Geile Strecke — the Limburg divide

Discover Geile Strecke, also known as the Limburg Divide, an adventurous gravel route of over 200 km that takes you on wide, crackling gravel paths through the most beautiful natural parks between Nijmegen and Maastricht.

My love for Limburg, the Dutch province I live in, is big, really big. After I finished my masters studies at Radboud University in Nijmegen, I couldn’t wait to return home to Limburg. My love for Limburg only really blossomed once I started cycling, and it grew even bigger when I started gravel riding.

Geile what? Geile Strecke! Gei-le-Stre-cke (f;-; plural: -n): wide, almost endless section of gravel in the middle of nature, which makes your heart overflow with happiness as you cycle over it. Geile Strecke provide cyclists with a gravelgasm, a feeling I can only describe as the equivalent of a runner's high. A route full of such trails guarantees a wonderful day of adventure.

The Geile Strecke route arose on the one hand from my passion for finding the most beautiful gravel paths in Limburg. On the other hand, the inspiration came from my frustration that all cycling Dutchies flock to Valkenburg for their cycling adventures — but there is so much more beauty to be found besides Valkenburg!

From Nijmegen you find your way to Groesbeek while climbing and descending via Berg en Dal. There you reach the idyllic Sint-Jansberg, where you will already ride into Limburg. Welcome to paradise! Via numerous forest paths and gravel roads you ride to National Park de Maasduinen, a nature park overflowing with gems of unpaved, gravel roads.

Via the Groote Heide you follow the road through Venlo to the Brachterwald, where you can enjoy the beautiful, rolling hills. You’ll be dancing on the German border here. The route continues through National Park De Meinweg, which turns completely purple if you’re here at the right time of year!

In Sittard you leave Germany for the last time and are welcomed by true South Limburg gems. The kilometers here don’t come cheap: through a number of challenging climbs and descents you ride right into the city center of Maastricht via the Geulhemmerberg (known from the Amstel Gold Race) and the back of the famous Bemelerberg.

Consider this 200 km gravel route my tribute to Limburg, the place where I’ve lost myself so many times, but also found myself slightly more often. You'll be exploring Limburg one Geile Strecke and gravelgasm at a time.

The route is suitable for advanced and novice gravel riders. It is a long, but not a technical route. The Geile Strecke route is created to introduce cyclists of all levels to the beauty of Limburg gravel and the diversity of nature in the province that I’ve been calling home my whole life.

Please note that this is an A-B route. You can take the train in Maastricht to Nijmegen. Remember that you can only take your bike on the train outside peak hours and you have to buy a special bike ticket for it.