After yesterdays' long ride I had some doubts if I should do this ride today but around 11am I decided to go for it and see how it went along the way.
The track I did today is the hilly section of the 100K Meerdael Classic, roughly starting at the train station in Pecrot and finishing near Pecrot again some 37K and 650 heightmeters later. My legs felt tired thoughout the ride but I just relaxed on the hills and tried to stay focussed on the many downhills. The trails were fine, just a little moist from fridays' rain but my bike was clean when I arrived home, so no mud at all on these trails.
From time to time I came across the arrows - and the bikers - of the Oud-Heverlee SVK ride which was also taking place today. I hesitated for a  long time if I shouldn't do the 70K but the way I see it, I did nicer trails today, have more heightmeters and didn't have to pay 6€ for the pleasure. Obviously I had no rest stops but I didn't mind feeling hungry near the end of the ride . I can stock up on calories afterwards just as well.

Nearing Pecrot again and crossing both Marbaises my trail came to an end and I had to wing it from here onwards. So I chose a little loop into Beaumont forest where I sat down to take a rest after a steep climb that led me towards the little pink chapel.

When I descended into Nethen and took a small road called the "Rue de la Houlotte" , I was stopped by one of the people living there. She told me I was on private property and I should walk instead of riding my bike. I was confused and told her that as far as I know, I was on a public road and could ride my bike. I will have to find out the truth about this because I pass here very frequently. Obviously, if she is right I will have to find another connection from Meerdael to the Beaumont area.


Grotere kaart weergeven
I drove home incorporating another climb up to the Hercules gallery and then down towards the Kluis and along the Dentergem path back towards the Weertse Dreef and beyond. Just below a 1000 heightmeters, if I had known I would have done another climb to make it an even 1000.

Ride Stats : 57.5K and 865/960 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h39mins

632/6780

20-03-2011, 15:37 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Yesterdays' rain made me decide to ride on the road today. The skies were clearing out but a cold northerly wind would be my annoying companion during the first part of this ride. Making my way towards the Hoegaarden area, passing through Haasrode, Bierbeek, Neervelp,Willebringen , Hoksem and Oorbeek to reach the Goudberg geosite. A little further I stopped for my usual break at the Marollen chapel, taking the time for a couple of pictures. The sun was coming out more and more but the wind was still cold.

From here I would have it in my back though, as I sped towards l'Ecluse, La Bruyere and Beauvechain. Deciding to go for 60K I cut short the Haasrode Tour over Nodebais and Hamme Mille. Just another little loop through Nethen and Sint Joris Weert before reaching the Zoete Waters and finishing my ride through Vaalbeek and Blanden. Good feeling in the legs and when the wind was my ally I could keep my heartrate in a reasonable area. The title? Oh just an old Judas Priest tune that kept going through my head during the entire ride.

Ride Stats : 60K and 460/520 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h49mins

574/5820

19-03-2011, 14:07 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Wow, only 5 degrees C this evening, what a big contrast with the 17 degrees of 2 days ago. I was late to start and still I wanted to ride the Red and Blue Meerdael Bloso routes, in the opposite direction. And while I was doing that, I had a couple of extra loops in mind.
I did all of that, and then some more, which meant that near the end of the ride, it was getting seriously dark. Luckily it was still bright enough to see the outlines of the trails but near the end I had to take off my glasses to see what I needed to avoid.
Had a great ride, with a lot of heightmeters, and I felt reasonably well during the ride as well. My shoulder hurt a bit from yesterdays' mangling by the kine but nothing that hampered my biking. The trails were great with just a little moisture from a fine drizzle that fell from time to time. It was a clouded and misty evening and darkness fell early. Good thing I was home just in time.

Ride Stats : 43.5K and 535/620 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h46mins

514/5290

17-03-2011, 19:58 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Almost 17 degrees C today. The plan was to ride the Base Loop of the 2011 Haasrode TT again, hopefully this time I would be a little faster and also would be able to get my heartrate down. Locker fahren, as the Germans would say. So I concentrated on that, trying to ride easily and let the bike do the work. The loop was very agreeable, I didn't have to hesitate because I only rode it last week so I knew it by heart. I made all the climbs, even the very steep one in Gottechain. I was very proud about that, since it really is a difficult climb with a little but of mushe ground down below which makes it difficult to get any speed for the really steep part. But I made it and a little further I could also enjoy the technical passage with ruts and slippery grounds in Gottechain before looping back to the village.

The wind was blowing from the East . In the fields of Hamme Mille I had the wind in my back today, which was an advantage I had as opposed to last week. My average heartrate was down 16 beats compared to last tuesday (125 against 141bpm) and I was 15 minutes faster around the loop. So I am feeling a little optimistic about my form returning slowly but surely. I need to slow down now so as to not overdo it. But today I had a great and very fullfilling ride. Nice weather, good feeling in the legs and great trails.

Ride Stats : 38K and 425/460 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h11mins

471/4670

15-03-2011, 18:56 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Had an appointment with the surgeon that extracted my kidney stone 2 months ago to check up how I was doing. Looks like everything is fine and the next kidney stone is still nowhere to be found. So I can rest assured on that front.
When I arrived home I decided to go out for a quick run around the Green BLOSO route in Meerdael Forest. The trails were dry to moist and good for easy riding. The Green is not the most difficult with only a couple of climbs and I avoided the mud traps next to the E-40, taking instead some singletracks on a parallel route. Still had a good ride with 25K and and hour and a halfs' worth of biking.
When I got home I had to prepare for my second doctor visit of the day. This time to check my shoulder and have another round of 9 kine visits prescribed. The work of the kine is helping, my shoulder is a lot looser than it was a month ago and the stretching exercises are keeping the stress away. Still there is some work to be done because it still is not without pain. But the pain is less acute and sets in later than it used to do a couple of weeks ago. The temperature was mild today and I rode with a long-sleeved jersey and a couple of layers of underwear. Also wore normal globes as opposed to the heavy winter gloves.

Ride Stats : 28k and 195/225 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h28mins

433/4210

14-03-2011, 20:21 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf