Wierden
The last time I cycled the official route at Wierden it was remarkably unpleasant weather with large quantities of rain and wind making the tracks into a sort of nasty sandpaper that got everywhere. Last Sunday it could not have been more different. Blue skies, sunshine, little or no wind - a beautiful spring day. The route has also been improved in the last years by adding some extra bits in the woods. The route consists of bits of woodland with bendy singletrack connected with longish stretches of tarmac in between giving a chance for recovery and to admire the pretty traditional rural landscape. The people who made the track have been very creative, with some sections of singletrack squeezed into the middle of what is barely more than a wide hedge between roads. The recovery on the roads is not such a problem as the bits in the woodlands are designed to challenge you to cycle as fast as possible round the bends, with built-up cambers and so on. The best bit is without doubt the section just to the north of Wierden, by the 'Lageveld' recreational area, with a 4km long section of fun twisty bits as shown in the photo below. It is definitely worthwhile downloading the route as otherwise it is easy to miss the good bits. The route on the site is 31 km, but there are signs to an extra 10 km section that doesn't so far seem to have a GPS route. The reviews there are very mixed, some people are clearly a bit disappointed by all the tarmac, but I think that is a matter of expectation, if you know that is the case you can enjoy the singletrack in the woodland and in the sections on the road just sit back and enjoy the landscape.
