Had a day off from work and I wanted to score some heightmeters. So I set out with the Litespeed - which took over from the Moots because the Moots is having its winter sleep now - towards the The Kluis area near the Paddenpoel. The trails were icy where cars, jeeps and bikes had left their mark. Next to the icy parts you could find some grip, the less traffic a road had seen, the less ice. The small ponds near The Kluis were frozen over, but not solid enough to venture upon them.

I had a loop in mind that I hope would net me around a 100 heightmeters. Starting with the climb the Blue Bloso takes, with a 17% maximum slope the steepest of the three, I then took a right turn towards the Hercules Salon. There I turned left for a steep downhill towards the lower edge of the forest near Nethen. I then took a left again for a long uphill, against the direction of the Blue BLOSO which descents here. I had to be careful because there were a lot of black ice patches. In the uphill that shouldn't be too difficult but I can imagine what happens if you ride downwards and an icy patcht appears under your wheel all of a sudden. Upon completing this climb I am back at the Walendreef. I follow this to the left and cross the Hercules Salon again, going straight down the slope. This is a tricky ascent when dry , so you can imagine how it is now. Lots of roots, snow and ice and a fallen tree near the end. Taking a right , then left, and then left again following the track alongside the forest edge. This is the 3rd climb of the loop and after a 100 metres I turn left to attack the slope and arrive at the Hercules Salon for the 3rd time. Straight down towards the Kluis, a sharp right turn at the bottom and the loop starts anew. Checking my Garmin I noticed this loop was 3km long and between 115 and 120 heightmeters. Not a bad one.
I did this loop 5 times before returning along the Walendreef towards the Naamsesteenweg. But then I decided to add a loop alongside De Tomme, an old burial site elevating itself over the rest of the forest.

I then rode towards the Naamsesteenweg again, crossing it over the wooden bridge. Following my secret Meerdael Loop for a while to get to the Eleonore Dreef. This turned out to be a bad move.

They have recently put some fine gravel on this trail and it looks like it keeps the water from entering the soil. The Dreef turned out to be very icy and slippery. I had to ride very carefully to make it out of the forest without falling or sliding. But I succeeded and could look back on a good ride . The average temperature was a frisky -2 degrees C but there was no wind and just a slight whisp of fog in the open areas. It was very icy though and even when new snow will cover the tracks, they will remain very dangerous until it gets warmer.
For those who want to try out my little climbing loop, here is the GPS track on Garmin Connect


Ride Stats : 27K and 660/705 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h27mins

8713/94430