Another cold and dry night made way to a sunny day. I decided to ride to Grez-Doiceau again to do the O2 Bikers roadbook one more time. I already rode it at the end of last year but this time I would add a couple of extra loops (mostly climbs) and cu out the long passage through the water in Longueville. When I left it was minus 2 degrees C but the sun quickly made it feel a bit warmer. There was a very noticeable easterly wind but on the whole the temperature was very nice. Before long I was in Grez and once again on the roadbook O2 Bikers magazine published a few months ago. The trails were very tricky today. Reason for that was that all the sections where the sun could get through - mostly in the fields and on the sunny side of the forest rim - the track became unfrozen, muddy and very slippery. Also, the mud would cling to my WTB Weirwolf tyres and the got thrown off on the bike when the pace picked up again. Before long I was glad I was in the forest and a bit sad that it didn't freeze a bit harder. Especially the section near Longueville where I also struggled the last time - with fallen timber and deep ruts from the excavators - was a muddy hell. The forest lies in a valley and riding down towards it in a doubletrack over a field already gave me a little taste of what was going to come. In the forest itself I only had to walk a few sections, the falling trees where gone but the heavy machinery used to haul them out left the track hopelessly difficult. At the other side of the valley I came to a field road which was basking in the sun. For about 5 to 600 meters my bike turned into a mud collection. But before plunging into another forest and onto a singletrack which would lead me to Pietrebais, I took a little time to scrape off the worst of the mud, lightening my bike at the same time. I noticed 3 roe-deer in the forest - elegantly skipping up a steep slope. They didn't pause long enough to make a picture.
By now I began to feel the remorseless succession of climbs and descents which typefies the first 2/3 of the roadbook. Only upon reaching Pietrebais does the trail mellow out a bit. But it still remains quite challenging, don't think its an easy track all of a sudden. I added and extra climb in the Chaumont Gistoux area and another after dropping down towards the river-track in the Longueville valley. There, instead of follwing the track through the - partly frozen - rivulet, I decided to climb out towards Longueville, follow the tarmac towards the Bois de Glabais. There I took the steep sandy downhill to meet the track again at the bottom. After Cocrou and the long climb into the Bois de Linsmeau I also decided to add an extra climb up to Gottechain. Only to drop down again towards the field track leading into Grez Doiceau and the end of the roadbook . In all the track was a little longer in this version and also with some more heightmeters. When returning home I did an extra climb into Bossut to beat the wind.
Ride Stats : 59.5K and 825/835 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 3h44mins O2 Bikers Roadbook (including extra sections) : 38.5K and 645 heightmeters
