Cycling in Brussels

I try to avoid the STIB if possible. OK, the Metro works but the network is too small to reach most points of interest within Brussels. Buses and trams are just too unreliable. I never understand the Belgians waiting paitently for the bus that never comes: timetables are rather indicative. Also the realtime displays don't work. In my hometown we have these realtime displays at busstops since the early 1990 and they are accurate. Brussels seems to be another world. Again.

(By the way, I also like the new complaints part of the STIB website: they ask you if you want to have an answer to your complaint! This is so Bruxelloise.)

This is why I use the bike for getting around. Also for going to work. Not surprisingly this is made complicated by the lack of or inadequate bicycle infrastructure. Even new constructions of bike lanes end at curbstones or have signposts planted in the middle of it. I put some example here and explained why the "fietspad" is not suitable for road bikes.

Recently I came accross this hillarious video. It exagerates, definitly, but gets to the point of why infrastructure has an impact on the use of cycles in urban transport. And whoever has been in morning traffic in Brussels (anywhere) knows that this city has a bad problem concerning urban transport.

What I miss in this video is the problem with blocked bike lanes by cars parked without giving a ...

The video is inspired by some New York guy who went one step further: crashing into cars wrongly parked on the bike path. Probably a bad idea in Brussels to crash into the king of the road. I fear that even if a car is behaving wrongly in traffic it is always right compared to other means of transport. See also this story. Unbelievable.

(Klein) Willebroek

Excellent (cycling) weather for the first time this year on Sunday. Time to go for the first longer distance:

Without a concrete aim where to go we started out towards north to cycle along some of the waterways up there. Starting along the canal from Brussels via Vilvoorde towards the Schelde. As of Tisselt there is no more cycling path along the canal, so we decided to follow the knooppunten into Willebroek. At the main bridge in Willebroek turn right to follow the signs towards Klein Willebroek. This charming little village with a small leisure port, an old lock a few nice cafes/restaurants is also a good destination to get out of Brussels for a Sunday afternoon. It is also close to the recreational areas "De Naeyer", the "Broek or Arkenbos" or the "Hazewinkel". All of this makes a nice getaway from busy Brussels parks like Tervuren or la Cambre with nice walks like this one.

There is also an American tank that commemorates the Second World War when the bridge of Willebroek over the Schelde was crucial to reach and liberate Antwerp.

Back along the Zenne it would have been nice to stop at one of the cafes next to the river (like this one at the "Zennegat" which I can really recommend). Overall quite similar to this ride but shorter.

Around the airport

I didn't have much time for a big ride this Saturday so I took this rather uninspired tour around the airport. The taste of sweet kerosene:

I did this on Saturday this weekend just after heavy rainfalls. The bike would suffer. But it is still winter so I was on my "bad weather bike". One of the criteria for the new flat was to have a decent place to clean the bike. Not a cellar or garage. The courtyard and the water hose really are a quick and easy alternative to cleaning indoors. So rain is a bad excuse for laziness.

very close to IKEA, yet countryside.

The way out through Nossegem and Sterrebeek is unspectacular, yet good to ride, safe for some passages on these concrete roads and unuseable "fietspad" through Nossegem. Just don't use it.

In Perk I passed the picturesque Kasteel de Ribaucourt which is unfortunately not open to the public. The area around it, the Hellebos, is nice for Sunday afternoon walks (and a beer or coffee at Chalet Lillebroeck). A good alternative to the Tervuren Park or Bois de la Cambre without the masses.

Back via Houtem (probably the ugliest village in the area - or is it Peutie?) into Brussels where surprisingly only minor bike cleaning was necessary:

Transalp 2013

For a change this is not about cycling in Belgium. It's about the 2013 north-south Alpine Crossing (Transalp) on Mountainbikes: 6 days, 12.000m altitude difference, 400 km. All luggage and tools in a tiny backpack with us. It went well in 2012 when we cycled through the Dolomites. But this time the challenge was to cross the Alps North to South in one week. I cycled with four other fellow-Austrians.

