Brussels - Muur - Brussels

Meet Kardama

I am Karl-Heinz, better known as Kardama, a Finnish cyclist, once a semi-pro trained in the Soviet Union, who now considers Belgium to be his home. I own and operate - that means I ride alongside you - PedalBXL Bicycle Tours, a customized bike tour activity for people who want to see a different Belgium, one closer to the heart of a bicycle-mad country. After years and years of riding, I am still discovering the Flemish roads, criss-crossing the routes of the famous early season classics. Cycling in Belgium is an endless discovery and has made me love the folklore that surrounds our collective sport. The route shown here is basic outline of the tiny sections that I have used to create the final design. I ride it just about once every week, always ready to explore a new option, craft something unique for the next tour. But this is the backbone. As for the quality of the ride, the best compliment this dated Finnish rider, now a devout Belgian in my heart, has ever received was from a Belgian cyclist who told me, "This ride made me appreciate my own country".

Vlindersstraat

Distance

0.3km

Altimeters

9m

This short section of cobbles comes right after the Brussels ring. Gives you a good warm up for whats coming. The scenario change feels like you just took 3 hours flight.

Lennikseweg

Distance

0.3km

Altimeters

4m

This short and nasty cobbled section is going trough the open fields. Specially on winter and early spring time it has a reminisce of the way the cobbles in Paris Roubaix look like.

Rosweg

Distance

2.6km

Altimeters

22m

The real deal. It has it all. It's about 2,5 km long, with false flat (vals plat). There is a smoother kerb on either side of the road. You can make your pick: tourist lane or Flandrian lane?

De Vesten & De Muur

Distance

0.9km

Altimeters

63m

The legendary 'Muur van Geraardsbergen' (Grammont Wall) takes you to the 110 meter high summit of the Oudenberg. The 910m long climb has an average and maximum incline of 9% and 20% respectively. For decades De Muur was both the penultimate and decisive climb of the Ronde. Also other races such as the Three Days of De Panne, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and BinckBank Tour use the hill to separate the men from the boys. Don’t forget to pay a visit to the lovely neo-baroque church on the top of the Kapelmuur, which will be a welcome stop after a 20% steep climb.The rather dated joke in Geraadsbergen is that there are only three famous walls in the world, Berlin, China and theirs. You can, if you are sure you can get moving again, stop on the very roughest section to pay homage at a poetic tribute to Eddy Merckx or you can take a pause at Bar Gidon on the Market Square, which is festooned with race-worn jerseys and autographs of riders past and present. It is also headquarters to Remco Evenepoel's fanclub.

Bosberg

Distance

1.1km

Altimeters

62m

The Bosberg is a wooded slope (average 5.9% and 12% max) between the Flemish Ardennes and the Pajottenland in Geraardsbergen and Galmaarden

Congoberg

Distance

1.2km

Altimeters

62m

The Congoberg is 1.2 km long, with its highest point at 100 m and an average incline of 5.6%. Take a look left at the strange statue "the abduction of Europe" by Koenraad Tinel. In the distance you can see the city of Brussels emerge.

Baasberg

Distance

1.1km

Altimeters

26m

Baasberg = Bossberg. With only 26 altimeters you can't call this a climb, but this is a real hidden gem. Very bone-jarring, centuries old stones, deformed from generations of farmers driving tractors over them that will leave your body shaking and your hand aching until you reach the finish. No worries, it is all part of the Belgian cycling mystique.