I rested the whole day, and only when the riders in the Tour de France had finished their stage I decided to ride out. I wanted to check out the shortest distance of the Fleche Gottechinoise. The day saw a little rain in the AM but after 4pm the skies cleared and the sun came through. Because I did not know how long I would be away I decided to wear a long sleeved jersey. That turned out to be a good choice because I stayed out more than 3 hours.
Leaving just before 6pm I rode towards Bierbeek and Opvelp and then picked up on the Gottechinoise trail in Beauvechain. The 3 distances (40/70 and 100) were marked with seperate arrows. My distance, the 40K , was marked with a green arrow with a circle beneath it. The track was nothing special, going towards La Bruyere, and then returning to Hamme Mille along the big road. From Hamme Mille, it turned a sharp left towards Wavre and then left again to the finish, high in Gottechain.

From the finish/Start I then followed the first bit, where all 3 distances run together. Over Bossut and La Malaise towards Pecrot. Then in the direction of Sint Agatha Rode and Sint Joris Weert. Over Nethen and Hamme Mille towards Tourinnes and Beauvechain and the 40K was already behind me. I rode towards Opvelp and Neervelp and the chose to ride to Bremt and follow a road parrallel to the E40. Here I took some pictures of a little chapel I had already spotted when I came here on the Decathlon Classic last week.

From Bierbeek I rode to the Haasrode Industrie grounds where I did 2 laps of the big empty road before heading to the Geldenaakse baan and follow this into Heverlee Park. From Heverlee I followed the Naamse steenweg towards Blanden. A good ride and I was pleased with the distance despite feeling tired this morning. This is my 8th successive riding day and I am thinking of taking a rest day tomorrow. 

Ride Stats : 90.5K and 575/635 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h22mins

5769/55170 

09-07-2011, 22:27 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Lots of threats. Belgium is threatened by the continuous argueing of right wing Flanders and left wing Walloon politicians who are uncapable of sitting together and work out a debated solution. This whole business is threatening to bring our country to bankrupcy, despite all the people who have been working hard since the 2008 crash to get the economy back on the rails. The childish behaviour of our top politicians is a slap in the face of all those people. I have to get out, ride this stress out of my system.
Outside there are black clouds threatening, the sun coming out from time to time. I decide to ride out to get the dark thought out of my mind. Just zero out and let the strong southerwesterly wind blow away the wisps of the non-politics and personal egotism that is leading our country.
I was hoping to follow some new arrows I discovered yesterday, part of the Gottechainoise that is taking place this sunday, but the idea of getting soaked by a rainshower lets me stay relatively close to home. First looping over Sint Joris Weert, Nethen , Hamme Mille , Op- and Neervelp towards Bremt and Haasrode Industrie. From there, and after having looked at the skies which seems to be clear of threats for the moment, I decide to follow the Geldenaaksebaan to Heverlee park. Then up and down towards the Naamsesteenweg, cross that and into Oud-Heverlee. Back at the Zoete Waters, I ride to Sint Joris Weert again and then take the Weertse Dreef back to Blanden. In Blanden I do another local loop towards Haasrode to complete the ride. No rain, so I could have gone further, but I am pleased with 60K and an average heartrate of 109bpm.

Ride Stats : 60K and 460 heightmeters (Garmin) in 2h17mins

5679/54535

08-07-2011, 14:16 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

When I saw the sun shining I decided to ride out for an easy recovery ride. Starting in an unusual direction, following the Expressweg from Blanden to Haasrode Industrie and then down into Heverlee and taking the Naamsesteenweg back into Blanden. This provided me with an extra 8K before starting one of my usual loops. From Vaalbeek to the Zoete Waters where I was made aware of a fierce southerly wind that was blowing. But I wasn't set on riding fast, just trying to pedal and relax my aching muscles from the days before. After reaching the Zoete Waters I turned left towards Sint Joris Weert and then Nethen. Riding through Hamme Mille and Tourinnes I arrived in Beauvechain. The church looked quited dramatically against a sharp, crisp and colorful background of blue skies and some big white clouds. So I stopped to takes some pictures.

