Why this ride
A 209 km round trip from Aalst - roughly 4 h in the saddle. On the way it passes Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent, Stadhuis met Belfort, Belfort and back through Belfort.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison and Stadhuis met Belfort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 209 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 53
- 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. Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
Aalst's Schepenhuis, the old aldermen's house on the Grote Markt, is reckoned to be the oldest surviving town hall in the Low Countries, its oldest parts going back to the thirteenth century, and its belfry, added later, carries the bells that once regulated the town's life. Together they are part of the UNESCO listing of the Belfries of Belgium and France. In front of them stands a statue of Dirk Martens, who set up one of the first printing presses in the Southern Netherlands here in the 1470s and later printed works by Erasmus and Thomas More.
Read the complete Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison is where the day begins. Next is Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent.
2. Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent
The Great Béguinage of Sint-Amandsberg looks like a small walled town of its own, tucked into a residential suburb just east of the centre of Ghent. When the city expanded in the 1870s and the old béguinage of St Elisabeth was in the way, the beguines, lay religious women who lived in community without taking permanent vows, moved here to a new complex of neo-Gothic houses, convents and a church, all laid out around streets, squares and gardens behind a wall and gate. The move was funded by the Duke of Arenberg, and the whole place was finished in just a few years. It is one of the thirteen Flemish Béguinages on the UNESCO list since 1998, and although the beguines are gone, the houses are still lived in, and the atmosphere is calm and quiet.
Read the complete Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent comes up 29 km in. Next is Stadhuis met Belfort.
3. Stadhuis met Belfort
Eeklo is the capital of the Meetjesland, the flat, green region of East Flanders between Ghent and Bruges, close to the Dutch border, and its town hall with a belfry, the Stadhuis met Belfort, stands on the market square as the symbol of the town. It is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO, a group of civic towers that embodied the freedom and power of the medieval towns of Flanders. Eeklo's belfry is modest compared with those of Bruges and Ghent, but it has its own charm, rising above a town that most visitors pass through without stopping.
Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
58 km in you reach Stadhuis met Belfort. Next is Belfort.
4. Belfort
Ghent has three towers standing in a row, and the middle one is the belfry, rising over the old centre between St Bavo's Cathedral and St Nicholas' Church. Begun in the fourteenth century, it was the town's watchtower, bell tower and strongroom, where the charters granting the city its privileges were locked away. On its spire sits a gilded dragon, the city's mascot, keeping an eye on things. The belfry, with the cloth hall attached to its base, is part of the UNESCO list of belfries of Belgium and France, and you can climb it, partly by lift, for one of the best views over the rooftops, canals and spires.
Read the complete Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Belfort, about halfway.
5. Stadhuis met Belfort
Oudenaarde's town hall looks like something carved from lace. Built in the early sixteenth century in the late Gothic style, it has a facade covered with pointed arches, niches and statues, and a slender belfry topped with a gilded crown on which stands a small knight known locally as Hanske de Krijger, Little John the Warrior. The building is one of the finest of its kind in Flanders, and it is listed by UNESCO among the belfries of Belgium and France. Inside, there are displays of the tapestries for which Oudenaarde was famous across Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, especially its verdures, woven scenes of forests and greenery.
Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis met Belfort sits at 116 km, about halfway. Next is back through Belfort.
6. back through Belfort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Belfort comes up 145 km in. Next is back through Stadhuis met Belfort.
7. back through Stadhuis met Belfort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
174 km in you reach back through Stadhuis met Belfort. Next is back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent.
8. back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent, late in the day. Next is Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison.
9. Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison 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 209 km.
Leg by leg
Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison to Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent
Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison → Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent to Stadhuis met Belfort
Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent → Stadhuis met Belfort is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis met Belfort to Belfort
Stadhuis met Belfort → Belfort is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Belfort to Stadhuis met Belfort
Belfort → Stadhuis met Belfort is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis met Belfort to back through Belfort
Stadhuis met Belfort → back through Belfort is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Belfort to back through Stadhuis met Belfort
back through Belfort → back through Stadhuis met Belfort is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stadhuis met Belfort to back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent
back through Stadhuis met Belfort → back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent to Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent → Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.