The night saw a lot of rain and a strong northwesterly wind. When the morning came things cleared out and it looked good for a ride. I put some 2.25 inch Big Jims on Mavic Crossmax I (in the rear )  and II (at the front) wheels and also put an XTR 12-34 cassette in the back. My idea was to ride into Mollendaalbos and check out the state of the trails. Well, I knew pretty soon what the state was.

Except for the bigger forest roads the tracks were a mess. Mud and a lot of water on my favorite singletrails. So I decided to leave the forest and concentrate on riding the open fields. The wind was still blowing hard but for now I was safe. I set towards the east and things rolled well. Here and there I had to negociate big puddles and at one place a real mudhole. Arriving near Hoegaarden I decided this was as far east as I would go today so I turned towards Sint Katelijne Hautem for a passage of the 2 chapels. When I rode west it became obvious that the ride back would be a challenge. The wind was indeed still blowing hard and when I worked my way towards Kumtich and Willebringen I tried to take advantage of every nook and cranny in the terrain to recuperate from the icy hand that was pushing in my face. Mind you, the temperature wasn't that bad, with 7 degrees C on average but the windchill was a major factor on the ride back home. When I arrived in Bierbeek I only had 6K to go and things were looking brighter. But it wasn't until I was nearly home that I could turn left and escape the wind.
Nevertheless I had a good ride, with a nice distance. I need to clean the Hilset because every creaks and crunches. The chain is as dry as sand and the gears are grinding. The battering of the mud followed by a long passage on dry roads dried out my drivetrain very effectively.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 50.5K and 650 heightmeters (Garmin) in 2h30mins

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