Gravel in South of Limburg
Everybody who loves to ride on gravel, of course has his own definition of what gravel is. To me gravel is almost everything that is not an asphalt road. That said, when creating gravel routes, I try to stay away from the single tracks in the forests and a good gravel route, preferably gives you enough room to ride as a duo next to each other. Because to me gravel is enjoying nature together, it is not how fast you can ride.
Then there is the difference in gravel roads in for example the Veluwe or in the South of Limburg. When riding in the Veluwe, the gravel roads are mostly flat and smooth fine grained gravel. Here in the South of Limburg, gravel roads are usually quite a bit rougher. Because of the hills, a lot of sand washes away when it rains, sometimes leaving a very rocky road. So be prepared when coming to the South of Limburg, usually you are better suited with tires of 40mm or wider. Also keep in mind that sometimes the downhills or uphills can be quite tricky because of all the gutters created by the rain streaming from the hills.
When creating gravel routes I have few criteria when creating them:
- Must contain at least one coffee stop.
- Should avoid MTB single tracks.
- As least as possible asphalt
- Should be a nice loop and not make a thousand turns just to catch every path there is.
- Beautiful views are mandatory.
With all that in mind I’ve created a number of routes for you to ride in the South of Limburg and split them in to three sections: Easy, Medium and Heavy. Click on each to get a list of routes.
For the easy routes I tried to collect routes that don’t contain very technical sections. I think these routes should be easily ridable for anyone owning a bike, wether it is your first ride on a gravel bike or you’re a long time gravel hero. Tyre tip: 35mm and more.
The medium section contains rides that are more suited for the experienced rider. They might contain some technical climbs and downhills, but certainly not MTB style. I think 35mm tires is do-able, but 40+mm would be easier. If you’re not that technical, you can still do the downhills without too much difficulty if you just take it slow.
The heavy section is for the well trained gravel rider. Technically these are just medium tracks but much longer and more climbing in total, though some parts might contain some downhills that require a bit more skilled rider and can sometimes be very rocky roads. But I ride them my self with my Kona Rove NRB DL with 47mm tires and my girlfriend rides with 42mm tires.
Customised routes
If you can’t find a ride suited for your needs, just send me an e-mail (see the footer of this page) and I can create one matching your requirements. Just tell me how long the route should be, starting point, difficulty and how trained you are.