On the 13th of March, two cycling worlds collided: riders from Klein Verzet joined triathletes from Aloha on a group MTB ride. Anyone who wanted to give mountain biking a try was welcome to join, so the group varied from first-timers to experienced dirt-plowers.
As we gathered on Sunday morning, the weather was in our favour. The route took us south towards the Rutbeek. While the triathletes resisted the urge to start of the activity by swimming, we mastered the nice accessible and technical (and dry!) MTB trails. Immediately afterwards, the process was evaluated during the break in Buurse. Not only did this offer some tasty apple pie and coffee, but it also gave the opportunity for the riders from the different associations to mingle and get to know each other a bit better.
The adventure continued in a relaxed pace along the Buurser Beek towards Germany, mainly following the Haaksbergen MTB trails, which allowed the beginning riders to practise a bit. After looping back to repeat everyone’s favourite single track, we circled back through het Witte Veen towards Rutbeek, where the confident riders took on the skiheuvel as a final challenge before following the asphalt back to Enschede.
All in all, this ambitious crossover event was great fun (one crash aside), and a good way to get to know other cycling enthusiasts outside our own club. So hopefully, the KV+Aloha MTB ride (including apple pie) will be a new future tradition!