Donger
A.K.A. Buster Nuvverbike (componentry destroyer)
- Location
- Quedgeley, Glos.
I've never actually done any cycle touring as such, but I've been lucky enough to have spent several holidays based in the Belgian Ardennes, and to have been able to get out and about on my bike for a few hours on quite a few occasions. When I hear friends talking about cycling in Belgium and I read accounts in this forum about Belgian rides, they almost always seem to be talking about Flanders. I have to say that if I were going to do an actual tour anywhere in Europe, I would choose Wallonia over Flanders any day.
Admittedly there is very little flat land, but the rural landscapes and the lovely little towns would make for great touring. The thing is, you don't have to let the hills put you off. The Belgians are way ahead of us in providing excellent quality cycle routes that are well maintained, excellently signposted and that people actually want to use.
They furnish them with regular picnic tables and benches....
and route tham to keep you away from busy traffic spots and take you through towns and countryside alike on gradients that rarely exceed 2 or 3% as thay are all former railway lines. The network is called the RAVeL (le Réseau Autonome des Voies Lentes), and the following is a link to their official portal: https://ravel.wallonie.be/en/home.html
The network is ever expanding, and neither paper maps nor on-line aps like G**gle Str**t View or similar are ever quite up-to-date on how far they have got, so it is worth spending a little time poring over maps, aerial shots. There are two types of RAVeL lines ..... the full RAVeL and the "pre-RAVeL", and on the ground and in online apps you can actually see the network changing from the latter to the former from month to month. Pre-RAVeL lines tend to be fresh compacted gravel that is perfectly rideable on touring bikes, gravel bikes etc, and can often be found on mapping sites due to the presence of roadwork crews in the area on old street view shots. Often all the signage is in place at an early stage and gives you an idea of where the line is leading to. Full RAVeL lines are almost invariably superbly smooth tarmac and make for superb hill and traffic avoiding routes between the larger towns.
When I first cycled around Malmedy, I was forced to concentrate on the area to the East, near the German border as the fast, busy roundabouts near the local E42 motorway junction scared me off riding westwards. By the time I returned a few years later a superb full RAVeL line to Stavelot and Trois Ponts was in place.
This actually by-passed another busy traffic rat run under the bridges at Trois Ponts using a newly constructed metal causeway for cyclists that delivers you safely into the town,
allowing you to decant onto quiet local lanes along parts of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege route back to Stavelot. From Stavelot, another great line leads you gently up through the woods at EauRouge, giving you glimpses of the Francorchamps racing circuit, and then downhill right into the middle of the town of Spa. (Another of my favourites).
Just recently I had the chance to try out the RAVeL network near Bastogne and can confirm that a full RAVeL runs all the way from Sibret (to the SW of Bastogne) to Houffalize, and another great line crosses the Luxembourg border running from Bastogne to Wiltz.
The road crews are out at the moment working on a pre-RAVeL gravel line from Sibret running southwards as far as Libramont, and there is a full RAVeL running virtually all the way northwards from Bastogne along the Luxembourg border, making it quite easy to divert into Luxembourg on a tour. Although not yet shown on maps, it would appear that there is now also a RAVeL line leading to the border at Martelange. Some friends of mine did a club ride a few years back from Aachen in Germany to Luxembourg City, mostly using this network. Geographically, that is quite an interesting route as there are places where, due to the Treaty of Versailles, the former railway line is in Belgium, but the land on both sides is in Germany. It also runs extremely close to the amazingly pretty little German town of Monschau that is one of my very favourite places in the whole of Europe, seems very popular with cyclists, and is very well worth a visit - either on a bike or otherwise. Southwards from Malmedy the RAVeL runs all the way to St Vith (though I only got as far as Born), leaving really only a short gap in the network leading towards Bastogne. The whole route along Belgium's Eastern border region is crying out for a tour.
