine, the trails were great and the light sufficed to aalso connect the Red BLOSO and finish off with the remainder of the Green. I did leave out the long climb from Bierbeek towards the forest, instead looping around over the Bremberg - an extra climb - and also the track next to the Naamsesteenweg I did not do. Instead I followed the Naamsesteenweg for a bit before turning right into the forest again. It might have saved me some mud on my bike, and I did not lose anything significant. When I arrived home dusk was setting in and the sun was being reflected by the houses in Hoog Blanden . I had a good ride, average temperature of 5 degrees Celcius but I never felt the cold because I was protected by the forest from the cold wind.

Ride Stats : 56.5K and 515/605 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h01min

1465/14735

04-03-2010, 20:22 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today another beautiful sunny day and when I got home from work I decided to ride back to Meensel and take some pictures of a 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX MR. I had contacted the owner and he told me the car was standing on his drive and I was free to take as many pictures as I wanted. It was still durty after a track weekend in the North of France but other than that it is immaculate.
Some may ask what is this with the Wolf and fast cars, but those who know me also know that I have inherited a weak spot for fast cars in general and these last couple of years for fast Japanese cars in particular. This one is a real killer, I am not at liberty to discuss its real power potential here but lets just say that it has 280HP in its standard form, 4-wheel drive and a torque that can bend the road. I have made a series of pictures that can be seen on my Flickr page for those that like this kind of stuff. Here is the first picture to get you started.

Other than that, my ride was an uneventful one. I basically rode the same lap as last saturday except that I returned over Binkom, Lubbeek, Pellenberg , Lovenjoel and Bierbeek this time. The weather was great, just a little bit of wind and with a temperature of 7 degrees it was lovely to be out there.

I am hoping that it will remain mostly dry for the remainder of the week so that I may consider riding offroad again soon. In the meantime I am enjoying these road rides just as much. Even more so when I have a goal, like today.

Ride Stats : 51K and 365/425 heightmeters in 2h18mins

1408/14130

Today the weather was calm and sunny. After the passing of yesterdays' storm - Xynthia I believe it was called - it was a much needed period to measure up the damage and clean up the debris. I rode out around 4pm and planned to do a longer ride. Starting out towards Ottenburg and Wavre and then making my way from Tombeek towards Rosieres I was nearly hit by a falling tree. The fire brigade was cutting some trees next to the road and just as I passed them I heard a big branch falling on the road, forcing me to brake in order to avoid it. Would have been better if they put up some signage. Anyways, I rode on unscathed and from Rosieres I climbed towards Maleizen. From there I could do some kilometers on the big ring. Just adding some power training from time to time now to up my speed and make my legs stronger. With the wind - there was not very much wind anyway - in my back I could make good speed. Dropped into Hoeilaart and then rode towards Overijse, climbing out of it following the Hertstraat and then making my way over the crest towards Terlanen. From there I decided to add an extra loop over Neerijse and Egenhoven. From Egenhoven I ade my way towards Heverlee and then back home. The average temperature of 6 degrees felt good and in all I had a very satisfying ride today.

Ride Stats : 66k and 425/510 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h52mins

1357/13705

01-03-2010, 20:11 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf