Mountain bike weekend in the Ardennes

In our inspiration blog, we let our guests have their say. They talk about their holiday experiences and give first-hand tips for fun things to do and interesting places to visit at their holiday destination.

With our cycling club, we usually seek out the asphalt, but a few of us are also fanatic mountain bikers. They convinced the rest to give it a try. Well, we knew it! Our mud racers had organised a weekend in the Ardennes. Not exactly the terrain for beginners, but what an experience!

The holiday home they booked at casapilot was absolutely top. Mountain bike trails started practically on the doorstep and the wellness area with steam sauna and whirlpool was just what we needed after a day on the pedals. We arrived on Friday evening, all with our own or rented mountain bikes. That evening we played cards with a beer. Never before have I gotten to know my cycling friends so well! The next morning the adventure began. The breakfast provided by the catering gave us enough energy for a morning of climbing and descending hills. Delicious too, by the way.

We started the day with a ‘warm-up’, as the experienced mountain bikers among us called it. The Carrières de la Warche course is over 20 km long, with an elevation gain of 269 metres and is described as ‘easy’. It took us about two hours. A beautiful route that first descends into the quarries along the Warche river and then bends back to Malmedy through a typical High Fens landscape. Good for beginners.

That afternoon we shifted up a gear. The Xhoffraix Panorama route – starting and finishing in the village of Xhoffraix – is only 12.4 km long, but took us more than three hours. The route is known as ‘moderately challenging’. In other words: suffering. But also enjoying the natural beauty. Dark pine forests, rocks and mountain streams... it was truly an expedition through the wilderness.

On Sunday morning we were allowed to pull out all the stops on a 36 km long route that runs from Malmedy along the Lake of Robertville and Reinhardstein castle. The beginning was especially tough, with steep climbs and 500 meters of altitude difference. After that it went a bit more relaxed and we had every opportunity to enjoy the view. For me this was the most beautiful route. Highly recommended!

As a conclusion to our weekend, the organization had planned a race session on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, but that turned out to be over budget. The alternative was certainly no worse. On Sunday afternoon we went karting at the Actioncenter at Eastkart in st -vith, which I believe is the largest kart track in Europe. Pure speed, that was also nice for a change.