Sunny weather this morning but with a stiff northeasterly breeze it was not very warm except when you were in the sun and sheltered from the wind. I decided to do the 3 Meerdael Bloso's . The Merlin was setup with a bit more pressure in the tyres - Nobby Nic 2.2 - so they wouldn't give as much in corners on hardpack. With 2 bars or less these tires have a tendency to roll which makes cornering on hard soils a bit spooky at times. But with the extra pressure that spooky feeling was gone.
There was a lot of activity on the trails today. The Week of the Forest has started and also the fine weather must have drawn out a lot of people. I was maintaining a good tempo which made for some scary moments when people forgot they were in Belgium and took the left side of the road in corners. Thank God for disc brakes and quick reactions. My legs felt good and I was able to keep the pace high. On the climbs I was backing off a bit to keep the heartrate low. Some bikers passed me, but I also passed some other bikers. Mainly in the downhills where the Merlin is at ease. The leaves are starting to fall and this nearly got me into trouble when my front wheel washed away on a hidden boulder. But I could keep the rubber side down with a quick reaction .

When the kilometers moved under my wheels, the temperatures became more friendly but with an average temperature of 14 degrees I was glad to have long sleeves all over.A good warm bath and a stretching session for my leg, pelvis and lower back muscles completed this fine training session.

Ride Stats : 55K and 485/540 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 2h39mins

7456/79295