Brussels - Muur - Brussels
This route is connecting the small villages and towns, in between the European capital Brussels and the iconic Muur of Geraardsbergen. It is both a test of your ability as a cyclist and a homage to the routes that have made Belgian early season classics so memorable. The route is built by 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 - and whose first ride in Belgium was from the capital to the Muur. His original route to the Muur has been adjusted, adapted, tweaked, refined as he has tested roadways to cowpaths until today where it has become, in our opinion, one of the more original routes to ride out of Brussels to the Flemish Ardennes.
Pre-Ride
The route step by step
Start
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".
Out of Brussels
The aim is clear on this part: as little traffic and red lights possible. The canal and Itterbeekslaan are the keys to get a smooth exit out of our beloved and congested European Capital.
Short and nasty stretch of true farm-track cobbles between the fields.
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?
Roadbike Singletrack
Foot roads, field roads, church roads ... are all names for the beautiful “slow roads” in the countryside and the small villages, which, for centuries, provided the connections from village to village, from farm to farm, from church to church. Many of these roads disappeared in recent decades due to the construction of major infrastructure and new housing estates or industrial sites. Other roads were paved and then slowly turned into the road network, thus losing their original function of slow road. They are perfect road bike single track.
River Cruising
Manneken Pis
Brussels or Geraardsbergen. Who has the oldest? Every day, hundreds of tourists visit Brussels to see and photograph the famous ‘Manneken Pis’. Yet, they are in the wrong place, since ‘Manneken Pis’ van Geraardsbergen is the oldest!
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.
This legendary hill has become known as the ‘Edwig Van Hooydonck Hill’ since the famous Flemish cyclist made his race winning move in the Ronde van Vlaanderen there twice, next to the same lamp post, in both 1989 and 1991. The Bosberg is now the final climb in the redesigned Omloop het Nieuwsblad and features three times in the final stage of the BinckBank Tour.
The Bosberg is a wooded slope (average 5.9% and 12% max) between the Flemish Ardennes and the Pajottenland in Geraardsbergen and Galmaarden.
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.
Kasseide
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.
Official Remco Evenepoel fan café in his hometown.
Back in Brussels
Finish
Plan your stay
Get the hottest tips and tricks to take on Flanders by bike! When should you visit? Where can you rent a bike? What's the perfect place to stay? Or drink the perfect Belgian beer? Check it out!
Epic Stories
Those who adore cycling are bound to collect some great stories. Here they are, or at least some of them.
