Our Own "Tour de Flanders"

Part of the 2 weeks we were in Belgium before setting out on our tour towards the south of France, we did our own Tour de Flanders. Cycling through most of Flanders and visiting family and friends on our way. It was a great way of visiting our own country, and an even greater way to spend a good time with people close to us. Usually when coming to Belgium, it's a whirlwind tour of visits, often combining many people in one evening, and often combining it with work during the day as well. This time, we're staying longer so we can spend more time with all separately, and I'm not working now!

When cycling in Belgium, you can't miss this: a field of hop!

Typical view of this tour: fields, nice cycling road, houses in the background

But also this: green, tree-lined unsealed road in good condition 

Cycling our way around, we used the cycling network most of the time. You select start and end point of a journey, and get a list of numbered nodes to follow to get from A to B. On every junction on the way, there will be a sign, to either point out the number of the next node, or when it is a node it will show you the options with the next nodes you can go to. So once you have your list of numbers, you basically follow the list and it will get you where you want to go. It's simple, but brilliant! Most of these cycling routes are on dedicated cycling paths, so on top of it it's very pleasant riding. The only downside I can think of, is that it will usually be a longer way to get from A to B than if you follow the roads.

The cycling network, here at node 93 with a choice to go towards 98 or 26

We even had a few river crossings with small ferries!

Flanders canals

And of course: poppies

Cycling through Belgium, there were some interesting observations for us. Yes, it's our own country, nevertheless we have lived abroad for many years and also, when cycling you see it differently. It's hard to describe in a short post... Here are some of the observations. Belgium is full and spread out; I seriously think we have always seen some kind of housing somewhere while cycling. Belgians love their territory; houses are mostly big (too big to be sustainable... OK, to be fair, many of those big houses have solar panels on the roof, that helps a little), fenced, and indicate individualism. Also, the building styles are very haphazard; you'll get a hacienda right next to a cubic modern house and an old farm house. People we met on the way were not necessarily friendly, although: once we would say hi, we would usually get something back; regularly other cyclists passed by without "noticing" us. You'll find terraces, pubs and small restaurants in many places, although mostly closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (and it's mostly expensive...).

A funny terrace in an old stone making village, now open air museum

Where to go

Horst Castle, not far from Leuven

Usually hand in hand with the poppies: cornflowers

Cycling-wise it's easy and comfortable. Bicycles are very common and accepted, everywhere you go. Even when we cycled through Brussels on our way from the train station, there are cycling lanes and bicycles are not uncommon at all (have to say: it was nice cycling, but it was also a public holiday so very little traffic). Most of Flanders is pretty flat too, so it's easy riding.

The flat country...

Pretty cycling lane again

Stairway to Heaven, it's official: you'll find it in Belgium!

Anyway, that's a short summary of cycling through Flanders, the northern half of Belgium. The photos probably explain more than the text anyway. Here are the facts & figures:

Brussel - Leuven 42km

Leuven - Meise 42km

Meise - Assenede 85km

Around Eeklo 96km

Assenede - Sint Katelijne Waver 94km

Sint Katelijne Waver - Zemst 20km

Zemst - Hasselt 92km
Hasselt - Sint Joris Weert 70km

Including the cycling we did while we were in the different locations, we did a bit over 600km in about a week and a half.

It's the berry season!!! Strawberries and cherries everywhere, yummy! The daily portion...