Day 1

Starting off in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (or GaPa for the cool kids) the first day was just to warm up. Barely 1000m in altitude difference, arriving in Nassereith. Good weather and lots of beer but no difficulties. What a warm up.

Day 2

OK, it got more tricky from now on. Although the next town was just some 22km away on the road we took two major "detours", one via the Alpleskopf and the other one to the Imsterberg. While Alpleskopf was a easy 800m climb and a great (mainly trail) downhill ride Imsterberg was not that easy. 1,300 m climbing on a steady 13-14% dirt road without any less steep parts to recover and burning August sun. Man, that beer on Venetalm mountain hut tasted like heaven! And the worst: the downhill was boring as hell: no trails, just gravel road all the way down.

Downhill trail from Alpleskopf to Imst

Day 3

Now the real fun part starts. After crossing from Pitztal into the Inn valley via the Pillerhöhe (600m climb on normal road) and a long ride on the valley floor upstream the Inn river into Switzerland we reached Sur En. Time to climb 1,200m through the breathtaking Val d'Uina. We managed to ride 900m uphill to nearly 2,000m but then it was impossible to continue on the bike. This part was carved directly out of the solid rock. So we had to carry and push the bike for 200m or so but this was definitely worth it:

At the top end of the Val d'Uina

 

Just after the "exit" of the Val d'Uina and after crossing into Italy a superb plateau with a great flowing trail led us to the Sesvenna mountain hut for the end of day 3 and just in time before the rain started.

Sesvenna was one of the best huts I have ever been. Great atmosphere and well run. Even though we just got 5 beds in the 30-or-so dorm it still was a great experience.

Day 4

Almost on top at the Umbrailpass

After a long, very long downhill from Sesvenna, back into Switzerland, the next day had the longest climb on the menu: first climbing 1,100m up to the top of the Umbrailpass (2,500m). Most of it was on the normal road with quite some traffic which made it not too pleasant. Lots of people come here for only one day, just to ride the Umbrailpass on the racing bike. We had already done some little hills before on that day and still would continue uphill after Umbrailpass. And we had these backpacks that started to feel uncomfortable and
heavy.

reaching the Punta di Rims at 2,850 m

For the first time this year I was thinking "why am I doing this"? Would it not be enough to take your bike to a normal holiday and ride some hills from time to time?

Like the Stelvio for example. Umbrail is very close to the Stelvio. In fact it is the not so well known side to climb up to Stelvio. Probably because it is the less spectacular side where the road is not as narrowly winding up the hill as on the famous other side of Stelvio.  

Just on top we were in Italy again and we continued another 350m up to the Punta di Rims - at 2,850m the highest point during our Transalp. Time for a break and the great panorama:

Great single trail, great view

Downhill we had one of the best single trails, flowing gently downhill the plateau towards the Lake of Cancano. We had a breathtaking view towards the 3,900 m high Ortler and it's Glacier.

The start of the single trail was technically nothing special but fun to ride. The last few hundred meters, this radically changed:

It is not easy to capture how steep this cliff was where the path was winding down. Fall of the bike and you'll find yourself down in the valley floor. Probably more dead than alive. These serpentines went on forever it seemed. But when we finally arrived at Lago di Cancano, we were all happy to be there. For me this was the best day when it comes to mountain biking. Day 3 might have been more spectacular but this one was just fun to ride.



Day 5

Starting off from Lago di Cancano the plan is to go to Lago di Livigno and then end at Lago Bianco on top of the Bernina Pass.

Sounds like a lot of water. And it was, just from the wrong direction. The day started off well. Although I was feeling tired on the first climb (just some 500m altitude) from Cancano to Livigno.



As soon as we were at the Lago di Livigno the rain started and did not stop for most of the afternoon. Still we had to make it up to the Ospizio Bernina where we would stay for the night.

Not fun.



Day 6

Single trail down to Alp Grüm

What looked like a fun last day turned out to be a nightmare - at least for me. The day started well. Although it was freezing cold we had some great vistas and single trails down to Alp Grüm. Always following the Palü Glacier and the Bernina Railway line, an engineering masterpiece.

Still smiling on the trail

Almost all the way from the Bernina pass to Poschiavo, around 1,250m in altitude, was a  technically very difficult single trail. It was fun to ride in the beginning. Towards the end I was either too tired or just not concentrated enough but I crashed, flying over my front wheel and landing hard on my back. Luckily the backpack had taken most of the damage. But my knee hit a rock and got swollen immediately. I was not able to bend it anymore, so no more cycling.

Slowly I made it downhill to Poschiavo where we had lunch. I hoped to be able to bend the knee afterwards, but still not possible. So even though being just a few kilometres away, I would not reach the end point (Tirano) by bike. Sad ending.

At least I got a ride on the UNESCO world heritage railway, the Bernina Railway which luckily stops at Poschiavo.

After pausing in 2014, the 2015 will see the return of the Austrians crossing the Alps. Route still to be determined. Looking forward.

First ride 2015 - finally

As late as never I started the new year's cycling season - last day of January. At least not a month without a ride since 2010.

And it was nothing special. 45 kilometres past Vilvoorde and back via "the Zemstes" (Zemst-Laar and Zemst-Bos) and Haren into Brussels. Riding deliberately slow to keep the heartbeat steady around 120-125 bpm resulted in a shameful average speed of just 23 kph. But it felt good to be outside again and see that in recent years the number of winter cyclists increased. Similar to the overall number of cyclists in and around Brussels. Hope this has an impact on the ridiculous obligation to use these "cycle paths".

No GPS track or photos this time except for this one where I had to stop anyway:

Wait! There was a road here last year?!

Asse and Pajottenland

Finally I found time to post about recent rides again. Initially I wanted to post about cycling in the Austrian alps in Summer. Still to come. There were too many bike rides and too many pictures to post. I'll have to do that when I have more time soon. So here we are, back in Belgium. This time the hilly Land van Asse and the Pajottenland. 

The way out of Brussels is not the best one I have to admit but it's the fastest to get to the hilly Land van Asse. Especially the part between Rogier (will they ever finish road works there?) and Simonis is challenging - to put it mildly. Just use the road, the bike path is "pas praticable". 

Once past the Koekelberg Basilique everything gets much quieter and smoother. It takes some time though to get really out into the countryside but once you are past Zellik and into Kobbegem and Mollem villages you won't regret taking the long way out of Brussels: some quiet country roads, some hills, perfect road biking:

uphill towards Asse    http://bit.ly/1unnhqU

From Asse I decided not to go back straight through Molenbeek again but take the scenic detour through North Pajottenland. Good decision, the roads and landscape are even better and it's still hilly -  a good change from the Kanal and Waterways in the North-East:

towards Lennik    http://bit.ly/11GagCd

Ok, the way back from Sint Martens Lennik is a bit boring but I could not bother to find another route than the main road into Anderlecht.

Afterwork ride to Leuven

It might not be the Alps but there are at least some little hills in the area between Brussels and Leuven. In this ride I tried to go for as many of those up and down streets as possible in an afterwork ride. Taking the route out via the Deutsche Schule in Kraainem I quickly arrived at the old Hippodrome of Sterreebeek. Now transformed into a golf course it used to be a top place for horse races in Belgium, together with the one in Boitsfort and Groenendael. But three horse racing courses all withing 10 km or so? No wonder they all went bankrupt towards the end of the 20th century. Probably a very Belgian solution to have three courses so close to each other: one for each region? I wouldn't be surprised.

Oudergemseweg (source: https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo/26023097)

Anyway, as of the old Hippodrome, the countryside starts. The "Oudergemseweg" (picture) is one of the best ways to get out towards the east. Although it has now - for whatever reason - been opened to cars (Belgium!) it is still quiet enough to enjoy. And from there it's relatively easy to go down (and up, and down, etc.) to Leefdaal.

