Another beautiful day and Easter to boot. Took the Vortex out for a spin along the Haasrode Toer. That is a route that I have been doing for quite some time now. It starts in - not surprisingly - Haasrode and follows some nice roads towards Willebringen, Hoksem, Oorbeek and the edge of Hoegaarden. I usually stop at the Marollenkapel, which was built to be a miniature effigy of the Scherpenheuvel church. I had something to eat and took a couple of pictures. The sun was shining and there was only a little breeze coming from the north-east. Great conditions for biking. 

From the Marollenkapel I then set forth towards l'Ecluse, where a stretch of cobblestones gave the Vortex and me some good vibrations. Nothing too bad though and I rode on towards Beauvechain and Pietrebais. From here I decided to avoid the bad macadam in Archennes and ride through Bossut and La Malaise instead. The stretch on the La Malaise plain used to be cobblestoned but they have added some tarmac here and there and it rides better than the old macadam in Archennes. Down to Pecrot and then taking the road towards Ottenbrug before turning to the right towards Sint Agatha Rode. Another bad stretch of macadam and then I could recuperate a bit on some nice zooming tarmac towards Sint Joris Weert. The center of Sint Joris Weert was closed for the Weertse Feesten but I could take a small connecting road towards the Zoete Waters.
In all a very nice long distance ride on which I noticed that my heartrate didn't want to go up. Sign of fitness or perhaps also a sign of the intensity of the last 3 days? I did almost 400K and 3700 heightmeters this week. Due to the excellent weather of course just begging me to go out and ride a bike. I leave you with the GPS track to this little ride.


Ride Stats : 71K and 475/515 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h35mins

2004/21280

24-04-2011, 17:54 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Looking for an easy mounatinbike ride isn't that easy. I rode towards the Zesdagmaalstraat in Sint Agatha Rode where I pick in on the Overijse BLOSO routes. Getting there involved some riding through Meerdael Forest towards Nethen, and then onwards over Pecrot, crossing both Marbaises and climbing up to the Zesdagmaalstraat.
It had rained here yesterday evening - a short thunderstorm - so the tracks were a little moist but it proved to be a very local phenomenon because once I had passed Terlanen it was dryness all along. But that made the track very fast. On the steep climb of the Moskesstraat I felt my muscles protesting and they did the same on the little track just before Huldenberg.
What I also did notice is that I am on the big ring a lot sooner than I usually do. This might be a benefit from riding the Vortex. I passed some beautiful landscapes and could not resist capturing one of them on my Sony.

In Overijse I paused briefly to have a little snack and then I moved on for the remainder of the routes. Added an extra climb just before Ottenburg - a very technical one with lots of stones - but soon I was negotiating the last climbs to reach the point where I injected myself into the route. Riding back towards Sint Joris Weert and from the Kluis taking the Denteneerpad crossing Meerdael Forest again. The air seemed cleaner than yesterday and it didn't feel that hot either. I noticed that I passed the 20000 heightmeters mark today. Still a lot of catching up to do, both in kilometers as in heightmeters, compared to the last couple of years .

Ride Stats : 59K and 740/820 heightmeters in 3h13mins

1934/20765

23-04-2011, 14:56 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Got the track for the Gambrinus 105K ride starting from Leuven from my friend Roger, and today looked like a fine day to try it out. I have no way to attach my Garmin 705 to my bike but I would grab it out of my back pocket when I needed it.
Through Vaalbeek and next to the Zoete Waters , then Korbeek Dyle and a bit further I picked up on the track. The weather was promising to be hot and sunny so I took the precaution of applying sun lotion on my arms. Sun lotion before Easter, the world is indeed heating up it seems.
The track made its way towards Leefdaal, Vossem and Duisburg. Towards Maleizen a first climb announced itself. It would certainly not be the last. Dropping into La Hulpe, riding towards Ohain and Genval I had to look at the GPS frequently, sometimes even stopping to keep things safe. I was riding a bike in traffic after all. Some nice backroads and bigger roads brought me into Lasne, where it was rather busy in the town centre.

