Destruction of the LummaLoop

First mtb ride in a while today, first solo ride in even longer, first ride on MY lummaloop in a couple months.  A couple consecutive days of dry weather created pretty tasty trail conditions, not too muddy but packed and a little tacky.  Perfect for ripping around on the single speed.

Much to my dismay the tree-clearing work seems to have been turned up to eleven, and there were huge sections of trail or double track that were wiped out by tractors going in and out. 

don't adjust your screen, that's the belgian sky.  no sign of contrast anywhere

I've heard that there are some pretty heavy legal blocks to cutting trees; I've heard stories of stiff tree-cutting fines and I know that after heavy windstorms, property owners get a small window of reprieve to clear "dangerous foliage".  However what's been going on in Lummen for the last year is different, it's systematic clearing.  Furthermore, they seem to be driving army tanks or 18-wheel transport trailers through here, making the trails in many places unrideable, and just plain ugly.

Sign of the times?  I don't know what kind of representation this forest gets, but as one of the only significant stand of trees in the area, it's a shame to see it treated like this, especially considering the amount of recreational use it sees.

Progress, I guess that's what they call it.  So there are some small amendments to my loop now, suffice it to say.  Let's hope they leave well enough alone and let the forest recover.

What you might see on the trail in BE

They have their own style here, you have to respect it.  It's just not like anywhere else.  XC racing rigs are king but you'll see the darndest contraptions...

Yes, this is a pink and purple Giant from perhaps the jurassic period.  Note the matching quilled stem in pink.  Note also that he passed and dropped me.

Why get a riser bar when you can add 20 centimeters of spacers?

I like to call this one the un-riser bar.

Alex and Luc kick my butt

Possibly my last toertocht in Belgium for a while, the Linkhout edition.  A 4-star tocht, so they say.  Linkhout is a division of my town Lummen so I could easily ride the bike there in the morning...the bike that I finished assembling 30 minutes before departure.  Can't make it too easy.

After weeks of crappy weather the belgians were out in force on a reasonably sunny, and not too muddy, sunday.  The trails around Lummen are pretty well known and these tochts are always popular.
Alex was pimped out with new waterproof pants and his 11-euro aldi jacket.
You know it's going to be a good toertocht when they are giving out jager shots at the start!
I learned my lesson on the Lummen tocht - hard, frozen trails and lots of flat sections = no fun on the single speed.  So today I saddled up on the 29er.  Nice big 2.3" tires just to scare away the belgians.
Here Luc adjusts his riding garments.  Despite working at Ridley for 4-5 years, Luc still has one bike - the universal cross bike.  A simple tire change transforms his steed from toertocht destroyer to group road ride attacker.
Halfway point!
Some thirsty belgians out there...
Here are two of them.  Getting some warm and salty soup on a frozen day of riding is pretty deeply satisfying.
Fluorescent green sports drink, anyone?
And afterwards, into the soccer field bar (start/finish of the event) for a cup of soup and maybe something to drink.  All in all, an excellent ride!

Baking not biking

Geen gusting for biking today, trails are muddy, stayed indoors and made this instead.

Unemployment ain't so bad.

It's practically summer in Belgium

Yes, the rain is here.  It's amazing what 3 degrees celsius can feel like after a few weeks of sub-zero weather.  I almost felt like riding in short sleeves.  Alas, skies are cloudy and trails are muddy which means I'm washing my bike again.

Today I took the  cross bike out for one last snow ride, the wet snow gave more traction.  But it was still a wintery mess around Diest, the river was still mostly frozen, minor roads still covered in ice and snow...

Why the cross bike?  Usually I would buzz around on the 29er, but on my last ride a giant stick jumped up and snapped off my brake lever.  So until I get my lazy butt into the garage to do some repairs, no 29er riding for a while....

Ivan's crash

Flipping through the photo album, I come across Ivan's famous crash from February 2007.  I was in LA and every time I'm in LA I visit Ivan and Jenise (and Ike) and make sure to ride Ivan's Trail.  Ivan's Trail (as dubbed by the local mtb community in Santa Clarita) is one of the most fun local loops I've done, it's about an hour and fifteen mintues long with a gradual dirt road climb, and a ridge-line gnarly singletrack descent.  It's beautiful.

Mike P was with me and we were determined to ride Ivan's trail despite the fact that Ivan only had 2 mtbs - a 40-pound DH bike and a dirt jumper.  Then Ivan found the solution - he proposed to ride his beach cruiser.  Sounded like a great idea at the time.

The whole crew set out, Jenise came with us with Ivan in the sidecar as far as the trailhead.  We were a surly-looking bunch.
Ivan was looking tough on the beach cruiser.  With only one gear and a rear coaster brake, it was going to be a pretty monumental task.  Was he up to it?
Ivan is taking the pictures on the climb because he was KILLING us on the beach cruiser.  With only one gear, he stormed up the hills while Mike and I took our time in tiny gears.  
The DH bike was not suuuuper fun to ride up...but it went.
And eventually we made it to the top.  There's a concrete platform of what used to be a cottage (or what was going to be a cottage), with big, sweeping views of the mountain ranges north of Los Angeles.
Spirits were high before the descent.
Ivan schooled us even more on the descent.  The long wheel base and huge tires of the cruiser made it extremely stable and fast on the trail.  

Was this a warning sign?

Mike and I pause to laugh at Ivan's first crash.

So we got going again.  Trail conditions were loose and fast and we were ripping it up.  Bringing the DH bike was beginning to pay dividends.  Here Mike was bombing a steep section.

Here is Ivan, again flying on the cruiser.  We made it to the very end of the trail with one last sketchy section left.  It was about a 30-meter trail that was very very steep and all loose, impossible to get any traction and hard to keep the wheels turning.

Ivan started and I turned to talk to Mike when all of a sudden there was a scream - the coaster brake, all the grease cooked out, was locked and he was heading at about 30kph straight into a concrete wall at the bottom of the descent. 

He hit the wall head on at full speed, the bike bounced, Ivan bounced, laid on the ground, and screamed.  After all the commotion and ambulances, Ivan thought he was ok, only to find out that he had 5 broken ribs and some internal bleeding.......nothing more, thank goodness.  If it had been me, I would be dead for sure.

Just goes to show - wear your helmet.