It had rained considerably last night and during part of the day so I mounted mud fenders on the Litespeed and left with waterproof clothing as I rode up to Overijse to meet with Guna. Amazingly enough not a single drop would fall during our ride together. I proposed to do the 2 Valleien route, a marked BLOSO trail with starting points in Overijse, Terlanen and Ottenburg and covering around 36K and some 480 heightmeters. Guna did not do them before so I was curious about her opinion about them. They are rather interesting, with some nice hills, some rather steep and a couple of tricky downhills, especially on the Red route. I was expecting quite a bit of mud but as it turned out only in the forest were a few muddy sections. Some of the downhills proved quite a challenge though because of the wash of water which had carved some gullies . But on the whole the tracks were fine.
At a few places I took an alternative route to avoid some tarmac or offer an alternative climb. Guna didn't object. I suppose by now she knows I like to climb and am always looking for the 'better track' , even on marked trails. I made the steep tricky one climbing out of Huldenberg, mainly due to the rain carving a nice broad gully. I was very pleased with that, especially on the Litespeed which offers a bit less traction due to the lack of suspension in the rear. But the 1.8 Nobby Nics I mounted made up for that I'm sure. They are narrow and carve their way towards traction. When we separated in Overijse after about 35K and 470 heightmeters on the 2 Valleien route, we noticed some dark clouds were gathering. I made it home just in time to feel only the first drops and I hope Guna made it home dry as well. Now all thats left is the task to clean the bike for its next ride. By the time I write this I see lightning flashing and hear the thunder roaring as the rain crashes down.
Ride Stats : 69K and 730 heightmeters in 3h56mins
3303/29640
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