Introduction
If you think the Netherlands is just cities like Amsterdam and flat polders filled with tulips, think again. In the East of the Netherlands there are huge areas of sandy woodlands. If 
you cycle north of Wageningen for just ten minutes you are in the woods, and you can then cycle, off-road, for hours, with large areas of forest, heathland and inland dunes. You are in the Veluwe, an area popular with Dutch tourists, but little-known outside the Netherlands. For part of the area there are few restrictions on where you can go. You do not have to stick to waymarked tracks (although they do exist if you prefer that). There are restrictions south of Wolfheze (where there are vulnerable areas with rare plants and animals) and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug (the moraine area west of Veenedaal and North of Rhenen), where mountain bikers are restricted to the official routes apparently because of the high recreative pressure on the area. The military zone of the Ginkelse Heide has restricted access and in parts of the Renkumse Beekdal mountain biking is not allowed. Look out for the signs!
This site has a blog, which is normally updated every couple of weeks (you can subscribe from the RSS link at the bottom of this page or mail to mtb {at} andrewspink.nl. The most recent item is always shown on this page. There are also some pages about where you can go on your mountain bike near Wageningen, and some other information. If you want to contact me with comments or suggestions, please see the About page.
Wet woods
In the last week, we have had large quantities of rain and snow, so not surprisingly, everything was extraordinarily muddy in the woods today. There were lots of puddles, and even some areas were flooded that normally only do that once the ground is frozen. What was more surprising is that it was getting on ten degrees warmer today than yesterday. It had been forecast, but I had found that hard to believe.
I had dug out my long cycling trousers, reasoning that it was the end of November. My companion did better, putting on shorts, although he did mutter about cold water on his legs as we splashed through the puddles. I was very happy that I had worn both my winter waterproof boots and my waterproof shorts. Waterproof shorts seem pointless, but in weather like this they are a Godsend, keeping your backside nice and dry.
The conditions did make it hard going, though. Especially the sand was very clingy, with our nice grippy tyres hanging onto it as they sunk down into it. We took a strategic decision to bypass what is usually the muddiest section of the route. That was definitely the right thing to do, but we did end up going through an area of lots of unleashed dogs. They were not aggressive or anything, but they, and their owners, did clutter up the track, so that we diverted again onto a cycle path. In general, there were an awful lot of people around, especially considering the foul conditions underfoot (and under wheel). I guess that was partly due to the cold and sleet yesterday.
It might have been muddy today, but at least it was better than it would have been if we went out yesterday.
