ADVENTURE
The Komoot women’s rally is something I have had my eye on for years, applying a few times, but unfortunately not making the cut. When I saw the social post passing by to join the Komoot x IRIS women’s weekender in the Netherlands, I literally jumped out of my chair for the opportunity to join. Every day after the closing date for entries to apply, I was refreshing my email account hoping and wishing I had scored a spot on the trip. When the email arrived from Carola (Komoot Community manager) that I had won myself a spot, I actually started crying. The past year has been so tough in my personal life, and I just really wanted the chance to go away for a few days to reset, seek adventure and meet other like minded individuals. Once my husband gave me the thumbs up to watch the kids for the 3 days I would be away, I immediately started googling everything about bikepacking.
Departure from Kamu, Breda and off we go!
One of the many wonderful things about joining this trip was the community that formed from the get go. The Whatsapp group organised by Komoot was such a useful resource for those of us who were new to the bikepacking world. I guess I was a little nervous about a few things before the trip. For one, I am still breastfeeding my little one, who is only just 6 months old, so I wasn’t sure how the logistics would work around needing to pump every 4 hours. I figured that I would maybe end up riding on my own due to my ‘schedule’, which was fine, it would be another part of the adventure! As it turned out, there were a couple of other young mothers joining, so the guilt I was carrying about leaving my kids was immediately pushed aside. All the women joining were so supportive of what I was doing, that I was never left behind, and quite often our coffee/ lunch stops were planned around my ‘schedule’.
Loren exploring new roads and making new friends.
The 3-day bikepacking trip that traversed along the Belgium and Dutch border really had a little bit of everything in terms of terrain and surface. From challenging sandy farm roads to almost near perfect gravel to windy single track in the forest, we got a taste of some of the best on offer in the regions of North Brabant and Limburg. Each day I tried to ride with different people, but groups did form naturally based on fitness and skill level, which was always going to happen. Having the whole day to ride meant we could take our time in the morning packing up, plotting out our coffee/food stops, made easy by the search features available in Komoot. The group chat was key in sharing anything yummy or interesting that someone had come across on the route! The evenings were a time where all groups came together, sometimes around a shared meal to laugh and talk about our experiences during the day, and plan our adventure for the next day.
What I really loved about this trip was not only the fantastic riding, but the incredible women I got to spend the whole day adventuring with. I was so inspired by the stories that were told by some of the more experienced bikepackers, and realised that yes, this is actually something I can do, and I should do more of in the future. As a former bike racer, it has been hard for me to switch my mentality from being performance driven to just enjoying the bike and what it can offer – adventure. The weekender was the perfect experience to dip my toes into the world of bike packing. As a mum of two young boys, I’m looking forward to being able to share these kinds of experiences with my kids. I’ve caught the bikepacking bug, and I cannot wait to plan my next adventure!
All photos by the fastest photographer on two wheels: Lian van Leeuwen
Want to ride the Lowlands route yourself? Check out the full route on komoot: