Why this ride
150 km from Thuin to Thuin, about 2 h 54 of riding. The stops in between: Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi, Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche, Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes and The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beffroi de Thuin and The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 150 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 54
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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 Thuin
Thuin sits on a rocky spur above the Sambre, and from the river it looks like a town that climbed a hill to keep its feet dry. At the top stands the belfry, a tall square tower with an onion-shaped spire that was originally the bell tower of a collegiate church and survived when the church itself did not. Since 1999 it has been part of the UNESCO listing of belfries of Belgium and France, a reminder that towns in this region measured their freedom in bells, towers and charters.
Read the complete Beffroi de Thuin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de Thuin is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi.
2. Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi
Charleroi has a reputation, unfairly earned or not, as one of the grittiest cities in Belgium, and its belfry is a fine reason to look again. Rising from the town hall on the Place Charles II, the belfry was built in the 1930s in an elegant Art Deco style, replacing an older tower, and it is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO. Its slender shape, topped with a dome and carillon, is a symbol of the city's pride and resilience, and inside, the town hall has a sumptuous Art Deco interior.
Read the complete Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi 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 Charleroi comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche.
3. Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche
Once a year, on the Tuesday before Lent, the little town of Binche in Belgian Hainaut goes completely mad. The Gilles, men dressed in costumes decorated with heraldic lions, crowns and stars, wearing wooden clogs, padded humps and, in the afternoon, enormous hats of ostrich feathers, dance through the streets to the beat of drums from dawn until late at night, throwing oranges into the crowd. The carnival of Binche is one of the oldest and most famous in Europe and is listed by UNESCO as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. If you are hit by an orange, it is considered a sign of luck, and throwing it back is not done.
Read the complete Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 41 km into the recorded legs you reach Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche. Next is Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes.
4. Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes
Beneath the fields south-east of Mons lies a honeycomb of shafts and galleries dug by Neolithic farmers more than six thousand years ago. They were after flint, the essential raw material for axes and tools, and they dug shafts up to fifteen metres deep through the chalk to reach the best seams, using antler picks and stone hammers. The mines at Spiennes, covering more than a hundred hectares, are the largest and earliest in north-western Europe, and they were inscribed by UNESCO in 2000. An interpretation centre allows visitors to descend into one of the shafts, and on the surface the ground is still scattered with flint flakes.
Read the complete Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes, about halfway. Next is The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and.
5. The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and
Picture a barge sitting in a huge iron tank full of water, rising more than fifteen metres into the air while another tank, counterweighted, sinks beside it. That is what happens at the four hydraulic boat lifts on the old Canal du Centre in Hainaut, built between the 1880s and 1917 to carry boats over a steep change in level between the basins of the Meuse and the Scheldt. They were engineering marvels in their day, cast-iron and steel giants powered by water pressure, and they are still in working order, though now mostly used by pleasure boats. UNESCO listed them, along with their surroundings, in 1998.
Read the complete The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and sits at 80 km, about halfway. Next is back through Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes.
6. back through Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes comes up about 93 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche.
7. back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 108 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche. Next is back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi.
8. back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi 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 Charleroi, late in the day. Next is Beffroi de Thuin.
9. Beffroi de Thuin
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de Thuin 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 150 km.
Leg by leg
Beffroi de Thuin to Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi
Beffroi de Thuin → Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi to Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche
Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi → Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche to Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes
Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche → Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes to The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and
Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes → The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and to back through Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes
The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and → back through Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes to back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche
back through Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes → back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche to back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi
back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Binche → back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi to Beffroi de Thuin
back through Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi → Beffroi de Thuin is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.