Gravel ride from Breda (Ulvenhout) to Wortel Kolonie & Kolonie Merksplas gravel heaven

Route Description

Breda is my hometown and this route South is one of my go-to routes if I want a slightly longer route than the regular short ones. The route starts from Ulvenhout and heads South to a beautiful area of gravel paths near Kolonie Merksplas and Wortel Kolonie. To get there quickly, the route takes quite a direct approach where you pass some villages (Meerle) on paved roads. I made one little tweak after riding this with the camera, including a nice long gravel path through “the Elsakker” forest.

Once you get South of Meerle, the real fun starts and you quickly get to Wortel Kolonie and Kolonie Merksplas where it’s pretty much all gravel. There are one or 2 farm roads that can be muddy when wet. But once you push through there, you will enjoy yourself very much.

On the way back up you push through the forest at Chaam (Chaamse bossen), where loads of variations are possible. I chose an intermediate variation for this route, where paths will hold well even in the very rainy periods of the year. Enjoy!

• Tip: When I rode this it was a windy day after a lot of rain, but all in all I think the route held quite well. There is one farm road that was more like muddy farm land, but don’t think you went wrong there. This is your entry to the best part of the route.
• Tip: At 29,8 you pass a cute chapel, the Herman Wijns devotional chapel. It’s easy to pass here and ride on, but it’s a very nice chapel to check out and have a quick stop at.