Had to recover from yesterdays' ride and somehow it felt like I should do more than sit in an easy chair and watch Johan Vansummeren wind Paris-Roubaix. So I took out the Vortex for a ride. Even though I am still waiting for my new Camalbak and did not have a Frame Pump yet I decided to tempt fate and do a bigger loop. Should I flatten I would have to walk many kilometers without any means of replacing or fixing my inner tyres.
But fate smiled on me and I made it through the loop without any problem. Riding over Haasrode and Bierbeek towards Opvelp, Beauvechain and Hamme Mille I even decided to add another loop bringing me through Nethen and Sint Joris Weert into the Weertse Dreef and back home. In Nethen they were working on the asfalt and the top layer had been scraped off. Very rude surface but even that did not bother my Vredestein Fortezza tyres.

The speed I get with this bike never ceases to amaze me. With only 200 heightmeters on this loop I managed more than 28 kph on average without stressing anything.

Ride Stats : 31K and 195/200 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h6mins

1327/14670

10-04-2011, 19:31 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The weather was a bit colder than last saturday, and it was still overcast when I left Blanden for a ride that would take me through Korbeek Dyle and Duisburg towards the Sonian Forest. Crossing this forest from east to west I met up with Guna R. at the Middenhut. We took the Zonienwoudlaan towards Dworp and then made our way towards the Sept Fontaines area.
Here is the start of a very fine local loop, comprising 35K and nearly 700 heightmeters. Guna had been here before with me but she hadn't done this particular loop before. So she was anxious to try it out.
When we started on the loop and entered the Hallerbos from Dworp it soon became obvious that the Bluebells were starting to bloom in their typical blue/violet colors. Giving the sunny slopes of the Hallerbos a beautiful blue tint. The smell of a thousand hyacynts filled our nostrils as we rode along the tracks of the roadbook.

Leaving Hallerbos for Braine L'Alleud the track then moves towards more rural areas but still manages to choose some very nice backtrails and one steep climb after another had us dig into our gears and grind. I felt a lot better than last week, the sun was out now but the average temperature was 14 degrees instead of the balmy 21 from last saturday. When I checked my Polar readouts my average heartrate throughout this ride was only 122 bpm, compared to last weeks 131 that is a major difference. Moreover since the average speed was exactly the same. Guna has grown a lot stronger since last time we rode together. Doing lots of marathons and preparing for this season with long road trainings obviously made her better physically. She was riding an Intense fullsuspension bike with lots of braking power and big suspension front and aft. In short, I could not get her out of my wheels any more. She was as fast as me in the uphills and faster on the downhills should she have bothered to pass me. Well done girl. You are ready for this seasons O2 Bikers Marathon challenge I'm sure.
Into and out of Lembeekbos and we stopped for a little snack before making our way back towards the Hallerbos, after crossing the N28 and A7 again . Coming from the west, the drops into Hallerbos is quite impressive.

The trail then meanders through the forest again, into and out of the different valleys. Before long we reached the Sept Fontaines again. Quite pleased with a great ride into a lovely sunny region. We rode back towards the Sonian Forest again and parted ways just after crossing the N275. I still had some way to go and the northeasterly wind didn't make my last 20K very easy. For those who want to try the loop we did today, I leave you with the link to Garmin Connect where you can download the track.


Ride Stats :112K and 1205/1375 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 5h58mins

1296/14470

09-04-2011, 18:39 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today the first ride of the new season with the KBC mountainbike club started at the Heverlee army barracks. The pace was easy and we did a loop through the Army grounds before entering Heverleebos. From Heverleebos we then reached the Zoete Waters where we made the connection with Meerdael Forest for some more technical and steeper bits. The group counted 9 men and one woman and the pace was accomodating to the slowest rider. Near the end we had to stop frequently to wait for the slower riders on the hills but in all everything went fine. A good easy training for me, and the trails were dry and fast. A little bit of wind made it not as warm as yesterday evening but I wore arm and leggings. The Moots YBB got a good cleaning on tuesday so it performed flawlessly throughout the ride.

Ride Stats : 27K and 245/290 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h30mins

1184/13095

07-04-2011, 20:48 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

With temperatures around 23 degrees C I was a bit overdressed in my 3/4th pants and long jersey sleeves but I only felt thirsty, not overheated during the ride. I took the Vortex out for another local ride, doing my lap 7 times. I had figured out that this would net me around 40K and one hour and a half of riding time. The extra half hour did not bother me in the least, the bikes' comfort got me through the ride. With tyres on 10 bars the comfort comes from the frame because I don't think the Campagnolo Neutron wheels are built for comfort, they are built for speed. The seatpost seems to be anchored to its place because it didn't move during the last couple of rides. I am now waiting on the delivery of a Camelbak Rogue backpack and another Blackburn Frame Pump to try for a slightly longer ride and further away from home. I also found some CO2 cartridges that might prove handy to have around should I flatten. The Lezine patch kit and Lezine tyre levers are already delivered. These can also be used for mountainbike purposes but my aim is to have a seperate backback - the Rogue - for my road bike outings so that I don't have to shift gear from one backpack to another. Obviously I will also take a spare inner tyre on my longer outings. I leave you with another detail picture of the bike.

Ride Stats : 41K and 390/395 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h33mins

1157/12805

06-04-2011, 18:52 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Vortex time again. There was quite a bit of wind when I left home for another ride in the vicinity of my home. I got the spare tyres and the patches today, but the frame pump I ordered was just a cm too short. Bummer. It would not fit ANY of my bikes so I had to order the bigger size and will try to sell the other one. Sending it back would cost me at least 10€ .
The ride went pretty uneventful, the bike zoomed along with the wind in my back and I had to pedal a bit stronger when riding with the wind in my face. Luckily this was happening mostly when riding downhill or on the flat. I made a couple of close-up pictures with my phone upon returning home, some of them even turned out quite good.

Ride Stats : 30.5K and 300 heightmeters (Garmin) in 1h9mins

1116/12410

04-04-2011, 18:50 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf