Ardennes with the RAVeL 44A: climbing around the Hoëgne, the Amblève and the Lienne

This route starts with the Hoëgne Valley car park at the Chalet du Pont de Belleheid to avoid the bustle of Spa as a starting point: you can reach the car park of this restaurant by the Sart motorway exit and follow the signs for the Promenade de La Hoëgne. Arriving at the bottom of the Hoëgnedal you have to cross the Hoëgne by car via the ford, along it is a bridge where you can cross the Hoëgne by bike / on foot to keep your feet dry (and wheels). Because you go here in the Hoëgne valley (at a cul-de-sac point) it is therefore a direct climb: the first kilometer a little steeper, then a little transit road to Cokaifagne with percentages around 5 to 6% then you follow the RAVeL 44A in a climbing direction (2 - 3%) to the highest point a little after Hockai.

RAVeL 44A is a former railway line between Spa and Stavelot via Francorchamps, whose track will be fully paved in 2021. A great alternative for cycling from Spa to Stavelot almost without car traffic! The cycle path, which does not have many intersections with the main roads, also passes just after the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. From Francorchamps the cycle path descends 2 to 3% towards Stavelot. The bike path leads to RAVeL L45 and you follow it very shortly before saying goodbye to these beautiful bike paths. You now pedal on the cobblestones through Stavelot and the route then heads west where you climb to Henum (first part of the Côte de Werhai) on a road where the top layer (layer of pebbles) of asphalt is often worn, but is otherwise quite reasonable. Then you stay informed and cycle to Wanne: this way you bypass the Wanneranval Coast (which is steeper).

You go down via Wanne to the hamlet of La Vaux, where you turn right downhill to go down further to Neuville. There you go up to Spineux and cross a beautiful forest area via a Forest Road to Aisomont. In addition to the climb into the forest, the road is quite bad on some parts. You can choose not to get off at Wanne but to go straight to Aisomont at the roundabout: this eliminates five kilometers and 200 altimeters.

You descend on a good road surface to Trois-Ponts, and via an inland road (private road, managed by the reservoir manager in Coo) you pedal to Coo. It can be busy in Coo with tourists, and on the main road through the Amblève valley, but you quickly leave the main road to cycle to the Moulin du Ruy and climb the Côte de Rosier-Est . The descent passes through the western slope of Le Rosier, which from the village of Cour to Borgoumont has only a moderate road surface (be careful), but from Borgoumont via La Gleize to the Amblève river has an excellent road surface (May 2023).

Then you go up to Cheneux and descend steeply towards the beautiful valley of the Lienne, where you follow the main road (which is quiet in terms of traffic and has a good road surface) to the point where the Lienne flows into the Amblève. Then follows the 6-kilometer climb of La Vecquée, first by the main road N633 (you pass the Congo viewpoint), and from Stoumont this climb becomes a little steeper and it becomes less congested in terms of traffic. The descent is on a reasonable road surface and is quite steep (10%) between the villages of Desnié and Winamplanche and the road here is almost bendless. You do not pedal to Spa, in this route, the always busy Spa is bypassed. So at Winamplanche you turn right and go up to Creppe (the road surface is not very good, but in the direction of climbing it is doable), the climb is known as Bois de Vecqueterre. After the pancake, you go up (via a good surface of the road) to part of the north side of the Rosier. You then cross the forest area (on a good road surface) to Nivezé and you arrive at RAVeL 44A, which you now follow in a climbing direction towards the Sart. And then it goes down into the Hoëgnedal.

The excellent bike paths of the RAVeL 44A and L45 contrast sharply with the sometimes moderate (and sometimes bad) road surface in some places on this road (although it is not so bad on this road). Well, it's always something you need to take for granted when cycling in this area. It is therefore not advisable to follow the route in the opposite direction as you will get worse road surfaces in the descents for the wheels. You can eat and drink on the course after 57 km in La Gleize, or at the bakery/tea room in Stoumont after 75 km (in the climb of La Vecquée) or of course at the end at the Chalet du Pont de Belleheid.