With the glorious weather still holding on for at least one more day I decided to try out the Nandrin trails. With not a single drop of rain this month they were sure to be dry, fast and of course tricky. While everyone was returning back to work or school after the Easter holiday it felt a little perverse to take a day off and go out biking. I had asked Julie (aka "Miss Piggy" at a certain mountainbike forum ) if she wanted to accompany me. Julie has promised me to guide me around in her neck of the woods later this year so I thought I would return the favor by showing her some of the trails I like. Nandrin lies just south-east of Huy, and the trails over there are certainly not among the toughest around but the constant climbing - sometimes very steep - and descending sometimes fast, sometimes a little bit more technical - makes it a great training area, with some lovely views of nice countryside. It also incorporates some nice little singletracks and because the trails are relatively unknown, they are at times almost overgrown, especially in the summer season. We met up at the village center and set off around 9.30. The sun was already well out, painting the "High Condroz" landscapes in full technicolor. Picture a mixture of the young green on the trees and in the pastures , the bright yellow fields of Rapeseed (canola) and the browns, grays and whites of the trails that meander through it. I usually interconnect two routes here, the White and the Red. These routes are remnants of some marked trails in the area. There is a map at the start of the routes and there used to be a little shop where you could get an A4 with the trails on them. I have heard the villages library still carries copies of this map. I made a roadbook of these trails some years ago, roadbook which can still be found HERE (click) The White route takes us directly onto a long steady climb passing through a forest. I usually skip this section because of the mud but today there would be no problem riding this trail. A stretch of wet grass follows, we cross a tarmac road and are plunged again into a forest. A little further we get a nice rollercoaster ride - a fast downhill followed by a steep uphill section. And so it continues for the first 15K, up and down, with some nice landscapes to feast our eyes on. After that the trail mellows out a bit as we stay more or less on the plateau. Around 20K into the ride we join the Red route and things get more interesting again. Little overgrown trails alongside fields bring us into the forest again and the track undulates once again up and down, up and down. We have a little break just before we attack what I consider to be the best part of these routes. A great loop that starts out with a beautiful singletrack alongside a little river soon followed by a wider track with some nasty stones protruding from it- takes us gradually down in the direction of the Meuse valley. At our right we see a high rocky outcrop we would meet again, but not without some effort. A stretch of unavoidable tarmac (Ive checked all sideroads are either private or cul-de-sac) brings us deeper down into a lush and green valley . Suddenly a sharp turn to the right onto a forest road and after crossing the stream we are at the bottom of a long and steep uphill. About 1.6 K and it brings us some 100 meters higher. Nice, rocky and steep. I have seen a lot of people walk here but Julie is a strong climber and the pace she sets is just right for me. After that we come onto a bigger track which still goes upwards but not as steep. Right turn, some forest tracks which soon becomes a singletrack that drops down towards the rocky outcrop we saw before. Here we stop to take some pictures and admire the view. Another singletrack follows which brings us back within some 150 meters from the entrance of this fine loop. Anyone up for a second round? Not today so we continue along the red trail. The trail works its way over two more hills, dropping down along a small track and working its way upwards again on an even narrower track between two fields. Room enough but you have to concentrate on the trail and forget about the barbed wire that keeps the cattle into the fields and us away from them. We come into a small village and surely enough, after a downhill stretch there is another climb waiting, this time in a hollow road into a forest. We have been keeping quite a good pace throughout the ride. Julie is a strong rider and her pace suits me very well. The tracks were dry, the occasional puddle notwithstanding. Still our attention was needed, as usual in the descents, but also there were gullies that lay in wait under the high grass or some roots or timber which demanded us to keep alert at all times.
So I think Miss Piggy and this Big Bad Wolf had a good day out together. Our speeds were very well matched, both on the uphill and on the downhill stretches. I am really looking forward to see what nice trails Julie has to offer me in her neck of the woods.
