Sunny day and I rode out with the Vortex for what I figured would be around 60-70K. Starting out on my usual loop through Bierbeek and then in Opvelp taking a left turn towards Beauvechain and La Bruyere. On the climb out of Opvelp I overtook 2 bikers. Asking if they would ride together with me for a while I spotted that one of them was riding a beautiful Litespeed Archon. So we got chatting and talking about the bike it turned out to be a 2011 model he got as a replacement for a broken Vortex. I had heard of the late Vortex being a little too light in the headset area and indeed that was also the spot where his had developed a crack. But the Archon - the heir of the Vortex - has been inforced around this area. Not the most beautiful headset tube ever with its fat welds but they seem to be doing the trick of keeping the frame together. The heritage is obvious, the many faceted upper tube and the swaying seatstays are typical of the high-end Litespeed frames. He was accompanied by an Italian who was training for a triathlon. They were good companions until I took a left towards Jodoigne and they veered to the right towards Pietrebais on the N240. Passing Jodoigne I picked up on the Ravel 2 towards Eghezee. Entering Eghezee I took a right towards Mehaigne and Aische-en-Refail . The western wind was blowing hard on the plains and I was glad to turn towards the north and  reach Perwez. Riding on towards Thorembais and Maleves-Sainte-Marie-Wastines I reached Opprebais. Little venture to the west again before turning right and entering Incourt. Crossing the N91 I came to Dongelberg where I took a left towards Lathuy . Straight on towards Melin and the back into the wind to reach the N240 again. I decided to add a loop over La Bruyere, Meldert and Hoksem. From Hoksem the successive climbs towards Kumtich and then from Kumtich to Willebringen took a lot out of me. The wind was adding an extra difficulty but I pressed on and reached Neervelp and then tackled to long climb towards the Bierbeek Watertower. The last kilometers were ridden on automatic pilot. Haasrode and ultimately Blanden passed under my wheels. A solid ride as it turned out. The weather was great, sunny, not too warm but I could have done with a little less wind.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 105K and 665 heightmeters (Garmin) in 3h38mins30secs

9225/79080