Cycling route through Zwillbrock, Korenburgerveen and Groenlo: Cross country through Aunt Rikie's backyard

This is another one. A Wijnen bike tour where your eyes won't know where to start. First of all because you have to be able to switch smoothly between bike junctions and Fahrradknotenpunkten, but mainly because there is something special to see after almost every bend.

Zwillbrock. That doesn't just sound German, it is. Kreis Borken, Gemeinde Vreden. The always friendly lady of the navigation system in my car has trouble with it. I pronounce the place name in different ways - exaggerated phonetics and like an agitated Obersturmbannfuhrer - but she doesn't give a damn.'Zwilbroek\\\' I shout at the end of my tether, and damn it, she understands.'Say that then.\\\'

Flamingo's

Effortlessly she guides me to the Sankt-Franziskus, the baroque church in the heart of the hamlet, which has fewer than 250 inhabitants, but nevertheless has a huge public car park with an inviting beer garden. That is because of the flamingos that have settled here a few hundred metres further on in the Zwillbrocker Venn. The colony of large pink birds guarantees a never-ending stream of tourists. Today we leave them alone. We are going to cycle, 49 kilometres through the Munsterland and the Achterhoek. Am I crazy? Yes, because Truus always has. Such a Wijnen cycle tour always starts with a search for a white sign with the green number of the first cycle junction. Always a bit of a challenge, because you don't want to cycle in the wrong direction straight away. In this case junction 13. Now there are a lot of posts with number signs in Zwillbrock. Of walking routes, cycle routes and bridle paths. But no white sign with a green number 13. Am I crazy? Yes, because Truus is always right.

For dummies; this is Fahrradknotenpunt dreizehn! And that sign is white with a red or black number and hangs on the spot indicated by Truus opposite the church. He he, jetzt geht\\\'s los. The first three kilometers you cycle through'n Pruus. Open area, with fields and green banks. The German oncoming traffic all wear bicycle helmets and greet you just as friendly as the Dutch, who find such a headgear exaggerated.

The Fahrradknotenpunkten quickly change into familiar cycling junctions, the Achterhoek lies open before us. More specifically, the land of the Zwarte Cross east of Lichtenvoorde and Groenlo and north of Winterswijk, with Meddo as its epicentre. We cross, as it were, through the backyard of aunt Rikie, until recently the patroness of the festival.

One of the first stops along the way is the recreation area't Hilgelo. For those who want to combine cycling with a picnic or a refreshing dip, this is the perfect place. The cozy beach club MEER is located on the water, which immediately evokes a holiday feeling.

We pause on a bench by a bridge over the Beurzerbeek, in the Achterhoek hamlet of Buurse. Now, I didn't know that. The name is derived from the manor house Buurse, whose original canals are still visible on the nearby Erve Buurseman.

The church tower of Meddo looms above the corn and potato fields. In this village too, you can stretch your legs on the terrace of cafe-restaurant Spiekerman. Hop, weitermachen. Around the Korenburgerveen, via Vragender - known for the corn mill De Vier Winden and the catering empire Beneman - towards Lievelde. There at junction 80, Truus puts an exclamation mark. Aufgepasst! From here you cycle over circuit De Schans, the extensive festival site of the Zwarte Cross. They are now busy with the preparations and building the stages. The festival takes place on 18, 19, 20 and 21 July. It is better not to cycle here around that period because there is a chance that roads and paths will be closed to (bicycle) traffic.

Steam tram

Three junctions further, on the way to Groenlo, another exclamation mark. Here, pay attention that after cycling junction 85 on the Brakerweg, you take the cycle path on your right. This is the Tramweg. A straight line between Lievelde and Groenlo where a steam tram ran between 1883 and 1911. It is now a beautiful cycle path that has only recently been included in the new junction cycle routes around Groenlo.

We also take in the fortified town, where you can easily spend a day as a day tourist. You cycle right through the old centre, between the terraces to the city walls and canals, where whisper boats make a tour.

And we're not there yet. The last stage takes us past De Leemputten and through the Zwillbrocker Venn back to Zwillbrock. A beautiful ride through nature. You pass another observation hut from where you can see the flamingos. The unpaved cycle paths through the forest are swampy. In this wet summer you regularly cycle through mud and puddles. But hey, we'll have forgotten that by the Biergarten at the finish.