North Limburg. The Land of Gravel and Sand. At least, if the North Limburg gravel cycling routes website is to be believed. After all, it is called ‘Land of Gravel and Sand’. That the title matches reality, we do agree. You have beautiful routes through the sand and gravel excavations there. On our recent visit to Landal De Vers we tested out one of these routes and came to a striking conclusion. Not only the routes in northern Limburg are finger-licking good. The gravel routes in the eastern part of Noord-Brabant, too, are what you'll love coming to Overloon for!
Brabant gravel with 66 kilometres of off-road fun
As we drive the car on the Friday of our weekend the park send up, we immediately notice something: we are in the middle of the forest. That means you can be on dirt tracks in no time. That bodes well. Our accommodation, a little further up the park also promises a lot: with a BBQ, plenty of space and a shed for storing the bikes, we can get away with it here.
We unpack the bikes, get ready and Thomas (of The Cycling Code) and I set off. Ahead of us is a 66km route over the unpaved paths of Brabant country. This should be something! The route leads us from the park into the forest and country within a few hundred metres. Endless gravel paths, with even gravel crossings fall to us. We are both from the Randstad and you just don't see much of this there. It has to be said: some paths were quite boggy (it was late November) and that did make for some serious ploughing through the mud. But, never mind, that was only for a few kilometres in total.
So the route starts from De Vers and you first dive through the Helderse Duinen. I have to say you don't see much of that on the route, but it is nice graveling. Then you go via Zwartwater and the diversion canal running there towards the forests of Sint Anthonis. That is really pure enjoyment. We make a kind of loop through the whole forest there, which puts a broad smile on our faces. A little later, we pass Strandbad ‘De Bergen’. There we briefly catch ourselves on the mini-motorbike track that is there. The owner quickly corrects us: this is not the intention! We did laugh.
Then it's on towards Molenheide. There Thomas can't hold back (again) and by the little lake he is an accomplished crosser, but also one who has to do the walk of shame. Smiles all over. THIS is also about the halfway point of our route. A little further on, at the Hoge Raam, we have to get off our bikes and use the tow ferry. Again, this is hilarity all round, if only because of the somewhat unstable ferry itself. Fortunately, we stay dry. From then on, it's delightful again through the farmlands of North Brabant. It is now mostly farmland with only a bit of forestation around Hondsberg. That's a stone's throw from our finishing point. The route totals more than 50% of gravel. That's not bad for the Netherlands.
Land of Gravel and Sand - just a stone's throw away
On Saturday, we face a nice challenge. Over 100km of graveling in the Land of Gravel and Sand. We found a nice route by Leandra Bisschops. Routemaster Thomas Bogaard has made a small adjustment to it, so we have a nice ride ahead of us. There are nine of us and that does make it extra cosy. Not only did a number of BEAT club riders come, the man behind Gravel strip.cc has descended all the way from Zeeland (the province) for our social ride.
The issue for us now is to get towards the Maasduinen. That means we start with a crossing through the Overloonsche Duinen. You can also find several cycle routes here, but as we already get enough gravel in front of our snouts, we go for the crossing over the concrete cycle paths. On the eastern side, we then make the crossing towards the ferry to Bergen, North Limburg. From there, we can pick up the route and so we do.
Boggy towards De Maasduinen
The first stretch is tough and boggy. Along the Heukelomsche beek it is very wet and mostly ploughing. That stretch is better to ride in summer. But anyway: we get through it. From then on, we set off like a condor through the Maasduinen National Park. First southwards, past Maaspark Well and the mined Leuker Lake beyond. Then, after Papenbeek, we dive back into the forest and heathland area. Here too, as on Friday, we are treated to endlessly beautiful gravel strips. As we literally form a kind of snake, we see a lot of this area. The camera is running overtime.
At the Trappenberg and De Hamert estate, it goes up a bit. Here you will also find the beautiful heathland and the typical view and image befitting De Maasduinen. From here, you also come across a nice stretch of singletrack along a lower water. Be careful though, because before you know it you're taking a refreshing dip. We shouldn't have that.
Out on the moors again
Then you trek across the heathland ground again. It sometimes feels a bit like being on the Veluwe. A little further on, you trek along the Reindersmeer lake. It is really through the sand there and if it is loose, you have to push a bit. Further on, you ride a little further along the Eendenmeer (duck lake) where it is a bit busier with walkers.
After 73 km, you can make the perfect lunch stop at the ‘Old Inn’ in Ottersum. In the original route, you start and finish here, but for us it is thus past the halfway point. We are served a nice lunch menu, but soon the question falls: ‘do you also have flan?’. It turns out so, and good example follows good practice. A good number of slices of Limburg flan, the really tasty ones, are placed on the table. We can get on with it.
The final stretch winds back towards Bergen, to cross over to Overloon. Until that stretch, you'll be presented with a few more beautiful gems of northern Limburg. See below!
At Overloon, we want to at least ride through the War Museum. You can do that, by bike, via the special cyclists' bridge and route. You then have to ride through the museum park and you get there automatically. It makes for some great images. See below:
Frank, one of our riders, breaks his derailleur pad just before the ferry. His wife, who is nearby, comes as the broom wagon to pick him up. That's part of the deal, too. We end the day with a drink at the Grand-Café Brother and Sister on the park.
Sunday finale
I took advantage of Sunday to do a nice short lap myself. After a good night's sleep another 30km exploring the unpaved surroundings. It is so gorgeous here. The route goes through the greenery again, the forest, between the trees and over a stretch of meadow that does get very boggy when it has rained a lot. Good for strength training. Also watch out when crossing the N-road, after which there is a kind of drop-off with a wild grid, you don't want to break your tyres on that. (Note: I did. A nice snake bite cut my ride short).
Landal De Vers is a luxury base
The park of Landal De Vers is located just on the outskirts of Overloon. Nicely tucked away in the woods, you'll find a spacious park, where you'll find a new section and a somewhat older section. We have a 6-person luxury accommodation, including Sauna, Green-Egg barbecue and a spacious terrace. There is space for two cars in front of the door and the shed can accommodate up to 10 bikes. The spacious living room and kitchen are nice if you are with a larger group. The two bathrooms (one downstairs, en-suite to the bedroom) and one upstairs finish it off.
At the park you will also find the restaurant Grand Café Brother and Sister, where you can have a drink as well as a nice dinner in the evening. The drink after our Saturday drive tastes extra good. There is a mini-golf, a swimming pool (forget swimming trunks...) and a mini market with some essentials. For groceries, the Plus in the village is just a few minutes’ drive or a 10-minute walk away.
For cyclists, there is a bike rental, but no sporty models there. There is, however, a fine rinse-off area, which we eagerly used after our rides. That's kind of a hygiene factor, pun intended.
