Why this ride
From Menen it runs 298 km to Menen; allow about 4 h 54 of riding. It goes by way of \Halletoren\ ou Belfort, Stadhuis met Belfort, Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent and Béguinage de Bruges. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Belfort en Stadhuis and Béguinage de Bruges
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 298 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 54
- 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 Stadhuis
British soldiers marching to the front in the First World War left Ypres by the road that led east towards Menen, and the gate they passed through became the Menin Gate, now a memorial bearing the names of more than fifty thousand soldiers with no known grave. Menen itself, about twenty kilometres from Ypres, sits right on the French border, on the river Leie, which the French call the Lys, and its town hall and belfry, standing on the market square, are part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France. The belfry, like much of the town, was damaged in the war and rebuilt, and it remains the proud symbol of the town's civic history.
Read the complete Belfort en Stadhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Belfort en Stadhuis is where the day begins. Next is \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
2. \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Tielt is a working town in the heart of West Flanders, a place of farmers' markets, textile history and flat roads, and its belfry rises above the market square like a stubborn finger pointing at the clouds. The Halletoren, the hall tower, stands on top of the old cloth hall, the building where merchants once inspected and traded woollen cloth, the source of Flanders' wealth in the Middle Ages. The belfry is one of the group of Belgian and French belfries that UNESCO listed together, symbols of the civic freedom that the cities of Flanders won from their lords, where the town charters were kept and the bells rang to call citizens to arms or to work.
Read the complete \Halletoren\ ou Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort comes up 40 km in. Next is Stadhuis met Belfort.
3. 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
80 km in you reach Stadhuis met Belfort. Next is Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Béguinage de Bruges.
5. Béguinage de Bruges
The Princely Beguinage of Bruges, Ten Wijngaerde, is the sort of place that makes people lower their voices without being asked. White-washed houses surround a grassy courtyard planted with old trees, and in spring thousands of daffodils bloom under them. A beguinage was a community where lay women lived a religious life without taking full vows, and Flanders had many of them from the thirteenth century. This one was founded around 1245 under Margaret of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders, and the UNESCO listing of Flemish Beguinages covers it, along with Diest and others.
Read the complete Béguinage de Bruges write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Bruges sits at 161 km, about halfway. Next is back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent.
6. 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 comes up 201 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
241 km in you reach back through Stadhuis met Belfort. Next is back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
8. back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete \Halletoren\ ou Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort, late in the day. Next is Belfort en Stadhuis.
9. Belfort en Stadhuis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Belfort en Stadhuis 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 298 km.
Leg by leg
Belfort en Stadhuis to \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Belfort en Stadhuis → \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort to Stadhuis met Belfort
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort → Stadhuis met Belfort is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis met Belfort to Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent
Stadhuis met Belfort → Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent to Béguinage de Bruges
Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent → Béguinage de Bruges is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Béguinage de Bruges to back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent
Béguinage de Bruges → back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent to back through Stadhuis met Belfort
back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent → back through Stadhuis met Belfort is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stadhuis met Belfort to back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
back through Stadhuis met Belfort → back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort to Belfort en Stadhuis
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort → Belfort en Stadhuis is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.