Polder tour between Gistel and Schore

Gistel is the village of Johan Musseeuw. On this journey of flat and unprotected polders from the wind, he learned to become flandrien. Canals and pumping stations (and here and there an old windmill) keep the low land dry. Large lonely farms date back to the Middle Ages, when this land was reclaimed at sea. You can still meet hardworking farm workers along the way in this hard country. They have learned to live with the whims of nature. And so does the cyclist. Sometimes in the back, sometimes in the lead: a playful wind always blows...

1. Meet at the entrance of the beautiful (neo)Gothic church of Bekegem. With your back to the church, just to the right and then left into the Bevrijdingsweg. Now you keep pedaling a long way straight, over the (poorly visible) intersection, past the Witte Molen. The street name has now become Ossenweg and you still cycle straight ahead, over the intersection with the N368 (= Eernegemsestraat) into the Pardoenstraat. Winding around the Klokhofstede (1863) and cycle straight ahead at the fork. Continue up to the Gistel-Nieuwpoort N 367 road. Follow it to the left. Ignore all side streets and drive just over the Waerevaart on the left into the Vaartdijkstraat. Ignore a street on the right and take the Nieuwlandstraat just past the Moere pumping station, on the right.
2. You cycle through the Nieuwlandstraat next to the Groot Geleed. The Nieuwlandstraat runs to the left, away from the Groot Geleed, and you continue to follow the Nieuwlandstraat. On the next T, just left and then immediately right. Cross the cycle path on the former Ostend-Torhout railway line and pedal further through the Nieuwlandstraat to the next oblique intersection (house 'de Waterlander') where you first turn right and then almost immediately left. It is still called Nieuwlandstraat here (but no nameplate to be seen!). The street name only changes when you cross the Torhoutsebaan and end up in the Halve Stepsteenweg. Turn left at the crossroads. Always cycle straight on until the first real intersection. Turn right into the centre of Moere. Beyond the neo-Gothic church (with older celebration tower), ignore all the side streets and cycle past a white chapel and the castle Bon Vouloir (no name sign here either!).
3. Follow the road for another km until you can turn right into the Speersweg a little past the sign Koekelare/Zande. No asphalt, the road doesn't look so good at first but gets better. A kilometer further, where the paved earth road turns into asphalt, turn left (this turns out to be the Pereboomstraat), until Zande. (Alternative to narrow straps: no Speersweg, straight ahead and turn right at the intersection.) In Zande cycle into the village and you turn left past the church. Follow the Dweersstraat to the end, a T-junction. Turn right, the Kapellestraat, next to the Kapellegeleed. At the Chruyszandhoeve, with chapel, you turn right with the road. Now follow the Zandestraat, ignore the Haelinckstraat on the right, and at the fork after a white farm, cross the stream on the left. When you reach the N369, follow it to the left. First road turn right (cobblestone road). A few hundred meters further you are back on the N369. A little further right, the Hunckevlietstraat. A little further picnic tables and benches on the Lekedijkgeleed.
4. It is beautiful cycling in this beautiful part of the polder. Ignore the side streets of the Hunckevlietstraat, cycle past a pumping station and then take the Zilverspeiestraat about 250 m further left until you reach the Lekestraat. Left. Further on, the Lekestraat becomes the Schorestraat. About three kilometers further you cross the N369 again and cycle into Leke. Just before the church, take the road to Koekelare. - Straight ahead, towards Ostend, 100 m further is the Canadaplein with the Canadian War Memorial. Turn back on your steps towards Koekelare.- Don't worry about side roads. Continue in the direction to Koekelare. Cross two intersections and keep left at a fork on Koekelarestraat until you have the Vijvermolenstraat on the left because you also have to go through it. After a few right-angled turns, cross the Vijvermolenbeek and follow it to the right. Always keep following the road straight ahead, without worrying about side roads until you reach a main road. Cross it and follow the Scharynkweg. On the right, you see the grinding Hovaeremolen (1711).
5. Keep following this road, ignore the Hovaerestraat on the right and follow the Beekstraat straight ahead. At the intersection with the Moerestraat go straight ahead. To your right is the Moerdijk Oost. Continue straight ahead on Beekstraat until the end. Turn right over the Moerdijkbeek into the Leugenboomstraat. Now take the first left, the Jokweg. On the Oostende-Torhout road turn right and drive 100m further left into the Ganzestraat. Don't worry about side streets, cross the cycle path on the old railway line again and keep cycling straight until you have to turn right, because it is a dead end straight ahead. On the T turn left and on the main road - you are now in Eernegem - turn left again into the Westkerkestraat (N368). A kilometer and a half further you come to the Burgundy canal. Follow rue de la Burgundy to the right. At the crossroads, follow the Watervallestraat straight on until you reach the church of Bekegem.