Goudsberg tour 2015

Although I had ridden the Gouodsberg tour before, I had forgotten just what a brilliant route it was. It really does meet the organisers' claim that it is one of the best tours on the Veluwe. In fact I think you could miss out the 'one of' from their claim.  It certainly requires quite some technical skill.  There are lots of twisty bits through the woods where you have to concentrate hard on your steering, with my handlebars only just fitting between the trees at some points.  There is an abundance of small trees laid (or left) across the track, so that I had done a reasonable number of bunny hops before reaching the end of the 47 km route, and above all there are the exhausting and demanding sand excavations on the Goudsberg itself.  The slopes are quite steep, 15 to 20%, and being made out of loose sand means that anything less that perfect timing with speed, and changing gears meant a walk to the top. You have to do the best with your weight distribution as well; lift the weight off your back wheel and it spins in the sand but lift your weight off the front wheel and the steep slope means it leaves the ground. But no problem, we went up and down different sections of the sand so often that there was an abundant chance to practice and get better.  Or that would have been the case if we were not getting so tired with the sheer effort of attempting the slippery sandy hills that by the end we were struggling up slopes which were really not as bad as ones we managed with less effort in the beginning.

As usual, it was very well organised, signing in went quickly and the sign posting was perfect.

Goudsberg tour

Photo of part of our group from the organiser's website.

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