Why this ride
A 190 km round trip from Hoeilaart - roughly 3 h 36 in the saddle. On the way it passes Grand Béguinage of Leuven, Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren, Stadhuis met Toren and Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A and Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 190 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 36
- 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 - Grippensdelle A
Brussels has a cathedral of trees. The Sonian Forest, or Zoniënwoud, covers about four and a half thousand hectares on the south-eastern edge of the city, and most of it is beech, tall grey-barked trunks that rise like columns, with a canopy so dense that the forest floor under it is open and dim. Some trees are two centuries old, and the pattern of straight, evenly spaced trunks comes from the way the forest was managed in the eighteenth century under Austrian rule, when foresters planted the stands in a deliberate style. Parts of the forest were listed by UNESCO in 2021 as part of the ancient beech forests of Europe.
Read the complete Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A is where the day begins. Next is Grand Béguinage of Leuven.
2. Grand Béguinage of Leuven
Step through the gate of the Groot Begijnhof in Leuven and the city noise drops away. Cobbled lanes, small brick houses with white window frames and stepped gables, little bridges over the arms of the river Dijle, and a Gothic church in the middle: this is one of the largest béguinages in the Low Countries, part of the Flemish Béguinages group listed by UNESCO in 1998.
Read the complete Grand Béguinage of Leuven write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grand Béguinage of Leuven comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.
3. 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
about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren. Next is Stadhuis met Toren.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.
5. 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
Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto sits at 104 km, about halfway. Next is back through Stadhuis met Toren.
6. 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 comes up about 114 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.
7. back through 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
about 135 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren. Next is back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven.
8. back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Grand Béguinage of Leuven write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven, late in the day. Next is Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A.
9. Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A 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 190 km.
Leg by leg
Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A to Grand Béguinage of Leuven
Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A → Grand Béguinage of Leuven is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Grand Béguinage of Leuven to Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
Grand Béguinage of Leuven → Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 back through Stadhuis met Toren
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 back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
back through Stadhuis met Toren → back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren to back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven
back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren → back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven to Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A
back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven → Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.