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Hi All,
after some suggestions on either a base for nice circular rides, or a tour operator who will look after us. As Belgium is so friendly I think the latter may not be needed. Looking to cover some of the cobble sections if possible. A nice hotel with a good shower and breakfast is also required. Looking to go in the Autumn.
Many thanks.
I have a holiday place in rural Wallonia and LOVE the riding around there. You mention cobbles, so I assume road (which is a good thing!), but find that the access cyclists have to agricultural roads in my area make for some fantastic traffic-free rides of many kilometers. Navigation is also pretty easy due to the RAVeL network.
If you fancy the Ardennes, then, try Roche-en-Ardennes. On the other hand, a place like Rochefort would be a great base as well, with the advantage of some of the finest beer in Europe!
Oudenaard is the heartland of Flemish cycling and at the Ronde Centrum they'll provide a map / route to ride all the key cobbled climbs / helligen including Koppenberg, Paterberg, Oude Kwaremont, Wolvenberg, Mariaboorestraat, Ramp and many others. No real need for a guide, just a route map / preloaded GPS. There are many cycletracks away from the roads too, plus you can ride the track alonside the Schelde which is popular with cyclists. Ardennes is also great for cycling - very quiet roads once south of Liege but you really need your climbing legs
Cycling in Belgium is brilliant. I’ve ridden around Ypres, Ghent and the rest of Flanders but never had to navigate. The First World War history around there is really something. I’d love to go back again.
Stayed in the Ariane in Ypres which was really nice.
i can thoroughly recommend staying in Ghent, it's a lovely city to be in even if you weren't cycling with tons of restaurants and bars, shopping and culture if you want that sort of thing, and it gives to easy access to quiet roads and the cobbled sections
as mentioned a ride down the wide bike path along the Schelde will get you to Oudenaard and the Ronde Centrum museum where you can pick up a map or just follow any number of well signed routes from there
i went there late Summer a few years back and it was far nicer than pretending to be a hardman of Flanders in the cold and drizzle of the Spring 🙂
as an aside, how many is 'us', i might be able to help if you want looking after
I'd second the suggestion to stay in or around Ieper, easy access to the West-Flemish bergs, very quiet rural roads, several established / sign-posted routes and plenty to see from a tourism point of view.
We usually stay in a small airbnb outside Oudenaad, but Ghent has more restaurants and nightlife for bigger groups. We picked up maps from the Ronde museum but there are loads of good signposted routes out there - they've broken the Tour of Flanders down into 3 or more shorter loops and there are loads of other options so all you really need the maps for is the colour coding of the routes.
We've also stayed in Namur to ride the Ardennes area, glad I did it (Namur itself is stunning) but I wouldn't go back, whereas I love riding around Flanders and am looking forward to getting back there.