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Anhée
This page was created 27th November 2011

Wikipedia

Trail setup

A slightly confusing network of trails with masses of overlappings (the majority of them in the same direction). There are nine trails. All start out from Anhée; four trails start out together to the southwest, another three head up north along the river La Meuse, and two take a loop into the southeast along the river.

Map and signage

The 1:25,000-scale map I purchased once upon a time seems to have been updated. The Tourist Office of the Anhée, Meuse and Molignée is offering since December 2010 a new map of the area with 28 (!) mountainbike loops.

No difficulty levels are indicated on the map I have.

Signage is confusing because NORMALLY the triangle part of the signage shows the direction. Not here. I also found the signage too scarce in places.

Please note, the numbering of trails in the above table is my doing, to facilitate the descriptions below. Trails are NOT numbered on the official map nor out in nature.

Trail number 1 is the longest distance available in Anhée. On the map it is noted as being 50 kilometres long, but from the reviews on www.mtbroutes.be I deduct that the 50 km is longer than that, between 65 and 75 km. In the southeast it overlaps (in the same direction) only with trail number 9. In the southwest it trails on its own through villages of Sosoye, Maredret and Denée. All other parts it overlaps with a mix of the shorter trails, but also at least half of the distance of trail number 2.

Trail number 2 overlaps a lot with the shorter trails. In addition to this, at least half of its distance is covered by trail number 1 (in the same direction).

Trail numer 3 is a shorter version of trail number 2.

Trail number 4 is a shorter version of trail number 3.

Trail number 5 starts out north in anti-clockwise direction along the river La Meuse. It loops through village of Annevoie-Rouillon in the north before it loops back to Anhée.

Trail number 6 is basically the same as trail number 5, except for a seemingly longer route on the way back to Anhée, only for the two trails to overlap again the last bit back to Anhée.

Trail number 7 is a shorter variant of trail number 6. The second half of its distance it is overlapped by trails number 6 and 8.

Trail number 8 overlaps maybe half of the distance of trail number 2. It shortcuts the northwestern loop of trail number 2, instead heads north, and rejoins trails number 1 and 2 for the climb up to Point de vue des Sept Meuses, and for the subsequent highly eroded switchback down to village of Annevoie-Rouillon. After this, it trails south along the river La Meuse. It overlaps the second half of trail number 7 back into Anhée.

Trail number 9 starts out south along the river La Meuse in clockwise direction. All of its distance is also covered by trail number 1, but except for that it loops all by itself.

Notes

Theoretical favourites: I tried out trail number 8 in July 2010, and it is no longer neither theoretical nor a favourite.

To cover as much official trail bits as possible without riding anything twice (which I do not like), the following combination could be interesting: Trail number 4, trail number 9 and trail number number 5. However, as reviews on www.mtbroutes.be convey that the first half of trail number 1 is way too much tarmac ... maybe not trail number 9.