Why this ride
From Armentières it runs 168 km to Armentières; allow about 2 h 52 of riding. It goes by way of Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos, Hôtel de ville, Cité d’Auchy and Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières and Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 168 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 52
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières
Armentières is a textile town on the river Lys, right on the Belgian border, a quarter of an hour west of Lille. Its name is familiar to many English speakers from the bawdy marching song of the First World War, Mademoiselle from Armentières, which British soldiers sang on their way to the front lines nearby. The town paid a terrible price for being so close to that front: it was shelled, occupied and largely destroyed by 1918. The town hall and its belfry were rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s in a confident Flemish style, and the tower now belongs to the UNESCO group of belfries of Belgium and France.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos.
2. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos
Loos is a town on the southwestern edge of Lille, and its town hall belfry is part of the same UNESCO family as the medieval towers of Bruges and Ghent, though it is a much more modern member. In this corner of Europe a belfry was the symbol of a town's independence from lord and church, and when the industrial towns of the Nord built new town halls in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they gave them belfries too, as a statement that they had grown up. Loos's tower, in brick and stone, does exactly that.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos comes up 17 km in. Next is Hôtel de ville.
3. Hôtel de ville
A town hall makes an odd target for a ride, but Carvin's is a good excuse to stop in a place most people only see from the A1. The town sits on the northern edge of the old coalfield, between Lens and Lille, and its civic buildings and squares reflect the confidence of a community that grew with the mines. Like many such places, Carvin's centre is a mix of brick, stone and post-war rebuilding, and the town hall faces a square with cafés, bakeries and a market on certain days.
Read the complete Hôtel de ville write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
35 km in you reach Hôtel de ville. Next is Cité d’Auchy.
4. Cité d’Auchy
Rows of identical brick houses with small gardens, laid out in straight lines or gentle curves, each with its own vegetable plot and outhouse: the cité at Auchy-les-Mines is a textbook example of the miners' housing built by mining companies in northern France. The companies provided homes, schools, churches and shops, both to attract workers and to control them, and the cités, with their distinctive layouts and architecture, are a central part of the World Heritage listing of the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin.
Read the complete Cité d’Auchy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cité d’Auchy, about halfway. Next is Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de.
5. Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de
On the morning of 10 March 1906, an explosion tore through the galleries of the Courrières mining company, killing well over a thousand miners. It remains the worst mining disaster in European history. Most of the victims came from the towns of Méricourt, Sallaumines and Billy-Montigny, and many were buried in a mass grave nearby. Twenty days after the explosion, thirteen survivors emerged from the darkness, having found their way through the ruined galleries, and their story became famous across Europe. The memorials in and around Sallaumines honour the dead and the rescuers, including German miners from Westphalia who came to help.
Read the complete Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de sits at 70 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cité d’Auchy.
6. back through Cité d’Auchy
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cité d’Auchy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cité d’Auchy comes up 87 km in. Next is back through Hôtel de ville.
7. back through Hôtel de ville
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hôtel de ville write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
104 km in you reach back through Hôtel de ville. Next is back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos.
8. back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos, late in the day. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières.
9. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 168 km.
Leg by leg
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos to Hôtel de ville
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos → Hôtel de ville is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hôtel de ville to Cité d’Auchy
Hôtel de ville → Cité d’Auchy is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cité d’Auchy to Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de
Cité d’Auchy → Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de to back through Cité d’Auchy
Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de → back through Cité d’Auchy is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cité d’Auchy to back through Hôtel de ville
back through Cité d’Auchy → back through Hôtel de ville is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hôtel de ville to back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos
back through Hôtel de ville → back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Loos → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Armentières is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.