Looked like a dry day so I took a day off from work in order to plan a long ride. Riding out at 10AM with the Litespeed Vortex. The sun was hiding behind some thin cloud cover and would be obscured on and off thoughout the entire ride. Over Bierbeek , Meldert and Hoegaarden I reached Zetrud-Lumay where I injected myself on the Ravel 2 . There were wet patches below the trees and when I entered Jodoigne I could feel a couple of raindrops. Strange, but the temperature of 21 degrees C and the light northern breeze made me feel fine. So I did not mind the drops and after a while the dripping stopped. Reaching Eghezee I continued on the Ravel and soon I reached my highest point for today. Just shy of 200 metres above sealevel. Here the Ravel dropped into Namur. The next 7.5 kilometers are fun to ride , only the wet patches demand some care, I am on thin tyres, remember.
Turning around in Namur and I am set for a 7.5K climb back to Cognelee. The wind is blowing in my face now but it is not strong enough to really bother me. My average on the first leg was just 26.1kph, I took it really easy on the long climb. From now on the average will steadily augment and when I am back in Zetrud-Lumay I have another peek and see it is now 27.1kph.
The last 20K are not the easiest with a couple of bumps - one getting out of Hoegaarden along a difficult cobble road, the next one in Meldert and another one approaching Opvelp - but I can keep the speed well up. Another good training session, keeping the biggest effort late in the ride in order to make the legs progress. Arriving home I take the time to clean the bike from the dirt it accumulated along the wet patches on the Ravel. A clean bike always is a pleasure to ride.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 115K and 625 heightmeters (Garmin) in 4h10mins

4651/49350