My best adventures of 2023

Often, the best adventures are at home. Here are my five highlights from last year:

1) As an absolute highlight, the northern loop of the Xtreme Epic Limburg. What a treat that was, despite the heat. A beautiful gravel route along the borders of north and central Limburg, the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. Lots of cyclists joined us on this adventure and some coped better than others in the heat. The word Xtreme was not in the title for nothing. I highly recommend the route, but take your time – you could easily divide it over more days. See my Epic Limburg Collections for the route that includes the southern loop. It’s ideal for a lovely bikepacking holiday in 2024.

2) Day 1 of a two-day bikepacking training trip to my native soil. The first part included the trails of Episch Limburg before following the road through the Reichswald to the north. The Achterhoek region is beautiful to gravitate through, not forgetting the municipality of Haaksbergen.

3) Day 2 of the two-day bikepacking training trip led back home. It was 270 kilometres (167 mi) of delicious gravel fun. Of course, also perfectly doable in two days, but I just love a long and tough ride. This day's route leads through Twente and Salland to the Veluwe, before crossing the rivers via Wageningen and cycling into Brabant. Here, you’ll find beautiful forest areas with occasional loose sand and lovely moorland. The last part in Belgium goes along the canal to speed things up a bit, as cycling over 500 kilometres (300 mi) in two days is tough.

4) Around Tongeren, a day’s cycling doesn't always have to be long, which is why I selected this ride among the highlights. As a cyclist, I trained around Lanaken for 15 years, but rarely went towards Tongeren because the roads there aren’t good on a road bike. With the gravel bike, however, this isn’t an issue, and with this Tour I rediscovered the beautiful roads around Tongeren. Be sure to cycle it in spring when the fruit trees are in bloom – this region is known for all its orchards and at this time of year it’s truly beautiful.

5) It's not always about cycling. We go on annual hiking holidays with the children and this year we did the Palaronda Trek, in Northern Italy, which was a great adventure. With the youngest aged five, it was a tough challenge along steep rocks, clinging to cables over rugged trails. Here, it can feel like you’re in another world. The route is highly recommended for people who are happy climbing with children and like to seek out adventure.