Up in the hills above Leefdaal another car free road, the "Langestraat" leads all the way to the western part of Leuven. cycling past the Arenberg Campus and the Hospital, yet another car free road (or rather a path, see the picture below) leads towards the Highspeedline cyclepath. But only after a great, winding downhill road into Winksele.

Albertcanal

I did this tour some weekends ago but so far didn't find time to post it. So here it is: to the Albertcanal and back:

at Zennegat (http://bit.ly/1yMXsqe)

It sounded like a good idea: cycle along some waterways to Lier and further on to the Albertcanal and back along some former railway tracks that have now been turned into a cycling path, towards Aarschot - and then some more cycling along the river of the Demer. So far so good. The way to Lier is flat but far from boring (same as in this tour). The scenic car-free path along Zenne and Nete to Lier is still one of my favourites.

From Lier I followed the "Kleine Nete" River to the Albertcanal.
 

This was an excellent 20k or so of cycling, all along this winding small river. Really great, but a bit far from Brussels for an everyday ride.

Similar to cylcing along Zenne or Nete to Lier but with far less cyclists/pedestrians. And also no villages to cross, so it was more or less 20k straight on, full speed. Great stuff.

There are some beautiful old locks along the Kleine Nete - and a bigger one when reaching the Albertcanal. Apparently the river continues flowing underneath the canal (don't ask me how that works). Belgians surely have some expertise when it comes to inland waterways.

The Albercanal is quite a change to the canals around Brussels. It's massive. Really. And lots of traffic.  Cycling is so and so. Due to the heavy vessel traffic there's lots of industrial sites along the canal. Not scenic, no good tarmac and so on. But it's just for 10k or so. Quite bearable.

the Albertcanal

cycling path following the alignment of an old railway line

After the Albertcanal I was already looking forward to speeding along the old railway line down to Aarschot. But the cycling path allowed all but speeding. Not because of too much traffic but because of slowing down every 500m or so when crossing a road because of barriers on both sides of the crossing. In addition the trees to either side of the path were great for some shade on this hot day but their roots had already ruined the tarmac and made the path quite bumpy.

The way back from Aarschot was much better then. Along the Demer. A perfect, brand new cycling path, all the way to Werchter village.

The Demer close to Werchter (http://bit.ly/VmKDUw)

If it hadn't been for the headwind all the way back to Brussels would have been a piece of cake.

Cyclepath and "Code de la Route"

When I first came to Belgium, I was shocked by the ridiculous bike-paths in the land of Eddy Merckx. They are obligatory to use, even if you might seriously endanger others, yourself or destroy your equipment. I collected some pictures of horrible stone paved bike paths (with loose stones of course). I especially fear those alongside front doors of houses, with no room to go in case somebody steps out the door. 

All this is even more horrible given the "Code de la Route" which - surprise surprise - is very much focused on cars. Thanks, Belgium. The bike paths are obligatory without exception. What a contrast to Austria where on a road bike you are even allowed to ride next to each other in a group on the normal road. My favourite part in the "Code de la Route": 

• "Les cyclistes ne reçoivent pas la priorité sur un passage destiné aux cyclistes."

In principle the "Code de la Route" makes the use of bike path obligatory as soon as there are the round blue road signs. However, the very same article specifies that this is only the case if the route is "praticable". Now, there is some room for interpretation of what is and what is not "praticable" but I generally avoid bike paths. The result is usually the klaxon (which btw is also not allowed in such a situation according to the Code de la Route..). 

In a few cases cars nearly ran me over when overtaking (with some few centimetres distance) or did break right in front of me on purpose. I was also forced to stop a few times by some idiots. Just  ignoring is probably the best. No use arguing that the Code de la Route makes bike paths only  obligatory if they are "praticable". 

Now some examples of what is absolutely not "praticable" for road bikes:

The infamous "D7 roadsign". This bike path is still one of the better ones...

