Last night saw the passing of another thunderstorm and this morning there were still scattered showers over our region. Against noon it cleared out and whilst the streets were drying out fast I took the Vortex out for an easy recovery ride. Aiming for 2 hours maximum and planning to keep my average heartrate way below 110bpm.
Starting out as usual over Bierbeek and Opvelp, I crossed over to Beauvechain and then rode towards Hamme Mille and Nethen. At Sint Joris Weert I took a left turn towards Sint Agatha Rode to have a look at how the river Dyle was doing after the rains.

As expected the water was standing near the edge and the debris of last months' thunderstoms were still floating around. I rode on towards Neerijse and there followed the Sint Janbergsesteenweg towards Egenhoven. From there I rode back to Oud-Heverlee and past the Zoete Waters to reach Vaalbeek and Blanden. When I arrived home the skies were clearing out and it looked like the temperature would be rising above 20 degrees C as well.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 50.5K and 295/310 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h52mins

9112/76845

04-09-2011, 15:11 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Very beautiful weather was forecast today and the temperatures of 28 degrees and more made me shy away from my planned long mountainbike ride and got me on the Litespeed Vortex for a long road ride instead. Starting out over Bierbeek, Willebringen and Hoegaarden to follow the Ravel 2 past Eghezee. When I reached 50K around Dhuy, I took a right , off of the Ravel and in the direction of Boscailles. The road would bring me briefly back on the Ravel but I took a left almost immediately in an effort to reach Longchamps. Had some difficulty orientating myself but after a while I reached Longchamps and then took the direction of Mehaigne. I knew I had to pass here and also in Aische-En-Refail in order to reach Perwez.

Enjoying some very beautiful landscapes with the southern wind blowing in my back I reached Perwez and from here followed more familiar roads that took me towards Maleves-Sainte-Marie-Wastinnes and Opprebais. Sart-Risbart and Chaumont-Gistoux were next and through the beautiful little village of Bonlez - where they need to urgently fix the very bad road - I reached Grez-Doiceau. Archennes and Florival were next and then the mean climb out of Pecrot towards Nethen had me dig deep into my power reserves. The temperature was hot and I started to feel the kilometers taking their toll. Passing the 100K mark just past Nethen on my way to Sint Joris Weert I knew I only had around 10K to go. The Zoete Waters were zooming with activity and I had to take care not being hit by cars and other traffic, with drivers having little or no attention for the road or the other participants of traffic it seems. Reaching home I could start the re-hydration and relax whil watching the riders in the Vuelta sweat their way up a nasty mountain in the Asturias range.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 111.5K and 670 heightmeters (Garmin) in 4h09mins

9062/76535

03-09-2011, 15:29 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

After 3 months of abstinence I was back on a mountainbike today. For those who do not know me, I am allergic to horsefly bites and suffered from Lyme's disease last september, so instead of riding around with long trousers and long-sleeved jersey, sprayed in horsefly repellent and constantly fearing to be bitten, I decided to take a break from mountainbiking from June till August. The whole summer I concentrated on riding my road bike, and it has taken me more than 6500K in those 3 and a half months.
The first meters on the Moots YBB felt very strange. The softness of the big tyres, the suspension and in contrast the harshness of the Flite TT saddle, as compared to the smooth Brooks Swift Ti, took some getting used to. But after a couple of kilometers I began to find my position and my legs felt strong, even though I have been riding for 5 straight days before today. 
The trails were dry and hard. In the beginning I had to get used to the grip of the tyres, the speed was high and I needed to correct quickly when things slipped away. But obviously the bike is super and it didn't take me long to find my confidence again. I was on the big ring most of the time, really flying over the dusty forest trails and when I entered the fields of Mille and encountered some cobbles, I felt the compliance of the brilliant titanium frame of the Moots YBB.

Making a big loop  and entering Meerdael forest again for the last kilometers along which I sped with godspeed. Lets hope the next couple of weeks I will get more chances to ride offroad again. I will still ride the Vortex as long as the weather and the roads are clement but the mountainbike should be on the menu more and more as autumn falls .

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 19.5km and 150/185 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 55mins

8951/75865

01-09-2011, 20:24 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Today it was a couple of degrees warmer than yesterday and the day before. There was also much less wind so I decided to ride out for an easy recovery ride. The legs felt good but I could feel the accumulated fatigue from the past rides. Starting out along Heverlee and Egenhoven I made my way to Bertem and wanted to follow the Tervuursesteenweg until it became the Leuvensesteenweg, somewhere around Vossem. I had a look at the Subaru garage Vandenplas but there were no WRX'es in sight. From Vossem to Duisburg and then left towards Huldenberg. The Smeysberg up and down into Sint Agatha Rode. Onwards to Neerijse where I took the Sint Janbergsteenweg until I reached Egenhoven again. From here back to Heverlee and Blanden. Had a good ride, nothing too tough and relaxing the muscles at every opportunity.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 50.5K and 380/400 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h50mins

8931/75680

31-08-2011, 20:38 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Was home early from work so I had the time to do a longer ride today. Since the weather was calm but clouded and not too warm, I chose to wear windstopper underwear and a long-sleeved jersey. A good choice as would turn out during the ride.
I started out over Bierbeek, Honsem and Willebringen and then moved on to Kumtich and Oorbeek to reach Hoegaarden. Here I picked up on the Ravel 2 which I followed past Jodoigne until I reached Eghezee. From Eghezee I took the N91 back towards Geest-Gerompont-Petit-Rosiere where I took a left on the Ravel which led me towards Perwez. From Perwez I took a right and made my way towards the enigmatic little village of Maleves-Sainte-Marie-Wastinnes. Here I paused for a snack and a couple of pictures.

30-08-2011, 19:51 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Felt cold today so I added an extra layer of underwear before riding out around 6pm. With 17 degrees C and a cool breeze from the west this seemed like a good idea and it also turned out that way. I wanted to do a shorter ride today with a good speed so I set out over Bierbeek, Meldert , La Bruyere and Beauvechain, before turning towards Hamme Mille , Nethen and Sint Joris Weert. At the Zoete Waters I turned towards Vaalbeek and Blanden to finish my ride. The speed was high and I felt strong throughout the ride. With a solid 28kph as average speed and only 117bpm as my average heartrate I think I did well today.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 43.5K and 240/260 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h32mins

8780/74665

29-08-2011, 20:09 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf