Looked like it was going to rain so I decided to take advantage of the dry weather to do another loop or two in the Meerdael Forest. Starting on the Blue BLOSO  I encountered Alain De Munter, an old Blancs Gilets friend from the days when I was still racing MTB marathons.  He was at the Zoete Waters and looking for the start of the Blue BLOSO trail. I decided to point him in the right direction. We started out together on the trail. Now, Alain has always been a very strong rider and it was quite a challenge to try and keep up with him. He was riding at a more or less leisurely pace, I was seeing stars trying to follow him, especially on the uphills. At the Savenel I could follow him because he didn't look at ease in the deep sand. When we reached the Blue/Red split, we went our different way. He wanted to add the Red route and I wanted to stay on the Blue Bloso.
So I finished the Blue and then turned the Merlin around for the ride back, following the same trail but in the opposite direction. I felt strong and made a good workout of the several climbs. The bike performed well with the suspensions set at 95psi.

Near the end of the Blue, when I was riding back home, I encountered Alain again. He had again lost his way so I pointed him towards the Zoete Waters and from there he had to ride back to his home in Huldenberg. I hope he got home before the rain started and dusk fell. It was nice to meet him again and chat up on old Paris Roubaix VTT and other epic rides he and/or I did.

Ride Stats : 38.5K and 445/490 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h49mins

7533/80190