So you’ve decided to take up the April eco-challenge and you get yourself all outfitted with a new bike, and then the Belgian sun makes a rare appearance and you’re rearing to go out for a ride… But where?

How about just about anywhere! 

Belgium has some of the best networks for cycling in the world, offering paved, accessible, well-signed and maintained routes throughout the country.

Yes, throughout the country!  Cycling is one of the few true Belgian national values, though of course, even in this regard there are some regional differences to get to know.
 
In Flanders, cycling follows the comprehensive Fietsknooppunten Netwerk, or the Cycling Interchange Network. You’ve probably seen these signs around from time to time – the green numbers pointing every which way throughout Flanders – and the system can be a little confusing if you don’t know exactly how it works. 

The Interchange network was adapted from the old system used below ground in the Limburg mines. Numbers refer to junctions between different pathways, and signs between junctions show the fastest way to get there. In the cycling version, the junctions and signs have been laid out to indicate the most scenic, most bike-friendly paths between two intersections. 

To plan a perfect Flemish bike ride then, all you need to do is pick a string of junctions and then calculate the distance and follow the signs. The network has been so successful, it even extends over the border now into the Netherlands.

To pick a route, you can either buy a map at a local Flemish tourist office (ask for the “Fietsknooppunten Netwerk” map) or you can go online (www.fietsnet.be) and click your way around the interactive map of the network.

A personal recommendation – the rides around Ypres offer a great way to see some of Flanders’ most historic sites up close and personal, the way only a bike can offer. Biking is also a great way to explore the North Sea coast, or to visit some of Flanders’ Trappist breweries (Westvleteren for one is a rare treat).

And of course Wallonia has no less by way of biking, even if cycling there can seem a little more daunting: even at its worst, Flanders has little that can compare to the hills of the Ardennes. 

Fortunately, at least for those of us who aren’t quite up to trying out for the Tour de France next year, the largest Walloon cycling network manages to keep things relatively flat and family-friendly. This is the RAVeL network, which was established in the 1990’s to try and make the most of what was by then a surplus of unused former railroads and canal tow paths.

Through a rigorous process of environmental preservation and route cultivation, almost 900 kilometres of former railroads and canal tow paths have now been converted into beautiful paved bike paths, often passing through extensive stretches of nature reserves.

The RAVeL network is divided into four different bike paths that cross through every province in Wallonia. 

Through the REVER initiative (Resaeu de Voies Vertes), the network is even in the process of expanding into France and Luxembourg as well.

To find out more about which route passes nearest to you and which offers the nicest bit of cycling, more information is available on the RAVeL website. By way of personal recommendation, the RAVeL 2, which follows the valley of the Meuse through Dinant and Namur on its way from Mariembourg to Hoegardden offers some really beautiful riding. 

And lastly, Brussels is no small fry in this area either. In fact, the brand new Promenade Vert which officially opens with a party on May 9th (see the calendar on our site) offers a sixty kilometre route through some of Brussels’ most beautiful parks. The path really shows why Brussels is one of Europe’s greenest cities, and if you pick up a Brussels cycling map you can join the route wherever you feel the inclination.

And of course, all of these choices are well serviced by rail connections (see our article on bikes on trains) so you can start or stop wherever the inclination hits you, and there are cafes galore, so when the weather is perfect you can stop and enjoy that other Belgian specialty – a local beer on a sundrenched terrace.