Big Bad Log

Dense fog upon waking this morning, so any ideas I might have had to ride to Aywaille quickly made way for other plans. I decided to do the first half of my Secret Meerdael Loop, which would net me around 30K and 450 heightmeters . When I started out I quickly met up with my friend Roger, who was going to ride the Meerdael Bloso routes. Roger is slowly turning into a titanium adept as well, he already has a Seven Sola and just recently he acquired a Litespeed Sewanee. This was the first time I saw this bike and what a marvelous looking bike it is. Decked out with top-notch components and weighing in just a tad over 100k for a size M . We talked a little but and then we each went our own way.
It was around 3 degrees C and still foggy when I left around 11pm but the fog would quickly evaporate and around noon the temperature would reach 6 or 7 degrees. I averaged 5 degrees C.
The first part of my Meerdael Loop consists mainly of a lot of singletracks , and even though it was less muddy than a few weeks ago, there was one section that was really REALLY bad with mud . The Forestry is felling trees and getting them out with big machines. These machines really leave very deep tracks, destroying the trail, accumulating water and generally leaving me on foot quite a few times. Also, on the small trails there are still some trees that fell with the storm in January and which made me dismount at least 5 times, lifting my bike over them and riding along. I quickly noticed that my titanium Kocmo cassette has had it. I changed my chain and now it keeps slipping over the smaller cogs. That cassette has served me well the last 4 years, so it really was worth its money. Back home I will put on an XTR cassette from last year. I usually change cassettes once a year, except for the Kocmo that is. Most of the time the cassettes are not completely worn so I can use them a little longer on these wheels. Wheels that are used in muddy conditions only.
Some 30K into the ride I decided that I had had enough, with just under 2 hours the average speed says it all. I connected with the Bloso route in Nethen and decided to follow it for a while to let my legs recover a bit from the tough conditions. And guess who I spot in the distance, yep there is Roger. We meet up again, him with 10K more and finishing the Red trail towards Bierbeek. We ride the last 10K of that Red route together, having ample time to chat . Roger is playing with the idea of originating a mountainbike tour around Leuven and he's asking if I'm not interested in helping him with the planning and reconnoitre the trails. Of course I am ! I know some people who are very familiar with the region North of Leuven and with our deep knowledge of the trails in the South of Leuven this great idea might just materialize over the next year. More to follow.

Ride Stats : 44K and 555 heightmeters in 2h40

1130/8330