I took the opportunity to ride to Bossut Gottechain again this evening to have a look at what a mountainbike event can do when the conditions are bad. The organised ride of Bierbeek had around 1400 starters, the big majority choosing the 45K distance. After the first rest stop in Gottechain the bikers had to come down a tarmac road and then take a left turn into a road between two fields. This road is bad at  the best of times but with the rain and the hundreds of bike wheels it became a nightmare at the end of the track, where the field road reaches a tarmac road. I posted a pic of the bikers passing over it last sunday, and here is what it looks like viewed from the exit.

As you can see, the tracks has become 50 metres wide, instead of its usual 3 metres. This is because in their attempt to keep the tyres rolling, bikers are always looking for some place where they still have traction, in this case, where no-one has ridden before. So far the owner of the field has not formulated a complaint but I would not be surprised if he wants to recuperate for the loss of his young grain that has been mashed but a myriad knobbies. At a certain point the organisers did re-rout the track over an alternative path, avoiding this mud-trap. Maybe that decision should have been taken earlier. It is very difficult to judge the state of each and every track along the 45K distance. It must be a learning point for future years. If the rains come down in the days before the event, this field needs to be avoided.
I completed todays' ride riding past the rest stop area and returning over Gottechain and Hamme Mille. I had to hurry because around 5.15pm the dusk began to fall. The time has come to take the lights out.
On another note, the lost track of last friday, when my garmin froze, has been added to todays ride ! So the amount of heightmeters is a bit high in comparison to the Polars' . But this just makes up for what I lost last Friday.

Ride Stats : 29K and 245/390 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 1h21mins