Big Bad Log

Wow, what a great ride I just had. The weather was awesome for this time of year; bordering around 12 degrees C or even more in the sun and out of the wind. It had been dry and warm-ish for a couple of days now and I had arranged to meet up with "Monster Blonde" (well , she IS a blonde but the Monster bit is not really true, on the contrary ! ) to do a ride in the Foret de Soignes.
She hadn't been out with her bike this year - having done a lot of spinning classes and Gary Fisher powered Tacx Fortius roller rides - and for me it also was a while ago I had been in the FdS.
I really love to ride my bike over to this big forest just south of Brussels , do a loop or a combination of loops over there and then head back. This nets me at least a 3-hour ride and I love the forest no matter what time of year. At first, a few years back now, it was a bit of a maze to me, and because of its size, it is HUGE , I tended to get confused by all the trails , which all looked so alike. All the singletrails meandering from one place to the other all added to the confusion.
But I have been out there with her many times before, and she DOES know this Forest inside out, having devized lots of loops for BigM , so I followed her , looked around and started to memorize the place, trying to form a picture (a map if you wish ) of it in my head and gradually feeling confident enough to venture out by myself, albeit with a real map in my back pocket, you never know when you DO get lost. There also is a great BLOSO trail out there, starting in Hoeilaart and always a good base track to fall back on.
So, like I said, I rode to Tervuren and met up with her. She was eager to get out, and so was I. The trails were pretty much dry and the warm air and nice surroundings made the ride very enjoyable. The forest was pretty busy with walkers , bikers and horses. And of course a lot of loose dogs to watch out for. My companion was leading the way and at times I was surprised by her rushing off like a young fowl, leaving me to up a gear and trying to catch up with her. I also noticed she had gained a lot of strenght in the climbs, those indoor sessions are really paying off . I love to ride the trails with her, her pace is just right. She can go on for hours on end, and those long steady rides really suit me best. On top of that I think we both share the same respect and love of nature and a healthy curiosity to discover new stuff. Both just wanting to get 'out there' and follow the trails to wherever they may lead us. Some of these ventures have been almost magic.
We took in quite a bit of hills, some swooping singletracks and also took the time to stop every now and then, having a sip of water/sportsdrink and enjoy the tranquility and the sheer beauty of the forest. Or watch a dog swimming playfully after a thrown stick in a pond near the Rouge Cloitre. Or look amazed as we notice there already are young canadian geese about at another pond.
After 22K and just shy of 250 heightmeters we were back at our starting point. Lungs filled with the clean forest air and I'm sure both having enjoyed a very good ride. Thanks M.B. for this great ride !
I still had to ride back towards Leuven, taking in a few trails on the way, even a little bit of the Green Meerdael loop before I got home.

Ride Stats : 62K and 500 heightmeters in 3h06mins

1460/9535