Cold and wet when I left for another ride this morning. It was drizzling very slightly but the temperature of 3 degrees C made it feel worse than it actually was. I wanted to do a 2-hour ride today so I set out for Ottenburg and then passed through Archennes. There was a mountainbike ride there and it looked like they had a good turnout. Someone on a road-bike passing me called out my name, but I did not recognize him, sorry for that. If you read this, let me know who you were.
Riding on through Grez and Cocrou and then passing in Pietrebais where I had to sit down on a very steep hill. I was trying to keep my heartrate down so had to ride really easy, making it a power-training. Back over Nodebais and Hamme Mille to reach Meerdael Forest again with the feeling of having done a solid ride, all things considered.

Ride Stats : 41.5K and 315/385 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h8mins

230/2010

20-02-2011, 14:36 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

4 degrees and a shy sun accompanied me when I rode out in the AM. The wind was blowing fiercely from the north and it felt colder than yesterday. During the ride the sun disappeared but near the end it appeared again, and whilst the wind was now blowing more or less in my back I enjoyed milder temperatures with an average throughout the ride of 5 degrees C.
My heartrate is still too high for my liking, so I watched my Polar during the climbs to keep it below 138bpm. Or at least try to keep it there. I do recover quickly because as soon as it goes downhill my heartrate drops towards 120 or lower. But even on the flats it stays around 126 and I would rather have it below 120 at that time. But perhaps I need to be a little patient and allow my body to adapt from being sedentary for a month to being asked to perform during physical exercise.
The ride was uneventful, more or less the same parcours as yesterday with an added loop over Nethen and Sint Joris Weert and finishing with the Weertse Dreef.

Ride Stats : 35K and 240/275 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h46mins

189/1625

19-02-2011, 13:22 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

18-02-2011, 15:14 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The visits to the kine are starting to bear fruit. My shoulder is definately getting looser and I can almost move it through the complete circle now. Still changing my position on a bike still sends pangs of pain down through the front of the deltoid. My doc thinks its originating from the supraspinatus muscle which I strained during a near-fall cleaning snow.
Anyways, I did a slightly longer ride again today and all went well with legs and lungs. Heartrate was still a bit high with 135bpm average but I had a bit more heightmeters also today with some sharp climbs. My legs are still not very strong on the climbs so I have to wait and work on that to regain that strength gradually without overdoing it.
The sun was out and with an average temperature of 10 degrees C the ride was a very pleasant one. At the end the moon was rising in the northern hemisphere.

Ride Stats : 37.5K and 305/360 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h43mins

124/1065

16-02-2011, 18:31 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Koen from Poco Loco came by to show me the titanium version they are developing to complement the Sandman range. This was only the prototype (#2 of 5) of a titanium Gobi but the build quality was excellent. Sandman uses the same titanium welder than Hilset used to do - the Chinese Chian Chang Da factory - but the Chinese have evolved a lot since the Hilset years. They have refined their craftmanship even more and just looking at the finish of the welds gives you a confident feeling they are really on top of this craft.
So after a good chat about titanium with Koen - who was leaving for China tomorrow to finalize a deal for 100 frames and wanted some background information on the art of titanium bikes - and some picture taking I was ready for a ride with my Hilset when darkness was falling.

I went for a relaxed ride along easy roads and it was raining very lightly throughout the entire ride. Seeing the Sandman Gobi and talking about titanium frames and craftmanship made me long even more for the buildup of the Litespeed Vortex I acquired last december. Filip Sport is waiting for delivery of a Seven/Reynolds carbon fork to start the buildup. I can hardly wait to have it finished and having a titanium roadbike for the spring and summer.
But for now my trusty Hilset lead me along the wet and dirty roads passing through Nethen, Pecrot, Eerken and Sint Agatha Rode. Then towards Sint Joris Weert and the Zoete Waters to finish my ride with a little bit more kilometers than yesterday. 

Ride Stats : 29K and 185/220 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h18mins

86/705
 

14-02-2011, 19:48 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf