Why this ride
From Blégny it runs 242 km to Blégny; allow about 3 h 45 of riding. It goes by way of Sint-Leonarduskerk, Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B and back through Sint-Leonarduskerk.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Blegny-Mine and Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 242 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 45
- 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. Blegny-Mine
Blegny-Mine is one of the few places in Europe where you can still go down a real coal mine in the lift cage, with former miners as your guides. The mine, in the Pays de Herve northeast of Liège, closed in 1980, and it was soon turned into a museum, with guided tours that take you down to galleries tens of metres underground, where you can see the machinery, the narrow seams and the conditions in which miners worked. In 2012, it was listed by UNESCO as one of the four Major Mining Sites of Wallonia, along with Grand-Hornu, Bois-du-Luc and Bois du Cazier. It is a powerful reminder of how coal built the industrial wealth of Belgium, and at what cost.
Read the complete Blegny-Mine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Blegny-Mine is where the day begins. Next is Sint-Leonarduskerk.
2. Sint-Leonarduskerk
The church of Saint Leonard rises over the little town of Zoutleeuw, in the fruit-growing country east of Leuven, and it is far grander than the size of the place suggests. In the Middle Ages the town, known in French as Léau, was a prosperous trading centre on a route between Brabant and Liège, and its burghers put their money into stone. Work on the church began in the thirteenth century and went on for generations, giving a late Gothic body with a tall tower, rich sculpture and a lofty, light interior with white walls and tall windows.
Read the complete Sint-Leonarduskerk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sint-Leonarduskerk comes up about 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B.
3. Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B
Imagine a cathedral built entirely of beech trunks, grey and smooth, rising forty metres or more to a roof of leaves, and you have the Sonian Forest at its finest. This great wood on the south-eastern edge of Brussels, the Forêt de Soignes or Zoniënwoud, covers thousands of hectares, and its most remarkable stands, including the Grippensdelle reserve near Hoeilaart, are part of the transnational World Heritage Site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of Europe, inscribed in 2017.
Read the complete Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 120 km into the recorded legs you reach Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B. Next is back through Sint-Leonarduskerk.
4. back through Sint-Leonarduskerk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sint-Leonarduskerk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sint-Leonarduskerk, late in the day. Next is Blegny-Mine.
5. Blegny-Mine
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Blegny-Mine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Blegny-Mine. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Blegny-Mine to Sint-Leonarduskerk
Blegny-Mine → Sint-Leonarduskerk is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sint-Leonarduskerk to Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B
Sint-Leonarduskerk → Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B to back through Sint-Leonarduskerk
Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle B → back through Sint-Leonarduskerk is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sint-Leonarduskerk to Blegny-Mine
back through Sint-Leonarduskerk → Blegny-Mine is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.