Why this ride
A 172 km round trip from Tienen - roughly 3 h 33 in the saddle. The stops in between: Stadhuis met Toren, Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto, Beguinage de Sint-Truiden and Béguinage de Tongeren.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren and Béguinage de Tongeren
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 172 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 33
- 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. Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
Tienen means sugar to most Belgians. The town in the east of Flemish Brabant has been the home of Belgium's largest sugar refinery since the nineteenth century, and the smell of sugar beet being processed hangs over the town in autumn during the campaign, when trucks loaded with beets roll in from the surrounding fields. The Sint-Germanuskerk, the church of Saint Germanus, with its massive tower serving as the town's belfry, stands near the huge Grote Markt, one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France. The tower, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic, has a carillon whose bells ring out over the town.
Read the complete Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren is where the day begins. Next is Stadhuis met Toren.
2. 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 comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. 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
about 41 km into the recorded legs you reach Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto. Next is Beguinage de Sint-Truiden.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Béguinage de Tongeren.
5. Béguinage de Tongeren
Tongeren calls itself the oldest town in Belgium, and it has a Roman name, a Gallic hero and a weekly antiques market to back up the claim. Under the Romans it was Atuatuca Tungrorum, and in the main square stands a romantic nineteenth-century statue of Ambiorix, the chieftain who gave Julius Caesar a very bad winter. A few minutes' walk from all that pomp lies the béguinage, a quiet quarter of low brick houses, cobbled lanes and small gardens that once housed communities of beguines, religious women who lived a semi-independent life without taking the full vows of nuns.
Read the complete Béguinage de Tongeren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Tongeren sits at 104 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 about 108 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.
7. 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
about 130 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto. Next is back through Stadhuis met Toren.
8. back through Stadhuis met Toren
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Stadhuis met Toren, late in the day. Next is Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.
9. Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren 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 172 km.
Leg by leg
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren to Stadhuis met Toren
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren → Stadhuis met Toren is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis met Toren to Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto
Stadhuis met Toren → Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto to Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto → Beguinage de Sint-Truiden is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beguinage de Sint-Truiden to Béguinage de Tongeren
Beguinage de Sint-Truiden → Béguinage de Tongeren is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Béguinage de Tongeren to back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
Béguinage de Tongeren → back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden to back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto
back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden → back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto to back through Stadhuis met Toren
back through Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto → back through Stadhuis met Toren is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stadhuis met Toren to Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
back through Stadhuis met Toren → Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.