Cleaned my Moots yesterday evening to make sure it was in tip top shape for today. I wanted to do a long ride incorporating the Overijse Bloso trails. I set out around 10am with a temperature of 0 degrees C on the Polar. It was not going to get a lot warmer but the sun was shining from time to time and I had dressed well for the occasion. I usually connect to the Overijse trails in Sint Agatha Rode and today was no exception. Coming down from the Radarweg I saw the trails laying in front of me. I decided to ride the trails in the reverse direction to keep things fresh and challenging.

Around Ottenburg I improvised to replace the steep steps uphill with another one. Coming up from Archennes I rode back down into the valley and followed the Bloso trail in the right direction up to Ottenburg. By now I had accomodated well to the fresh temperatures and the bike performed in its usual - flawless - way. Riding the trails in the reverse direction is something I can recommend to everyone. The Overijse trails are even more of a challenge because now there are a couple of really tough climbs. The climb up Reutenbeek or the one out of Overijse in the hollow road leading up to Bisdom for example. That last one was a real challenge and the wet leaves made it very difficult to find grip on the really steep parts. But I managed them all, to my satisfaction. The trail was moist and sometimes - mostly in the fields - it became also wet, with some slippery and splashy mud. The mud made it more challenging to try to keep the bike under control.

When I came near the end of the loop I added another climb into the Sint Agatha Rode Bos before heading towards the point where I started some 32K ago. When I rode back to Sint Joris Weert another biker came riding next to me. I noticed he was riding a Granville Hti titanium bike and we chatted a while before our roads separated when I turned towards Nethen and he was aiming for Weert.
In the Meerdael Forest now and I still felt I could continue for a while, trying to make this another 1000+ ride. The Meerdael trails were dryer and I had a lot of fun finding hills and riding them. I paused for a while to take a picture at the gate leading into the forest coming from the Savenel estate. Another biker was trying to climb a steep hill nearby and I decided to try it as well. It took some effort but I made it , even clearing the 40cm step at the end. Well done, me.

I now continued towards the Warande valley, crossing the Naamsesteenweg and up the hill towards the Kanselierdreef. When I arrived in Mollendaalbos I did last fridays' loop again in and out of the forest and saw the heightmeter marker hit the 1000. That was the signal to return home, but not before riding up to Blandens' highest point, the Wijngaardberg.

Ride Stats : 66K and 995/1125 (Polar/Garmin) in 4h19mins

8566/92010