The track was now climbing and descending all the time as I rode towards Couture St Germain. The highest gear needed to go on and still the hill was very steep. Then I arrived in Ceroux Mousty and had a nice long drop into Ottignies LLN. Busy town traffic again and I took a wrong turn somewhere. Half way the hill I looked at my GPS and saw my mistake. Turning around and I was on my way for a nice passage through the forest in Limelette. Very steep hill again and then a bikepath through the Bois du Manil. Nice. I had a bit to eat and then the track dropped me down into Limal. Climbing again to Rixensart before arriving at the Lac de Genval. Lacs are mostly in the deeper regions so indeed, a new and steep uphill, this time bringing me on the road to Maleizen. From here I was on familiar grounds and I could guess which hills they would include. I left out a steep one going from Archennes to Bossut, instead riding a bit further towards de Chaussee de Wavre where I did the same hill but with a lesser slope. The Rue de Pecrot climbing out of Pecrot towards Nethen finished off a great succession of climbs. When I arrived back at the Zoete Waters, the counter gave more than a 100K so I did another century ride on the Vortex. I leave you with the map and the GPS track if you want to try this ride yourself one day. There are NO markings on the road so you need the track to find your way around.


Ride Stats : 107K and 975/1100 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h16mins

1875/19945

22-04-2011, 16:37 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The rear tyre of the Moots has been fixxed by Filip @ Filip Sport so it was ready to go . The weather was again very warm, with temperatures of 25 degrees C when the KBC MTB club met at the Heverlee meeting point. There were 10 bikers at the start. I decided to lead the ride around the basic track of the 2011 Haasrode TT, some 34K normally but I would cut the furthest section short in Gottechain. The first couple of kilometers brought us to the start in Haasrode. The field roads were very dusty, something we would experience throughout the entire ride. It was almost as if some fine powder was sprayed on to the roads. Luckily once we got into Meerdael Forest the trails were less dusty. But still very dry of course.

The pace was pretty high throughout the entire ride and the group was very homogenous. When we arrived in Bossut someone got a flat front tyre so we had to pause for a while to have that fixxed.

The sun was setting fast now and we had to hurry through the fields and drop into Nethen. Long climb into Meerdael forest for the last stretch of the track towards the Naamsesteenweg. Unfortunately disaster struck for one of the guys when he broke his rear derailler jockey wheel. He could still ride his bike though and I left the group when we passed my home. Someone's front tyre was losing air so I lend him my big pump to inflate it to 4 bars. This would be enough for the last 5 or 6 K back to the meeting point. I think apart from the mechanical and the flat tyres, we had a good ride through the dry and dusty countryside.

Ride Stats : 39K and 345/395 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h58mins

1768/18845

21-04-2011, 22:11 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Another summer day so I took off for an easy ride . First I had to stop at the Cafe bij Wiske in Blanden because I noticed an Evo 9 I knew standing there. Had a quick chat with the owner - Oh yeah its for sale, 25K€ for 440bhp or thereabouts - and took a couple of pictures. I know the history of this car and I would advise against paying that much for this one. It has been tormented even though well maintained, at least by its previous owner.  I could be wrong, but I think the current owner does not really understand what this car represents. I am still looking for a red one, preferably a Belgian one, but I would not shy away from a UK version either..

That being said, I rode on and went to my sisters' at Binkom, passing by the above Evo 9's previous owner for another little chat. He has an Evo X now, but currently the engine is blown so he has to wait, and pay for a rebuild. Fast cars are expensive.
My ride then took me back  to Lubbeek and Lovenjoel, before finishing over Bierbeek and Haasrode. It was almost 27 degrees C so much too hot for the time of the year. Still I felt rather well and had a good strong ride with the Litespeed Vortex.

Ride Stats : 45K and 325/345 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h35mins 

1728/18450

20-04-2011, 19:05 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

18-04-2011, 19:30 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf