Biking Around Belgium

Hi All,

I'm heading to Belgium in September with my bike and will be there for the month doing a loop around the country. I have a rough idea of the route I'll go and have booked some places. I've been to Belgium before, but have only really traveled by train, so haven't strayed too far from a convenient train station.

I'm starting out in Brussels and will do day trips or spend time in Brussels. Any gravel cyclists on here by any chance? https://www.toerismevlaamsbrabant.be/en/producten/fietsen/fietsproducten/geuze-gravelroute/

I'm also curious if anyone has recommendations for the Ardennes and Liege / Limburg areas. Basically, I should end up with about 6 days to bike from Bastogne to Bruges and am looking for stops to break up the ride. Comfortably, I'd be looking to ride 50 miles give or take. I'm considering La Roche-en-Ardenne (or Coo), Liege, Hasselt, Antwerp and then Bruges. Any other suggestions? Anywhere in Germany or Luxembourg worth a detour?

This thread is locked out, otherwise I would have replied there.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/places-to-visit-western-belgium-on-bike.635122/

 

I am credit card touring this trip to avoid carrying around too much and to avoid losing time setting up and breaking down a tent. Malmedy was another place I was considering stopping for a night. I will definitely look into that hotel. I do appreciate history and am going to try to save room for a book about the Battle of the Bulge to read while I travel through that area.

Monschau looks doable.

After leaving Brussels, I'm heading towards Poperinge for a couple nights. I'm not going to get to spend as much time as I'd like there, because I decided to book a tour at Dupont on a Friday. That also means I'll miss out on Sturise and De Dolle which was a tough call. Either way, I'll have a good time and can go back another time.

 

Thank you for this. I don't know how many trains I'll use, but I wasn't aware of this trip planner. The first time I was in Belgium, I sat down in an empty 1st class car not realizing it and was quickly and politely asked to leave.

I'll check those sites out.
I'll likely be making my way from Antwerp to Bruges at that time before heading back to Brussels for my final full day on the 28th if you'll be in those areas.

 

I’ve been meaning to do a write-up from my trip as a thank you for the tips and to provide in case anyone is considering a similar trip. Since I was there most of September, it would be difficult to include every place I went to or beers I drank, so ask away if you have any questions. I had been to Belgium on four previous trips, but hadn't been back since 2018.

Bike-wise - I broke down my bike and stuffed it in a cardboard bike box. It turns out that the size of the bike box didn’t result in excess baggage fees, but the weight (being over-limit) does, at least for UAL. They hit me up on the flight home for excess fees because of the weight. I reached out to Morning Cycles in Brussels to see if they could look over my bike after I arrived. I’ve never had to box a bike and re-assemble it and didn’t trust myself. I can’t say enough about the fantastic job they did with my bike. For navigation, I mostly used Cycle.Travel which went well most of the time (cobbles are not gravel roads). I met a Brit early on doing his own bike trip who had good things to say about Komoot and the region package that you can buy. I ended up on some dedicated routes like EuroVelo or RAVeL, but only for certain stretches. Since there were specific places I wanted to stop at, I had to create my own route at times.

Day 1 (2-9 ) :
I flew out on the 1st on an overnight flight. There’s a bike stand with tools just outside of the exit of BRU. While I was nervously putting my bike together, a local rode up on his bike to see if I needed help. It turned out that he was an amateur cyclist at one point and he ended up putting my bike together.

My eSim didn’t work leaving the airport and I struggled leaving. Two other people helped me get on my way. I stayed at Hilton Garden Inn using points. I would stay there again. After checking in, I made my way to Nuetnigenough, which has become a traditional first stop for me. Late dinner and two beers and I just had enough energy to see Grand Place lit up before passing out at the hotel.

Days 2 through 6


The first week was spent based in Brussels. I dropped my bike off at the bike shop and hoped to have it earlier, but they said they would have it ready on Friday. That just meant that instead of doing day trips by bike, I had to spend more time eating, drinking and sight seeing. I considered doing train trips, but mostly just spent the time in Brussels.

Some of the highlight meals included Nuetnigenough, La Tana (he’s an artist with food), Les Brassins and 3F.


Some of the highlights for places to drink included Cantillon, Poechenellekelder, Contrabande, Au Soleil and Billie’s.


I went to open beer days at 3F on Friday and maybe it’s my introverted nature, but I found it a bit overwhelming. It was crowded and loud and unlike the last time I was there. That being said, I did return on Saturday (how do you not go there when you’re so close). I didn’t stay long on either trip. Saturday was a bike ride that focused on lambic with stops at Oud Beersel, 3F open beer days, Den Herberg, Den Obelix and 3F for dinner before returning to Brussels.

