Why this ride
88 km from Kortrijk to Kortrijk, about 1 h 37 of riding. The stops in between: Stadhuis, \Halletoren\ ou Belfort and back through Stadhuis.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Het Belfort of Halletoren and \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 88 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 37
- 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. Het Belfort of Halletoren
On the Grote Markt of Kortrijk a tower stands alone in the middle of the square, as if the building it belonged to had wandered off. In a sense it did. The Belfort, or Halletoren, was once part of the cloth hall, the trading heart of a medieval textile town, and when the hall disappeared the tower stayed. It is one of the belfries of Belgium and France on the UNESCO list, and it has a pair of local celebrities at the top: two gilded figures, Manten and Kalle, who strike the hours on the bell. Kortrijk people are fond of them, and you will see their likenesses on all sorts of souvenirs.
Read the complete Het Belfort of Halletoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Het Belfort of Halletoren is where the day begins. Next is Stadhuis.
2. Stadhuis
Bruges is half an hour north, and the two make a good pairing, but Roeselare deserves to be taken on its own terms: a working town of some fifty-six thousand people, built on textiles, food processing and trade, with a town hall on its market square that anchors the centre. Like most Flemish towns, Roeselare grew around a market and a civic building that announced the burghers' independence from lords and bishops, and the tradition of the town hall as the symbol of local self-government is still very much alive here.
Read the complete Stadhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
3. \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
about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach \Halletoren\ ou Belfort. Next is back through Stadhuis.
4. back through Stadhuis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stadhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Stadhuis, late in the day. Next is Het Belfort of Halletoren.
5. Het Belfort of Halletoren
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Het Belfort of Halletoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Het Belfort of Halletoren. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Het Belfort of Halletoren to Stadhuis
Het Belfort of Halletoren → Stadhuis is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis to \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Stadhuis → \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort to back through Stadhuis
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort → back through Stadhuis is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stadhuis to Het Belfort of Halletoren
back through Stadhuis → Het Belfort of Halletoren is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.