Herent - Zonhoven

This is the route we rode today:

A family affair today — me, my brother, and my dad set out from Herent at 08:19 heading east to Zonhoven. A bit chilly at the start, but spirits were high and legs were fresh.

We kicked things off on some bike paths before the route started throwing single trails at us. And sheep! Nothing like a woolly audience to cheer you on.

What surprised me was how close to home we were and yet riding paths I’d never seen before. Always cool to discover new terrain in your own backyard.

But then… the mud. Oh, the mud. I thought I could power through a particularly swampy section. Spoiler: I could not. Had to stop dead in my tracks, and of course dad and my brother were right behind me getting the same treatment. A proper family mud bath.

The result? One shoe absolutely caked in mud. Really showcasing my decision-making skills there.

After cleaning ourselves up (mentally, at least), we climbed up to a nice viewpoint — the Vlooybergtoren. Totally worth the little side trip.

We stopped for lunch at the same little chapel where we took a break last year, except this time we were coming from the other direction. Sandwiches, banana bread, and a water bottle refill. The holy trinity of bikepacking fuel.

And then the sky decided we were having too much fun. Rain started — gently at first, like a polite warning, then increasingly less polite.

Time to suit up. We stopped to put on rain jackets, instantly transforming into a very stylish trio.

Special shoutout to my brother’s helmet rain cover — an absolute engineering marvel that covered roughly half his helmet. The other half? Fully exposed to the elements. Revolutionary stuff.

From there it was just heads down, pedal hard, get home. We got properly wet but morale never dipped. Quick stop under a bridge to refill water bottles and push on through the final stretch.

All in all — mud, rain, sheep, and good company. Can’t ask for much more from a day on the bike. And honestly, great training for our trip to the Fichtelgebirge in two weeks. If we can handle Belgian mud and surprise rain, we can handle anything. Looking forward to it!

See you next time!