Why this ride
138 km from Diest to Diest, about 2 h 49 of riding. On the way it passes Beguinage de Sint-Truiden, Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto, Stadhuis met Toren and back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Béguinage de Diest and Stadhuis met Toren
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 138 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 49
- 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. Béguinage de Diest
Diest has one of the largest béguinages in Flanders, a walled town within the town, with its own streets, gates, church and some ninety houses. The béguines were laywomen who lived a religious life without taking permanent vows, earning their own living and sharing a community, and their béguinages flourished in the Low Countries from the thirteenth century onward. The Flemish béguinages are listed together by UNESCO. In Diest, the béguinage has been restored with care, and its cobbled streets, whitewashed houses and quiet gardens feel worlds away from the traffic outside.
Read the complete Béguinage de Diest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Diest is where the day begins. Next is Beguinage de Sint-Truiden.
2. Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
At the edge of Sint-Truiden, a market town in the fruit country of Haspengouw, a ring of low brick houses surrounds a large grassy courtyard with trees and a Gothic church in the middle. This is the béguinage, one of the Flemish béguinages listed together by UNESCO, where for centuries communities of laywomen lived devout lives of prayer and work without taking permanent vows. It is one of the largest and best preserved in the region, and it has a calm, almost village-like feel.
Read the complete Beguinage de Sint-Truiden write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beguinage de Sint-Truiden comes up 27 km in. Next is Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.
3. Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto
Tongeren likes to remind you that it is the oldest town in Belgium, and it has a strong claim. The Romans founded a settlement here, Atuatuca Tungrorum, on the road between Cologne and Bavay, and the remains of its walls can still be seen around the town. Before that, the area was home to the Eburones, a Celtic tribe whose chieftain Ambiorix famously ambushed and destroyed a Roman legion in 54 BC. His statue, a heroic nineteenth-century figure with a winged helmet and a magnificent moustache, stands in the main square, the Grote Markt.
Read the complete Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
54 km in you reach Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto. Next is Stadhuis met Toren.
4. Stadhuis met Toren
Sint-Truiden's Grote Markt is one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and at its centre stands the town hall with its belfry, a tower that has watched over the town since the Middle Ages and been rebuilt and remodelled several times. The belfry, with its carillon, is part of the UNESCO listing of the Belfries of Belgium and France, inscribed in 1999 to honour these civic towers that symbolised the freedom and wealth of the medieval towns. Climb it if you can, and you will see the whole of the Haspengouw region spread out around you, a gently rolling landscape of orchards and fields.
Read the complete Stadhuis met Toren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis met Toren, about halfway. Next is back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.
5. back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto sits at 108 km, about halfway. Next is back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden.
6. back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beguinage de Sint-Truiden write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden comes up 135 km in. Next is Béguinage de Diest.
7. Béguinage de Diest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Béguinage de Diest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Diest closes the day.
Leg by leg
Béguinage de Diest to Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
Béguinage de Diest → Beguinage de Sint-Truiden is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beguinage de Sint-Truiden to Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto
Beguinage de Sint-Truiden → Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto to Stadhuis met Toren
Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto → Stadhuis met Toren is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis met Toren to back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto
Stadhuis met Toren → back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto to back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto → back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden to Béguinage de Diest
back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden → Béguinage de Diest is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.