Praying nobody steps out the front door.

those bloody curbs ruined my wheels just after 2 years

perfectly safe, perfectly "praticable"

Remember, obligatory...

classic

another classic

and some genuine Belgian solutions:

Lazy Sunday

Despite the great weather this Sunday I could not motivate myself to go for another 4 hours ride. Lazy me. 2 hours something should be enough. I decided to go direction Pajottenland, but not directly there, rather a bit to the north. However, the area around Ternat and Asse is similarly good for road biking than the Pajottenland. Good roads, little traffic and some hills.
I bascially followed the "Fietsnet" Knoppunten around that area (62-53-54-92-1-2-3-9-12-4). The way out is a bit long, but the Itterbeeksebaan as of Dilbeek is ok to easily get out into the green. The streets are really narrow country roads but most of them paved well. There is some up and down and especially between Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle and Asse the road climbs a bit:

Vrijthout hill: http://bit.ly/1jINOed

Shortly before Asse, there is one short, steep cobblestone hill, a bit like in the Ronde. Terrible cobblestones, but luckily not 20% like on the Muur or Koppenberg. And a bit further down the road, just after Asse, I found this red paved road, climbing through an apple tree garden. Bizarre.

The way back via the Koekelberg Basilica and Molenbeek/Yser area is definitely not the best. I normally try to avoid it and I knew immediatly why. Most stupid littered bikepath, idiotic car drivers and the area at Rogier which seems to be a construction site since at least 10 years (and probably also for the next 10 years).

Ronde van Vlaanderen 2014

Finally I find some time to write about this year's Ronde van Vlaanderen. For the first time I did the full 250 km, starting in Bruges. What a bad idea (I thought after 150 km or so) but what a great experience (never again I though right after crossing the finish line). But I'm already looking forward to the 2015 edition. And the 250 km again. It was just too good to cross this damned line after the full tour.

The first 100-120 km or so are easy and lead more or less straight from Bruges to the "flemish Ardennes". And if for once Belgian Rail SNCB could be punctual we would not have missed the start at 7:00 am at Bruges main square. But the first train to leave Brussels for Bruges in the the morning was already heavily delayed (how is that possible?! the god damned first train!!) so we started around 7:45am in Bruges. Which means that the vast majority of the 4,000 odd starters of the full tour were already way ahead. No benefiting from large groups and all the effort against the wind more or less alone. Stupid Belgian railways!

Nevertheless easy first 120 km with average quite above 30 km/h. I guess that's the new wheels. The first challenge was the Molenberg, not because of the 30 meters climbing but of the worst cobblestones in the whole tour. Speaking cobblestones, what followed the Molenberg was the worst part of the tour for me: the flat cobblestone passages of several kilometre length. I really hate them and in the end it was there where I lost most of my motivation.

Stupid "Kerkgate" cobblestones

What followed then was all the classic "hellingen", nicely lined up and with little time to recover in between. Already No. 7 was the Koppenberg, the steepest one of all with a max. of 22 % gradient - and cobblestones. In the end I managed to make it uphill - unlike most of the other riders. Slowly but steadily climbing without getting off the bike. Not easy at 22 % cobblestone hills. Most other "hellingen" are also paved with cobblestones but the slow uphill speed doesn't make it too difficult - at least that's how I feel them. I don't remember much between km 160 and km 220 or so apart from the Koppenberg and that there were enough moments I thought "why not sit on the Cafe Belga terrace with a beer on such a lovely day?".

But with Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont done (again slowly but steadily climbing up) it was practically achieved and the last 20 km of flat terrain back to Oudenaarde was a piece of cake.
Overall the limit to 16,000 participants made it much easier on the "hellingen". No "traffic jams", no annoying riders getting off their bike just in front of you and couldn't bother to move to the side. The obligation to use the bloody cycling paths that ruin the wheels is ridiculous in a road biking country like Belgium. And police should have better things to do than following cyclists not riding on those terrible "fietspad".

Needless to say that on our way back from Oudenaarde to Brussels the SNCB train was late again and we missed our connection in Ghent. But, hey, I had all the time in the world after those 9 hours of "Vlaanderens Mooiste".