Mountain bike route Texel
If you read the review of the Texel mountain bike route on MTBroutes.nl, you will find some negative comments. If you are hoping for a technical trail or a lot of elevation, then I can understand that you might find the Texel route disappointing. It is also clearly the case that only about 1/3 of the track (so half the time) is off road. But if you know that in advance, then this is a great track. That also depends on which route you take. The official route is 100 km long, but it is quite easy to take some short cuts and of course to make sure you cut the tarmac, not the dunes. Whichever route you take, make sure you have a GPS; the signs are mostly good, but there are a few missing.
The sections that are off road are really good. Lots of twisting and turning and ups and downs, mostly in a nice species-rich mixed woodland and otherwise in and along the dunes. A lot of the rest of the route is along the dikes, which either has dramatic views out over the sea, or runs alongside some nature reserves for birds just inside the dike. As one of the Frisian islands, Texel is well-known for its birds, including waders (like the Ruddy Turnstone below), but also things like the Avocet and Spoonbills. The only problem is that as you are whizzing along on your bike, there is no time to look properly at the birds, so I had to go back later with a proper camera and tripod to take the photo below.
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The dune slacks are full of all sorts of interesting plants. We visited Texel in September and, to be honest, I had not really expected anything to be in flower. But I was pleasantly mistaken. Not only was there quite a lot out, but we even saw some really quite rare plants like the Erigeron acris (Blue Fleabane) below, which I had never seen before. Very exciting! Like with the birds, it was a matter of going back later to get a decent photo.
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In summary, if you are expecting a fair quantity of tarmac, then the dramatic landscapes, diverse plants and animals and wonderful track through the dunes means that this is a great track.