Day 7 (8-9) :
This started the beginning of my bike trip and since it was Sunday, I naturally headed to Grote Dorst. Possibly because of open beer days, it was jam packed when I got there. I opted for a flight of oude lambik’s followed by a quick glass of Lambiek Fabric Juicy & Wild Blue-Belle. That’s all I could deal with because of the crowd and headed to De Cam. It was much more peaceful there and I had an opportunity to have a quick talk with Karl. After a bottle of Oude Geuze, I went next door for food and then back for more De Cam for Oude Kriek before moving on to Ninove. I had a couple Witkap beers before moving on to my B&B Hof Anghereel. Absolutely beautiful renovation of an 18th century farmhouse and the hosts were incredible. On the way to Ninove, there was a bike race that halted my progress. Once the police let traffic move, I rode up a hill on the route, and while I was riding, a group of kids started cheering me on.

Day 8 (9-9) :
I delayed leaving my B&B due to a rainy day. First stop was Geraardsbergen, where I stopped to get some mattentaart before cycling up the Muur. I believe I could have made it up had it not been raining. Those darn slippery cobbles got me. After enjoying a mattentaart on top of the hill, I proceeded to Oudenaarde for the night. It felt like Goudenband should have been easier to find, but I didn't come across it, so I settled for some Roman beers before calling it a night.

Day 9 (10-9) :
From here, I headed to Roeselare with a stop in Kortrijk. I heard about Blauwe Frittur on Belgian Smaak podcast and it fit with my schedule for lunch. The sandwich was delicious and frites were phenomenal. Kortrijk is a place I considered staying at and it's a place I'd like to return to. This was another rainy day. The weather seemed to be messing with me and the sky's would open just before I got to my hotels for a few nights to start the trip. Rodenbach was easy to find and I had a couple at a few places before calling it a night.

 

Day 10 (11-9) :
I had time in the morning, so stopped at KOERS Museum van de Wielersport, the cycling museum. Nice visit for any cycling fans. After that, I headed to Rodenbach for a tour. The majority of the group spoke Flemish, so I only got a CliffsNotes version of the tour. One interesting thing is that they have plans to renovate the old brewhouse and to open that up for tours at some point. After the tour, I rode to Poperinge with threatening rain clouds that I couldn’t outride. I did my best to seek cover from the hail and thunderstorms, but strolled into my hotel a dropping mess. Dinner was at the hotels restaurant de la Paix. St. Bernardus 12 and draft tripel were just what I needed after that ride.

Day 11 (12-9) :
I had a two night stay in Poperinge, so today was a bike loop, hitting up In de Verde, Bar Bernard and De Helleketel before returning to the hotel for hommelbier. Since it was going to rain again, I took the train to Ypres to catch Last Post ceremony. It was quite moving. While in Ypres, I stopped in Biking Bar and St. Arnoldus for beers.

Day 12 (13-9) :
Today was a 110 km ride to Dupont so that I could make the English tour around 2:30 PM if I remember correctly. Luckily I grabbed some appelflappen at the market before leaving, because I didn’t have time to stop for food. There was a small well maintained commonwealth cemetery from WWI that I passed and a memorial site or two. Dupont is a desert island beer for me, so it was a bucket list tour. Before hand, I had a chance to have a quick talk with Olivier. After the tour, it was about a 20 km ride to my B&B, Le Roc Paisibile where I would stay for two nights. They welcomed me with a bottle of Dupont not knowing I was just at the brewery and ordered me a pizza from town. Staying there was like staying with family that you actually like.

Day 13 (14-9) :
Today was an easy day that started at my B&B with a post breakfast Dupont Biolegere looking onto Wallonian farms and watching the neighbors horses trot back and forth. I biked to Trolls & Bush for a lunch of jambonneau and then on to Taverne Diole. First place had the better beers, Diole beers were eh, but it was close to a cycle path. Brasserie a Vapeur didn’t work out as far as timing.

Day 14 (15-9) :
I left my B&B and rode 50 km to Brasserie Au Baron for lunch. It’s a great spot with tasty beers. The only thing if you’re cycling is that you go down a steep hill to get there and I had to go right back up it to get to Mons, my next destination. In Mons, I had spag bol for dinner and Binchoise Blond to wash it down and finished the night with Orval.

Day 15 (16-9) :
Today’s ride went from Mons and past Charleroi. There was a lot of scrap yards and factories and this wasn’t the most picturesque part of the trip. One interesting site was Strépy-Thieu Boat Lift. I didn’t get to see it work unfortunately as I had a 100+ km ride and wanted to get to Namur. Namur had a party atmosphere as I happened to roll in during fêtes de wallonie. I hoped to stop in La Chapitre, but it was closed, so I joined the crowds in the festival. There were music stages, beer stands and everyone young and old were letting loose. I stopped at the De La Senne beer tent and wandered from street to street with my beer and settled on kebab for dinner and another beer or two before calling it a night.

