Big Bad Log

Today I had an appointment with Guna to ride either the 42K or 52K version of the Accro Bike. The Accro is one of my favorite rides in my neighborhood so after only having been there last week I didn't mind going back there again at all. I met up with Guna just before Wavre and we rode to the Bois des Neulettes to enter the trails there. On our way I passed near the Golf terrain to incorporate a little bit of offroad. The narrow trail was overgrown and Guna got a wake up call when she landed on the floor, luckily not doing any harm to herself or her bike. The trails were moist in the shaded areas and the climb taking us out of the terrain was impossible, very steep and no grip for our tyres. A little bit of tarmac in and out of Basse-Wavre and soon we were at the 2 chapels of the Bois des Neulettes. For a detailed description of the Accro Bike trails and a map I refer you to my BLOG entry of the 24th of May.
The first steep climb in the Bois du Tour proved too much for us, too wet and offering no grip. But the rest of the trails were great and - the occasional puddle notwithstanding - rather dry. I had expected them to be a lot muddier. Oh well, can't complain, the track is difficult enough without mud . Some of the downhills were demanding our full attention and I was pleasantly surprised when Guna followed me on what I consider to be the trickiest of them all. Descending into the Bois de Glabais with my wheels slipping and sliding from one gully into the other, whilst trying to avoid the rubble, stones and pieces of wood . We followed the little rivulet at the bottom, instead of opting for a way around it as I did last week, and even though it was a lot wetter here there was no real difficulty or too much mud.
The continuing succession of climbing and descending makes this a real tough ride. I had warned Guna because from experience I know some people start out too fast on these tracks only to fade away by the end of the ride. But I think we kept a good speed, allowing us to enjoy the trails to the fullest without overly exerting ourselves.
The amazing landscapes - sometimes one would think to be in the Ardennes - make this a ride you enjoy even though your legs are being squeezed out with every climb. We stopped to have a little snack at regular intervals , eating and drinking is of paramount importance on long rides like these. Not to my surprise Guna chose to do the 52K version, and since I had cancelled my Ardennes ride for tomorrow I didn't mind doing the longer version today as well.

The weather was amazingly good. It had rained considerably last week but this saturday it stayed dry. It was warm with temps over 20 degrees C and even though some menacing clouds made me fear for rain at one point, the clouds later dissipated and left the warm sun to shine down on us again near the end of the ride. Only trouble was that our supply of drink was running out. So on our way back towards Overijse we stopped in Basse Wavre to fill up at the local store. Me I chose for a Coca Cola (giving me a boost of energy) , Guna went for water and something to eat. We split near Tombeek and I had to fill up again in Sint Agatha Rode - another coke. On my way home I stopped to admire a young fowl - it couldn't have been more than a week old. Arriving at home I felt tired but very pleased with my day. I believe Guna will have biked around 140K today - very impressive !

Ride Stats : 110.5K and 1285 heightmeters in 6h33mins

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