Big Bad Log

Today I wanted to ride in the forest and I chose to do the 3 Meerdael BLOSO routes, but in the reverse direction. Starting out with the Red, then the Blue and finish with the Green. I mounted bigger tyres on my Litespeed this time - 2.2 inch Big Jims - and the comfort was a lot better. I will switch to my summer bikes - the Moots and the Merlin - soon except when the conditions are really muddy. The Fox fork on the Litespeed was a good move. The fork is a lot stiffer than the 2001 SID SL and makes the Litespeed follow exactly the track it is sent in. The lateral stiffness also pays when negotiating tight turns in singletrails. After 5 or 6 years on this bike I am amazed that the Goldtec chainrings are still going strong. I only use the 46 and 26 tooth items - the 36 tooth did not match well with the 12-34 cassette I prefer to use - but still, after all these years, these rings have served me well and have payed themselves back longtime already. The XTR rear derailleur almost packed it in a few days ago when it met a bicycle spoke that somehow managed to wring itself between its cage and the rear wheel. Any lesser derailleur would have been destroyed but the XTR just demanded a little re-adjusting and its good to go for another 9 years.

The forest trails today were mostly dry though and hard and I made good speed. I stopped earlier on to try some stuff with my camera, which resulted in a couple of nearly-standing-still self portraits and some failures as well. 10 seconds is not a lot in which to strike a pose. When I passed on the fields in Hamme Mille I made another picture of the tall tree standing out in the valley where the Dikke Eik stands. I wasn't convinced that this was the Dikke Eik, since I noticed earlier this year that this tree isn't really much higher than the rest of the oaks around it. When I passed the forestry house and I noticed the Forester and his family sitting outside - enjoying the early evening sunshine - I decided to ask him about the tree. Turned out my suspiscion was correct. The tall tree is in fact some kind of poplar tree , that stands 5 to 10 metres higher than the surrounding oaks. This tree is situated some 50 metres from the Dikke Eik. He also mentioned the latin name of the tall tree - I think he called it populus tremula but it might have been another populus alltogether - and told me the Dikke Eik - which is an oak - is guessed to be between 300 and 350 years old and it got struck by lightning at least once in its long life. Below is a picture I took of it today, you can see another picture I took earlier this year HERE

After those words of wisdom I continued my ride. I got a very good average speed without going high in heartrate which usually means my condition is getting to be good. The legs felt good as well even though I did fall - over a molehill hidden in some tall grass whilst almost standing still - but with no ill effects. Near the end of the ride , on the flatter Green trails - I could keep my chain on the big ring most of the time. Here are a couple of pictures taken during the ride.

Ride Stats : 53.5K and 495/501 heightmeters in 2h33mins

2996/26390