Day 16 (17-9) :
This might have been my first day with a tail wind and I was only going about 30 km away to Dinant. A bike trail would along the Meuese with beautiful scenery along the way. Dinant seemed more filled with tourists due to its size than my previous overnights. La Capsule was a good spot with indifferent service to have a few beers and charcuterie. Dinner was at Taverne De La Meuse which had solid food, friendly service and Westmalle. There were a lot of tourist sites to see in Dinant and the problem with biking and spending just one night in places is that you don’t always have the time. I don’t think there’s a place that I’ve stopped at in this trip that I wouldn’t like to return to at some point.

Day 17 (18-9) :
I made my way to Bouillon in nearly a metric century ride with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. I had long left flat Flanders behind and hills would be a constant. I passed some long distance walkers in this are and ended up seeing some signs for Chemin de Saint-Jacques. The ride took my past farms with double track roads and quaint little towns with boulangeries and old looking churches. Givet, France had an impressive fort overlooking the river and town. I eventually rode down a steep hill into Bouillon stopping from time to time to let my brakes cool. Auberge d’Alsace looked like it hadn’t been renovated since the 70’s/80’s, but was clean enough and the lady who may have been the owner was incredibly kind. Dinner was at Le Mont Blanc. They only had a few options for food which is a good thing. Andouillette was on the menu so I decided to give it a go. The house made sauce was amazing and the dish itself was… I’m glad I tried it. Dessert was delicious and they had a small, but nice selection of beers.

Day 18 + 19 (19-9 + 20-9) :
It started out cool in the morning and my first destination was Orval. I quickly warmed up going up some hills, one that looked like a logging road with workers out trimming. More frequently, I saw cafes in small towns with Orval signs outside. By the time I reached Orval, food was needed. Orval Vert was excellent and the food was adequate. I had a young Orval before heading to tour the grounds of the abbey. My plan was to get to Bastogne for the night even though I didn’t have a hotel booked and I had at least 60 km to go, so I hit the road. Cycle.travel wanted me to go on unpaved roads for about 20 km and I didn’t trust it, so switched to Komoot for navigation. I immediately was sent up a steep hill and into Luxembourg with more steep up and down hills. I did see a beautiful sunset and eventually crawl into Bastogne with the last light of the day. The ride was over 110 km and 4000 feet of elevation gain, my hardest day ever. As soon as I walked into Hotel Leo and stood still, I felt nauseous and was just able to pay and get up to my room. I didn’t get sick, but I couldn’t eat and crashed.
My intention was to only spend one night in Bastogne, but I needed the rest, so booked a second night. I visited Bastogne War Museum and the Barrack’s Museum. Both were very moving, perhaps the barracks more so since they were in use during the war. Lunch was at Bistro Leo and dinner at Wagon Leo. I was happy with both. While there, I had to try Lupulus Patton and tried a couple from Microbrasserie des Coccinelles that were ok. I had hoped to go to Lamborelle, but they were closed for a couple weeks while I was there, so picked one of the places on the square for after dinner drinks.

 

Day 20 (21-9) :
I considered heading to d’achouffe, but decided to go to Brasserie de Bellevaux instead. It was a peaceful ride along RAVeL 163 passing lots of farms and countryside before turning off and heading uphill towards the brewery. It’s a great spot, beer was solid and the salad was delicious. On the way up, I was passed by some car clubs, mostly European, but there was a late 60’s Mustang, along with one from the 80’s. Malmedy was a picturesque town with a small, lively square. The dinner spot that I was hoping for was closed, so I just went with a pita and grabbed drinks at Scotch Inn which had 40+ options.

Day 21 (22-9) :
RAVeL 45 and 44a took me towards the Spa-Francorchamps area. As I got closer, I heard engines and eventually saw a clearing where I could see motorcycles going around a track. I heard a noise and stopped to find a big thorn in my tire. I pulled it out and was fortunate that no damage was done to my inner tube. I had seen more and more cyclists and today was no exception as I continued to Lake Gileppe Dam. I continued to Henri-Chapelle Cemetery for a quite moving visit. From there, a stop at Val-Dieu for a meal with a Blonde and Grand Cru mad a nice break. My final destination was Maastricht, where I had a few at De Gouverneur with dinner.

Day 22 (23-9) :
After breakfast, I headed to Cafe Frape based off of a suggestion from Bierman9. I got into a discussion with a retired professor who taught Burmese refugees in Thailand while trying some unfamiliar to me beers, De Kale Ridders - Tumulus Amara and de Molen Vuur & Vlam. I tried to make a trip to De Gebrande Winning work around this time, but it wasn’t to be. My home for this night was Hasselt. My first option or two that I wanted for dinner was closed this day (Monday), so I picked a random place and then went to Cafe Rene for drinks. They had a solid selection including a heavy licorice flavored Rene Imperial Stout. I also had some Ter Dolen and Wilderen while there.

Day 23 (24-9) :
My destination today was Antwerp. I initially thought I’d spend two nights there, but I had three nights booked in Brugge and my last night in Brussels. Except for the beginning and end of the trip, I booked on the fly which worked out well for me. The ride was flat and rainy. I stayed at Maison Emile, which was a return visit for me. I settled for a meal at Elfde Gebod and would not recommend it. The meat in the stew was rough and they pushed house beers. They also were pushy with people in suggesting tips going as far as circling the suggested tip amount on the bill. I had a much better experience at De Pelikaan with some De Koninck and some draft Chimay Blue. It was interesting that when I arrived, there were older customers and as the night progressed, it got younger.

Day 24 to 26 (25-9 to 27-9) :
I took the hotel managers suggestion and cycled to Gent and then to Brugge. The suggested route by the map was supposedly unexciting roads. I went along cycle trails, along some fietsstraats and canals and had a great ride. The only hiccups were the downpour as I went into Gent that frustrated my efforts to sightsee there and the headwinds going into Brugge. Home for the next three nights was De Zomere B&B, a place born 500 years before me and home to a likely hop merchant at one point.

The best meals that I had during these days were at De Stoepa which was accompanied by Straffe Hendrik tripel and Cambrinus.

Best beer stops were:
De Garre (I had the house beer naturally as well as 2023 draft Oerbier)
@ the pub (Gouden Carolus Tripel, Slaapmutske Blond, Viven Blond)
‘t brugs beertje (I had mostly stuff from Struise and De Dolle)

Some touristy things I did this trip were Groeningemuseum and a bike ride through Damme to Sluis on a rainy day. A lot of my time was spent strolling around, eating, drinking and buying some souvenirs (mostly chocolates).

Day 27 (28-9) :
I had to make my way to Brussels for my last nights stay. I considered taking the train to make things easy, but it didn’t feel right to cycle most of the way around Belgium and then tossing my bike onto a train to end it. I had to get a bike box and break my bike back down to get it ready for my flight the next day, so I left early and pedaled with purpose. It was another 100+ km day and another that I rolled right through Gent, only stopping for a few photos. I made it to Brussels, walked to Bike Square Brussels, who were generous enough to save a bike box for me and walked back to the hotel with the bike box getting some funny looks along the way. I had enough time to make one last dinner stop at Nüetnigenough for a great meal and some Zinnebir and Struise Clash of the Titans before heading back to pack up.

A few takeaways:
I had hoped for more time in transit from one place to another for stops for coffee, a good meal or beers, but it didn’t work out most days. I don’t regret the long days since I love biking, but the longer days prevented me from some stops that I would have liked to make. Biking was a great way to see the country and to watch changes unfold from region to region including varying landscape, foods and beers. There were also areas where people were more likely to give a bonjour when they passed you on a trail versus a nod or no acknowledgment. I had been limited on previous trips with where I could easily travel to since I had always relied on trains. I could have rented a car, but that can be less cost attractive as a solo traveler. Every time I travel, I go with the thought that I’ll return to a place one day, so don’t believe I need to do everything. I will be back to Belgium and I can’t see why I wouldn’t bring my bike back for another go around. I hope this was useful to someone or at worse, mildly entertaining.

 

It's definitely an area I'd like to spend more time in. There were lots of war sites that I unexpectedly passed. One I don't recall the whole story, but it was near a golf course and was about a Canadian group of soldiers and their heroics. Another was along a bike path and Loopgraven (WO II in Zutendaal) was referenced on the info panel with a map of what seemed like they could be bunkers.

 

Hey, I can't help but think that this was a year ago and I'm really missing it. Due to priorities/motivation, I haven't found much time to get on the bike since.
I did the trip with two rear 15L panniers, a framebag and a handlebar bag. Even though the whole trip was a month, I wasn't carrying too much, so it wasn't a lot of extra weight. I've done other week long trips fully loaded because I was camping, but those were rail trails or canal towpaths, so they were mostly flat. I wouldn't say I was in race-shape. I do wish I took it slower so I could have lingered somewhere with another beer or just to relax on a bench.

Germany is a place that I'm always thinking about touring. Is somewhere like Franconia friendly to cycle tourists?