Mountain bike trails --- www.minna.eu.com| Trails| Belgium| Flemish Brabant| Oud-Heverleel

Oud-Heverlee

Getting there (from Brussels, Belgium)

1. Take the E40 towards Leuven.
2. Take exit 23 towards Haasrode/Bierbeek/Blanden.
3. Take the next right into Expresweg (N25).
4. Take (the fourth) right into Naamsesteenweg (N251), and shortly thereafter left into Onze-Lieve-Vrouwstraat.
5. Continue straight on and you should shortly be in Maurits Noëstraat. You will have the Zoet Water ponds on your left, and the mountain bike starting point (with map) on your right, in a smallish parking lot belonging to the cultural center de Roosenberg (15, Maurits Noëstraat).

Trail setup

Official starting point is Mauritz¨Noëstraat 15, 3050 OUD-HEVERLEE. Alternative starting points are Sports Centre, Hertogstraat 198, 3001 HEVERLEE (green trail) and Sports Centre, Speelpleinstraat 10, 3360 BIERBEEK (red trail).

The three loops are easily combined with each other and then give you a pleasant ride of about 48 km (and 420 hm).

Signage and map

Check out www.mtbroutes.be for an excellent overview and gps files.

Signage ranges from excellent to mediocre. In general signs could have been placed a little closer to each other as not every crossing is clearly indicated. It seems that if there is no indication, you are to continue straight. But how do you know you just didn't miss out on a sign? Bring a map.

Interconnecting trails

In the southwest corner of the blue loop, you have yellow signage to connect you with the Overijse trails.

Notes

The Oud-Heverlee permanent mountain bike loops are in no way representative of the trails in forest of Meerdaelwoud. In bright contrast to forest of Forêt de Soignes there are supposed to be lots and lots of hilly, challenging sections, open for bikers that have time and patience to find them by themselves. The forestry department seems to have chosen to not include these into the official mountain bike loops.

Only a few sections on these loops are technically challenging. Perfect opportunity for you to walk and to rest your butt from the saddle, should you only be there for the less-technical alternative of a ride.

The red loop has one stony, rocky, rooty downhill à la Overijse style.

The blue loop is the toughest but still only two sections to make your eyes sparkle; a steep, long uphill where you have to work on balance/traction at the end, and a longlong, not very steep uphill with lots and lots of sand, making you struggle to keep up on your bike. The latter, located in the southeast part of the blue loop, is frequented by horse riders.