Why this ride
A 233 km round trip from Hoeilaart - roughly 3 h 33 in the saddle. It goes by way of Beffroi de Namur, Stadhuis met Toren and back through Beffroi de Namur.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa and Stadhuis met Toren
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 233 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. Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa
Brussels has a forest on its doorstep, and a very good one. The Sonian Forest, Forêt de Soignes or Zoniënwoud depending on who is speaking, spreads over the south-eastern edge of the city in a dark green arc of about four and a half thousand hectares, and its core is beech, tall, grey and straight as columns. The forest is shared among three regions of Belgium, and the Joseph Zwaenepoel reserve is a protected section in the Flemish part, where the managers let nature take its course and fallen trees are left to rot. It is part of the UNESCO listing for ancient and primeval beech forests, extended in 2017 to include the Sonian Forest.
Read the complete Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de Namur.
2. Beffroi de Namur
The belfry of Namur is a stout, round tower with a bulbous slate roof, not at all the slender Gothic spire people imagine when they hear the word. It started life in the fourteenth century as part of the town walls, the Tour Saint-Jacques, and later became the belfry, holding the bell that rang the hours and the curfew. It is one of the many towers in the World Heritage Site of the Belfries of Belgium and France.
Read the complete Beffroi de Namur write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de Namur comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stadhuis met Toren.
3. 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
about 116 km into the recorded legs you reach Stadhuis met Toren. Next is back through Beffroi de Namur.
4. back through Beffroi de Namur
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de Namur write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Beffroi de Namur, late in the day. Next is Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa.
5. Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa to Beffroi de Namur
Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa → Beffroi de Namur is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de Namur to Stadhuis met Toren
Beffroi de Namur → Stadhuis met Toren is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis met Toren to back through Beffroi de Namur
Stadhuis met Toren → back through Beffroi de Namur is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de Namur to Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa
back through Beffroi de Namur → Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.