Posbank remade

A few years ago, the Posbank route (a.k.a. Rheden or Veluwezoom) used to be one the the most popular and challenging routes in the country. The combination of the beautiful landscape and a good quantity of height-meters made it one of the most attractive places to ride. However, in recent years, nearby trails (like on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and near Ede) have been revamped and greatly improved, whilst the Posbank route gradually got eroded and overcrowded. As you have to pay to use the route, it was definitely time to do something about it. And they have certainly done that. The southern loop has been completely renewed. On the southwest part it now goes a completely different way than the steeper parts that were getting badly eroded, with some great open views over the heathland, albeit at the expense of some of the more challenging hills. This is made up for by a number (three as I write, more promised later) of extra loops which are extra challenging. I did one by mistake as unfortunately someone forgot that red and green arrows look identical for the many people who are colour-blind, but it was a fun and enjoyable mistake. 

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Posbank

The southeast part is where it has been most improved. Parts of it were with a lot of very loose sand (a colleague of mine even managed to break his collar bone there) and other parts were rather straight and boring. They have made it much more twisty and challenging, in a similar way to the other new trails in the region. They are sufficiently technical that sometimes you need to stop and look at the views, as otherwise all your concentration is taken up in staying on the trail, not to mention that you might want an excuse to get your breath back.

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Posbank woods Rheden

It is worth mentioning that the new routes mean that you go past the café at the top of the hill (the Paviljoen) rather than the visitor's centre near Rheden. That does give a more spectacular view (that's where the first photo in this blog is from), but unfortunately you cannot buy the MTB permit from there, which means either taking a diversion or buying it online beforehand. If you buy it online, you have to buy it for the whole year, you cannot buy a day-permit online. 

The northern loop has not been renewed (August 2019). That is a pity as it is rather boring. A large part of it is straight, flat, broad gravel tracks, which could quite comfortably be driven in a family car. There are some height meters, so the most fun is to be had going fast down some stretches, but otherwise it has to be seen more as a recovery (or warm-up) for the real route to the south. I do hope that sooner or later the northern loop will also be 'modernised' as well, as it is now, it is a bit of a cheek to ask money for riding it. 

The new route is very clearly signposted, but it is always a good idea to take a gps track with you. You can get that from mtbroutes.nl.

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