I'm aware that I've only experienced a fraction of the network in the Ardennes, but I really can't recommend it highly enough as part of a grand tour route in the region. There are other large sections that I have stumbled upon but not used, such as the route along the banks of the Meuse between Dinant, Namur and Liege that also look well worth trying. I'm sure some of you will have more experience of this network than I have, but I just couldn't keep this one to myself. Too good not to share.
Admittedly there is very little flat land, but the rural landscapes and the lovely little towns would make for great touring. The thing is, you don't have to let the hills put you off. The Belgians are way ahead of us in providing excellent quality cycle routes that are well maintained, excellently signposted and that people actually want to use.
They furnish them with regular picnic tables and benches....
and route tham to keep you away from busy traffic spots and take you through towns and countryside alike on gradients that rarely exceed 2 or 3% as thay are all former railway lines. The network is called the RAVeL (le Réseau Autonome des Voies Lentes), and the following is a link to their official portal: https://ravel.wallonie.be/en/home.html
The network is ever expanding, and neither paper maps nor on-line aps like G**gle Str**t View or similar are ever quite up-to-date on how far they have got, so it is worth spending a little time poring over maps, aerial shots. There are two types of RAVeL lines ..... the full RAVeL and the "pre-RAVeL", and on the ground and in online apps you can actually see the network changing from the latter to the former from month to month. Pre-RAVeL lines tend to be fresh compacted gravel that is perfectly rideable on touring bikes, gravel bikes etc, and can often be found on mapping sites due to the presence of roadwork crews in the area on old street view shots. Often all the signage is in place at an early stage and gives you an idea of where the line is leading to. Full RAVeL lines are almost invariably superbly smooth tarmac and make for superb hill and traffic avoiding routes between the larger towns.
When I first cycled around Malmedy, I was forced to concentrate on the area to the East, near the German border as the fast, busy roundabouts near the local E42 motorway junction scared me off riding westwards. By the time I returned a few years later a superb full RAVeL line to Stavelot and Trois Ponts was in place.
This actually by-passed another busy traffic rat run under the bridges at Trois Ponts using a newly constructed metal causeway for cyclists that delivers you safely into the town,
allowing you to decant onto quiet local lanes along parts of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege route back to Stavelot. From Stavelot, another great line leads you gently up through the woods at EauRouge, giving you glimpses of the Francorchamps racing circuit, and then downhill right into the middle of the town of Spa. (Another of my favourites).
Just recently I had the chance to try out the RAVeL network near Bastogne and can confirm that a full RAVeL runs all the way from Sibret (to the SW of Bastogne) to Houffalize, and another great line crosses the Luxembourg border running from Bastogne to Wiltz.
The road crews are out at the moment working on a pre-RAVeL gravel line from Sibret running southwards as far as Libramont, and there is a full RAVeL running virtually all the way northwards from Bastogne along the Luxembourg border, making it quite easy to divert into Luxembourg on a tour. Although not yet shown on maps, it would appear that there is now also a RAVeL line leading to the border at Martelange. Some friends of mine did a club ride a few years back from Aachen in Germany to Luxembourg City, mostly using this network. Geographically, that is quite an interesting route as there are places where, due to the Treaty of Versailles, the former railway line is in Belgium, but the land on both sides is in Germany. It also runs extremely close to the amazingly pretty little German town of Monschau that is one of my very favourite places in the whole of Europe, seems very popular with cyclists, and is very well worth a visit - either on a bike or otherwise. Southwards from Malmedy the RAVeL runs all the way to St Vith (though I only got as far as Born), leaving really only a short gap in the network leading towards Bastogne. The whole route along Belgium's Eastern border region is crying out for a tour.
I'm aware that I've only experienced a fraction of the network in the Ardennes, but I really can't recommend it highly enough as part of a grand tour route in the region. There are other large sections that I have stumbled upon but not used, such as the route along the banks of the Meuse between Dinant, Namur and Liege that also look well worth trying. I'm sure some of you will have more experience of this network than I have, but I just couldn't keep this one to myself. Too good not to share.
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