For those who were not yet convinced of the beauty of the Far North, we will add a little more. After all, the slogan is: 'nothing beats Groningen'. You can have a complete discussion about that. In another big city, they say: no words, but deeds. We put it to the test and went to the gravel bikes from Cube towards the college town. The route we had initially chosen was only 10% unpaved. Fortunately, our community is nicely active and we were able to publish a nice additional route. So we have Grunnings Gravel and more! Where do we start? At Spoke, a beautiful Shimano Service Centre in the heart of the city.
Humour and love
On the pavement of 66 Oude Boteringstraat in Groningen, there is a billboard. 'Is Martijn there too? Come take a look inside!' It's a nice invitation to actually do so. It's also a nice bit of humour. Martijn is Spaak and Spaak is Martijn. At least, if the stories are to be believed. This coffee shop, cum bike shop, race hall and starting point for a great ride is the beating bike heart of Groningen. Around the corner from the Lopende Diep and the Spilsluizen. This is basically holy ground for race lovers.
Cipollini in a lion suit
We need to go back in time for a moment. The year 2002. Groningen was 'GIROningen' for a while. In the first days of May, City and Ommeland was upside down. There were whispers then that the Pope would still come for the starting shot. That was too much of a good thing. After all, the emperor of the sprint, Mario Cipollini, was there. That was enough. His start in the famous lion suit is still on my mind. Where was I standing then? Around the corner here at Spaak, along the water. That's where the riders whizzed by. You could hear from a kilometre away whether a Rabobank rider was coming or not. A little later in the Noorderplantsoen. at an inside bend. That was not a very good idea. They skimmed right past us. Luckily all my limbs are still attached.
Back to the past and present
How a human brain can work. Riding across this water on my bike, I can see the masses of people again, including the wildly gesticulating team leader hanging out the window (!) of his car. Encouraging his riders while steering them through the narrow streets. 'Daiii, daii, daiii! Pure enjoyment. I had to look up afterwards who won that prologue again. An unknown Spaniard, Dominguez of Swiss Phonak. He never won anything, except that Prologue of the Giro in 2002. Who came second? Good old Rik Verbrugge. That it was all about Beautiful Mario that day (and the days after) is more than logical. And that Spaniard? Never heard from him again.
More than coffee and rate
The slogan 'Spaak, coffee and direction' covers the load, but then again it doesn't. Because Spaak is more than that. Of course, there is time and space for a good coffee. In our case, barista Jacco is man on duty. Doppios come smoothly out of the machine and around us everything is 'cycling'. The shop is elongated, with an in-between section for clothes, accessories and more. The back section is reserved for the workshop. The sign with Shimano Service Centre could already be seen at the door. This is where you can bring your bike for maintenance with confidence.
On to Appingedam
It's time to take the bike. The route? For road bikes, there is a beautiful route towards Appingedam. The Hanging Kitchens and nearby Basilica are the destination for a cup of coffee or a nice lunch. You ride through the vast Groningen countryside and pass towns like Ten Boer and Ten Post. In the first instance, you can take the beautiful express cycle route, where you can cycle along wonderfully, especially with a tailwind. Along the N-road too, you have plenty of room on the cycle path. Cars don't race past tightly here.
Along the water
After Ten Post, you actually drive against the water. The Damsterdiep, which connects Appingedam and Groningen and used to be important for trade, is your guide on this route. It's great rolling along the water, even with wind force 6 against. The roads are nice and wide; we encounter few other cyclists. Could that have something to do with the temperatures? Or with the strong wind? Real Groningers don't let a bit of wind get them down. Perhaps this is also the charm of this part of the Netherlands. Here you will find the peace and quiet you would so much like on a 'round Hoep'.
Appingedam
The Eems Delta, the region to which Appingedam belongs, comes off worst in the image. Windmills, shrinking region, shaking ground, poverty. Just to name a few terms. Appingedam is the pearl of this region. A beautiful medieval town with a protected townscape, making it ideal for a stopover on our longer route today. Earlier you could read about our findings from restaurant the Basilica in the city centre. Just around the corner you will find the typical hanging kitchens. This unique sight shows ingenuity. Due to lack of space, residents built kitchens above the Damsterdiep.
Zeerijp and Loppersum
The route goes up from here, first towards Holwierde before winding through the country towards Krewerd and Arwerd. Shall we take the right turn towards Leermens? Again, it's 'what's in a name'. We are now driving towards Eenum and Zeerijp, where in an earlier past, at Cafe Nastrovja, the bottles of beer stood on the edge of the billiard table. Now, only the signboard and the old cigarette machine remind us of that.
Back to Sta(rt)(d)
From Loppersum, we follow a beautiful winding path along the water. Here it is nice to take pictures. Then we ride in a straight line through the open fields towards Thesinge. Remember this name well, because here you'll find perhaps the most beautiful gravel strip in this part of Groningen. See also our route further on in this article. From Thesinge, we can already see the city, the characteristic building of the Gasunie and 'd'Olle Grieze'. Before you really enter the urban jungle, there is a nice piece of nature at Kardinge along. Landscaped, admittedly, but it could do with less. Once back at Spaak, coffee with homemade cake and/or lunch will taste very good!
Off (Road) we go
Now for our adventure. How are we going to find the most off-road kilometres here, among the vast fields and meadows? We see many farm tracks but they dead-end in ditches or end among sugar beet and potatoes. Also nice, but that is not what we are looking for. A tip from Harmen Piekema eventually brings us further on. Where we wanted to go straight on, you actually have to turn right! The beautiful gravel strips of the Groningen countryside lie southwest of the city. First, however, we cross the beautiful strip near Thesinge, which seems almost built for graveling. A wide, strip that you can attack nicely.
Fortune seekers
The off-road route leads right towards the Schildmeer, a gem to drive by. In fine weather and a setting sun, it is pure enjoyment, where you will trip over the heads on sunny Sundays. But isn't that the case with every busy tourist attraction? For the truly lucky, you'll find the four-leaf clover monument on the south side of the lake. Pay attention, too, as you drive past the Duurswold golf course here, before you know it the balls will fly around your ears. By the way, want to stop for a nice coffee? In the marina at Boei 12 you will find Schildmeer beach pavilion, though only open with nice weather. So we were a little less lucky. For a good lunch at the weekend stop at Cape Steendam.
Back to Spoke
Before rolling back into town, we feast our eyes at 't Roegwold. A beautiful area, with worldly views. That you can also do some beautiful birdwatching here in the region should now no longer be a secret. We could not reproduce Wilco van der Laan's photo. Very beautiful!
Harkstede's church is the last highlight on this route. Harkstede is also home to the water sports course, where I, Sander, took some more infamous rowing strokes. The fact that there is a wind farm next to the track does not bode well. Via Engelbert, the town is back in sight.
Routes Ultegra and GRX series
You can find the routes of the above tours and all other routes of the Shimano Ultegra and GRX series on our komoot account. Enjoy!
2 responses
Both routes ridden October 24 from Zeerijp. The road trip passes by. For the gravel route, I had to cycle 13 km to Schildwolde. That approach and exit also had some nice unpaved sections. The road tour is beautiful and the gravel tour requires some extra effort, especially the stretches through grassland and the nature reserve. They are good at closing roads here in Groningen, but less good at immediately putting up diversions signs. This made the gravel route 15 km longer. Anyway: thanks, I enjoyed both routes.
yes nice is that huh! Thanks for the feedback!