From Beauvechain I turned left again and now the wind was blowing full in my back. These are the glorious moments in cycling. Doing 40kph on the bike without even having to pedal. In Opvelp I was passed by two cyclists and when I put myself in their wheel the speed went up to almost 50kph. All too soon we arrived in Neervelp and I had to turn left towards Bierbeek. During the last uphill stretch next to the water tower I could feel the wind gaining force again. From Bierbeek towards Haasrode and ultimately Blanden it would play with me, blowing through the gaps between the houses, trying to tip me off my bike. But it did not succeed and I jotted down a nice recovery ride with an average heartrate of only 104bpm.
 
Ride Stats : 44K and 280/305 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h39mins

5619/54075

07-07-2011, 13:57 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

At first I wasn't thinking of riding out today since the weather forecast called for frequent showers. But when I woke up the sun shone and there were only scattered clouds racing through the sky, pushed along by a strong westerly wind. Checking Meteox.be I decided to go for it. I had planned to take the Vortex to Filip Sport to have the rear derailleur checked . The shifting wasn't all that crisp lately. But instead of taking my car I rode the bike over and Filips' mechanic checked it and adjusted the cable tension. He also checked the cassette and the rear wheel for play. All was well. Only thing he mentioned is that the springs in the right Chorus shifter should be replaced since they were responsible for the slacker response when shifting.
When I rode home I noticed some dark clouds building up in the distance so - hurried along by the strong wind - I swiftly rode my Vortex home. And indeed, whilst I was arriving home the sky closed and a little bit later a heavy rainshower hit the tarmac. So I was lucky to have kept it dry and sunny until the end.

Ride Stats : 53.5K and 315/350 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h59mins

5575/53770

06-07-2011, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Sun was out from the start today which meant that the temperatures would surely rise above 25 degrees C. Starting around 10am I decided to follow the Vlaanderen Fietsroute for around 50 or 2 hours and see how far I could get. It had been a while I had followed it for that long so I was curious to discover the landscapes and villages I had not seen for some time. Starting out over Bierbeek and Willebringen, then Oorbeek and further to Hoegaarden. Passing the Marollenkapel in Houthem I could not resist taking another photograph, this time from its backside.

05-07-2011, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

The sun was a bit hesitant to show up this morning but around 11am the clouds were parting and the temperature was rising from a frisky 15 degrees C to a more comfortable 20 degrees. I had decided to do the Haasrode Tour. This brings me from Haasrode - obviously - to Bierbeek, where I ogled the water tower - which is being cleaned because of a bacterial infection - and then rode onwards to Bremt and Neervelp. The wind was blowing from the northeast so it was kinda against me as I rode to Willebringen and Kumtich. From Kumtich I looped to Hoksem and then through Oorbeek towards the Goudberg geosite. Down towards Hoegaarden and the a right to Houtem. I stopped to take a couple of pictures of the Marollenkapel, this time in a field of corn.

From Houtem I then rode west to L'Ecluse and La Bruyere. Having crossed the language border I then move through beautiful landscapes with fields full of grains and corn, yellow and green patches with a red streak here and there where some poppies found ground to blossom. Slowly climbing I then cross the N91 and follow a small tarmac road that plunges into Pietrebais. Taking a right towards Cocrou and then speeding along the N240 into Grez. Here I leave the Haasrode track to climb up to Bossut and then drop down again into Archennes. The little church strikes me as a beautiful picture so I stop and capture it with my Galaxy S II GT-9100.

From Archennes I ride onwards into Florival and then all the way to Ottenburg. Down into Terlanen where I decide to climb the Holstheide again, followed by the Stroobantsstraat which brings me into Sint Agatha Rode. From there I ride towards Sint Joris Weert and the Zoete Waters. Here I take another loop towards Oud-Heverlee and Heverlee before returning by following the Naamsesteenweg towards Blanden.
Today the weather was ideal for cycling. Temperatures around 20 degrees and a little breeze to keep things cool. I changed the battery of the sensor my PRO DIGI-W7 and it seems to indicate the whole range of speeds now.

Ride Stats : 80K and 665/695 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h02mins

5420/52760

04-07-2011, 15:39 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf