After yesterdays' heavy offroad ride I had an onroad ride in mind for today. About time I did a serious distance with the Litespeed Vortex so I decided to ride towards Hoegaarden to join the Ravel number 2 , also known as the 'Croix de la Hesbaye'. This tarmac track runs along an old railroad . This means a couple of things. First the grade of the hills is never more than 4%, which was the maximum grade the old locomotives could master. Secondly, its exclusively reserved to bikers and hikers. Which means for a tranquil ride, only interrupted when you cross a road. I didn't want to ride all the way to Namur, which would bring the total distance to 120K, but decided to ride to the top of the slow ascent, somewhere between Eghezee and Vedrin, just before the long downhill towards Namur starts. Passing Jodoigne the sun came out and I stopped to remove my armlings.

Reaching Eghezee, where it was rather busy with market and also a hikers event which followed the Ravel for a couple of kilometers, I rode on towards Longchamps where the ravel continues towards Cognelee. Just before I reached the 52K point I decided to turn around. The wind was blowing from the east and it seemed to have grown stronger after the sun broke through the morning clouds. I could see the ancient trainstation of Cognelee and stopped for a snack. 
The was back was easier, with the slope now going downwards. Only a little uphill after Eghezee. I stopped at the plaque with the Ramillies battlefield situation. Here the troops of the duke of Marlborough fought those of the Marchal Viceroy  in 1706 - and took a couple of pictures before steaming on towards Jodoigne again

Now came the most difficult part of this ride. Up until now I had been able to maintain a good average speed, keeping my heartrate low. But for the last 20K I had to climb out of Hoegaarden and then had a couple of more climbs in Meldert and Opvelp. But I felt exceptionally well and when I arrived home I was pleased to see my average heartrate was only 24bpm for an average speed of more than 28kph.
So this was the first century ride with the Litespeed Vortex and it went quite well . The bike is light and fast and still offers enough comfort to brave the beaten macadam roads. The comfort comes from the tyres and the 6/4 titanium frame, the Seven/Reynolds fork and tight Campagnolo Neutron wheels are built for steering precision and speed, and only  attribute marginally to dampen any shock.

Ride Stats : 104K and 535/540 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h40mins

1625/17580

17-04-2011, 18:23 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The rear tyre of the Moots needed new NoTubes liquid so when I collected the wheels from my Merlin, which were refilled as well, chez Filip Sport, I dropped the Moots wheel.
Checking out the Merlin, yes why not on the O2 Bikers extended loop I call Julie 5 . I decided to ride it in the clockwise direction today, which obviously adds a couple of new challenges. Making my way to Grez over Bossut I decided to make the Julie 6 start on the little square there. The weather was OK, not too warm, neither too cold, although I needed armlings for the first hour, especially when riding through the Meerdael Forest which still was rather frisky.

Once on the loop and riding the Merlin over the continuous succession of hills and descents I quickly warmed up though. I felt good and the bike was helping me to ride fast over the dry trails. The speed in the descents was sometimes scary, this is the bike I feel I reach my limits on , long before reaching the bikes' limits.  In short, this bike is a lot faster than its rider .
Climbing out of Heze towards the Bois de Glabais I met a large group of Blancs Gilets. The monitors recognized me and we had a little chat. They were doing a local loop with the kids of the club. I felt a bit awkward because I wasn't wearing my clubs' jersey. But when I ride the Merlin, I wear the Merlin colors. Into the Gorge du Loup and I got started on a very intense part of the loop. Heightmeters galore and descents to catch my breath and let my heartrate drop .

Next came the section between Longueville and Gistoux. I explored a new loop, avoiding a very steep ascent and adding a couple of extra heightmeters instead, dropping down deeper into Gistoux. My legs were still feeling good so I could keep the pace up whilst I rode towards Bercuit and Dion-Valmont. The last climb towards the Rue du Centry was blocked last month, so I avoided that by taking another climb next to the N25 and turning right towards Doiceau in the end. From Grez I set back towards Bossut, completing the 65K loop in 3h55mins. Not bad at all, especially since my average heartrate was only 130bpm throughout the entire ride.

On the way back I took a little pause on the bridge over the Naamsesteenweg, before heading home . Getting used to the Merlin was easy. Upon checking I found that my average speed over this ride was 2.4kph higher than with the Litespeed Obed. The Merlin is such a great bike, it weighs approximately the same as the Obed hardtail but offers 4 inches of suspension in the rear, and this makes a lot of difference, especially on the dry hard trails.

The trail, you can get it at Garmin Connect. I would appreciate some feedback if you do download and ride it. I believe it is a great track, whichs gets a lot out of the area. That being said, do not forget you are in for a 1000 heightmeters over the 65K distance, so be prepared to leave some sweat on these trails.


Ride Stats : 85K and 1195/1280 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h36mins

1521/17040

16-04-2011, 16:42 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today is the weekly rendez-vous with the collegues from KBC for our mountainbike trip. I left home 45 minutes earlier to ride already a little distance to warm up . Passing through Blanden and over the Wijngaardberg towards Heverlee and the army caserne where I followed some tracks on the military domain before joining the bikers at the start of the ride. We were 8 to set out under my guidance into the Heverleebos. I then went towards the Doode Beemde where I needed a little help from my GPS and a fellow biker to get me out of that nature reserve again. Then the Meerdael Forest was next on the menu. Up until now the heightmeters had been missing but into Meerdael I enjoyed myself riding up and down the Nethen crest, passing from Sint Joris Weert over La Hetraie to Nethen itself.

Unfortunately - or fortunately for some - my rear tyre was losing air and I had to stop the guiding and make my way home . I tried to inflate it but the air didn't seem to go in. The tyre is NoTubes so I could still get home without too much trouble. When I reached my home I got out my good pump and inflated the tyre again.This time it did inflate and I heard no air escaping. I have to wait to see if the gap has been closed or not. At first glance I did not find any foreign bodies in the tyre and I also did not find a wet spot where the liquid had escaped. Wait and see no doubt.

Ride Stats : 40K and 320/395 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h9mins

1436/15760

14-04-2011, 21:14 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

This noon saw me at the start of the 51st Brabantse Pijl in Leuven, taking some pictures with my mobile phone and enjoying some sunshine in the crowd gathered at the Grote Markt. Taking a break from work I witnessed Michel Wuyts announce the riders one team at a time. Some hours later I was watching Philippe Gilbert winning , looking very relaxed whilst beating a brave Bjorn Leukemans at the sprint on top of the Schavei. Gilbert looks ready for the Amstel and the Liege, for sure.

Then I set out on the Litespeed Vortex but I was looking at a lot of wind, rather cold weather and some dark clouds gathering. My initial plan was to do around 50K but when I noticed the clouds were coming closer and it looked like there was rain coming out of them, I quickly decided to cut my ride short and make for home as quickly as possible. The rain veils were getting more prominent by the minute and just when I was entering Bierbeek I got a first little splash of raindrops. Moving closer to Blanden I got another one. The smell of the dry streets getting wet was overwhelming. But it was only a couple of drops, nothing more. Still the temperature had dropped again and I was glad to be home with a somewhat shorter but very intense ride under my belt. I tested the Camelbak Rogue and the frame pump and both didn't move ann inch. I hardly felt the Camelbak at all on my back, it was light even though it carried a spare inner tyre, on O2 canister and injector, tyre irons and my Galaxy S mobile phone. It is also very short so it doesn't block the rear pockets of my jersey. Well conceived indeed. I ordered a titanium King Cage in Durango, along with some titanium tire 'irons' to replace the plastic ones I now carry. The King Cage will be used to hold a drinking bottle.

Ride Stats : 30K and 205/205 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h3mins

1396/15365

13-04-2011, 20:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Beautiful weather so no holding me when I arrived home from work. On yer bike and ride. Decided to do the base loop of the 2011 Haasrode TT again. In the opposite direction. Last time I managed to do it under 2 hours and the conditions were good today as well. Sun shining, slight breeze from the west and about 20 degrees C. The tracks were dry and fast and I felt surprisingly good. The bike caused me no worries and the kilometers flew by.

Stopping for a little pause, long enough to take a picture and I'm back riding towards Gottechain where the impossible climb becomes a tricky descent. I spent a lot of time on the middle ring today where a couple of weeks ago I would need the small ring to make the grade. Looks like my legs are getting stronger at last. I closed the loop well under 2 hours and was very pleased to see that my average heartrate was only 123bpm. Good workout. Very pleased with this ride. I think I am ready for the Ardennes now.

Ride Stats : 39K and 430/490 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h52mins

1366/15160

11-04-2011, 18:51 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf