Why this ride
From Hoeilaart it runs 182 km to Hoeilaart; allow about 2 h 46 of riding. The stops in between: Grand Béguinage of Leuven, Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren, Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort and back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A and Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 182 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 46
- 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 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren. Next is Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.
4. Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort
Leuven is a university town through and through. Its university, founded in 1425, is the oldest in the Low Countries, and its students fill the streets, cafés and squares, giving the city a youthful energy. At its heart is the Grote Markt, dominated by two buildings: the Town Hall, a Gothic masterpiece covered in hundreds of statues, and opposite it, the Church of St Peter, a great Gothic church whose tower was never finished but which is part of the UNESCO-listed Belfries of Belgium and France.
Read the complete Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort, about halfway. Next is back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.
5. 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
back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren sits at 105 km, about halfway. Next is back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven.
6. 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 comes up about 150 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A.
7. 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
Sonian Forest - Grippensdelle A closes the day.
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 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren to Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren → Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort to back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort → back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren is 35 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.