After yesterdays' road ride I wanted to do another ride today but for this on I chose the Merlin Works 4.0 and decided to do the Meerdael Bloso routes. Starting around 10am with the sun shining but temperatures only around 10 degrees C and no wind to speak of. Ideally suited for a ride.
I started out on a good pace. I would maintain this pace throughout the ride. Putting some stress on my muscles and lower back so see how they would hold out. There is no other way to find out.
Starting on the green and working my way through the relatively flat sections in Heverleebos and towards Korbeek Dyle. The climb next to the railroad in Oud-Heverlee was a brutal switch from the big chainring towards the small one. I had 2 bikers behind me so I did not slouch. I lost them on the steep bit near the end. Short downhill followed by a cobble climb. Next onto the Blue Bloso at the Zoete Waters. This is the more hilly of the tree and some strain began to build up in my body whilst the steep sections were followed by - too - short downhill sections. On the climb behind the Kluis I had another biker in my sights but despite my efforts I could not close the gap. Down towards Nethen and then settling down for the long climb next to the Savenel wall. My aim was still riding in front of me, giving me a goa. Pity he followed the Blue Bloso to the left on the split with the Red. I continued along and still was able to hold a good speed. Out of Bierbeek the long climb into Mollendaalbos was the next big challenge. The sun was shining and I felt rather good on the bike. Taking care to keep my core muscles tight during the climb to relieve some of the stress off of my lower back. Back on the big chainring after passing the highest point in Meerdael Forest. The trails were super. It had rained a bit last week which has caused the dust to settle but there was no mud. The singletrack next to the Naamsesteenweg was a joy to ride. I stopped for a little photo break at the Dikke Beuk.

From then onwards the Red offers only a couple of challenges before crossing over to the Green. Back in Heverleebos and a couple of short climbs later I was where I had inserted myself on the routes a couple of hours ago. During the ride back along the Prosperdreef I was trying to initiate a cooldown but in practise I kept maintaining a good pace until the end.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 54K and 560 heightmeters (Garmin) in 2h33mins

2296/5010

04-05-2014, 14:25 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

It has been a while but today I finally got the Litespeed Vortex out for a ride. Since last year I changed the cassette and 50/34 chainrings and mounted a YBN SL-210 full titanium chain. Very expensive but I have had it laying around for a couple of years now so I figured I might as well use it.
I was weary getting back on a road bike because of the added speed, racy position and lack of comfort with tyres pumped up to 100psi/7 bars. But the titanium of the Vortex does dampen the shocks quite well. Obviously I was curious as to how my lower back would react to this bike.  My knees have been giving me trouble as well. Since I couldn't resist running a week and a half ago, my inner medial band is hurting. Went to the doctor and she said I have developed a slight O-leg stance so this put extra strain on that inner medial band. If I am serious about running, I should consider putting inner soles in my shoes to put my legs in a neutral position.
That being said, rediscovering this bike was a blast. It is fast, light and nimble and it demands a whole different level of awareness whilst riding in traffic and on these thin tyres. I put on a 21mm tyre in front but I changed that to a 23mm version as soon as I got home. I also put in a Joe's No Flat inner tube. Filled with Joe's No Flat racing fluid this inner tube weighs 50g more than a regular inner tube. I hope it lives up to its name. I have another one in stock in might put in my rear tyre one of these days.

03-05-2014, 12:49 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

Time for a longer ride. The weather forecast called for pleasant and dry weather in the AM but in the afternoon the possibility of showers would increase. So I rode out around 10AM and made my way through Meerdael Forest and Sint Joris Weert towards Sint Agatha Rode where I picked in on the Overijse Bloso trails. The trails were super, dry except for the mudtrap near Overijse and fast. The Merlin felt right at home and I was happy to be able to ride these familiar trails again. I nearly went OTB when my front wheel got caught in a deep rut filled with water near the Overijse ponds. But I managed to prevent myself from tipping over and rode on unscathed. Through Overijse where I almost collided with a car that stopped right in the middle of the bicycle lane at a red right. Good thing my Hope disc brakes are strong and my reactions fast. I was glad I was out of Overijse and climbing along the Reutenbeek for a super section working mt way towards Tombeek. I was by this time almost 2 hours into the ride, my longest ride to date this year, and I was a long way from home. Down the Schaatboekstraat and then onwards towards the Bilande farm. Stopping for a picture break on the bridge over the Lane.

01-05-2014, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf

I felt rather good today, apart from the upside of the shin/inside of the knees area which still is painful. I took the Moots YBB out for a ride that would comprise a fair bit of climbing in a compact area . I tried to take in a couple of fine trails with descents and climbs and while I could do a super loop, I had to dismount here and there because of forest works which left large trees scattered over the trails.
Nevertheless I did enjoy myself during the 9K and almost 250 heightmeters Wolventrail. If you can do this 10 times in succession you are a mountainbike hero. In my current condition even doing it twice would have been too much. My knees give me pain when I'm standing up , directing the bike between my legs in the downhills. I think I should take it easy for a couple of days to allow the painful areas to recuperate and heal.

After the intense trails, I returned to easier tracks over the Kluis and the parallel to the Weertse Dreef. Some kind of cooling down. I noticed the grazers were back in the open ex-military areas whilst I was doing another loop towards the Keiberg and Vaalbeek , to enter Heverleebos for a brief stretch before returning into Meerdael following the Prosperdreef.

The weather was great. It had rained a bit during the early hours of the day which left the trails dust-free but still relatively dry. When I rode out it was still 20 degrees C.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 23.5K and 350 heightmeters (Garmin) in 01h19mins

2158/3590

29-04-2014, 19:26 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf