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.
Damp
There was enough rain that no one else from the club wanted to come cycling this morning. It was supposed to be ten degrees, but in fact it was only 5-6 degrees, according to my bike computer. Nevertheless, I had shorts on, the fisrt time this year, and I wasn't cold. Or maybe a little, but not my legs. I wore my Sealskin gloves and my hands stayed 100% dry so that was great. My feet got wetter and wetter though, due to the rain running off my legs.
I thought that I would have the woods to myself, but to my surprise there were all sorts of dog walkers, groups of people running and walking. Not a mountain biker to be seen, though.
The damp conditions meant that the mosses showed up beautifully on the tree trunks. I remembered learning once that moss grows on the North side of trees, and sure enough, as I swept through the woods, that did indeed seem to be the case.
Last week, I was still recovering from the flu, and quite weak. It was great to find that today I seemed to have recovered a bit of power in my legs. With all the mud around, that was needed, as well.
