Touring the Bruges Ommeland

Meet at the parking lot at the back of the church in the Pottebezemstraat in De Mokker (hamlet of Koekelare). With the church on your right, start towards junction 62. You cycle past the village school, turn right into the Kleine Asstraat and cycle left at the end. At the fork you turn with the road to the left, on the right it is dead end. Between corn, leeks and onion fields it continues to junction 62. Continue straight ahead, direction junction 93. You bolt along the forests of Koekelare and between fields. At the first intersection you cycle straight ahead and then cross the N363. You drive past the forest again and cross a priority road. On the other side you still cycle along the edge of the forest and the road on the right is lined with pollard willows. At junction 93, turn right and follow Zuidstraat, direction junction 22.

You continue cycling on a winding road and turn right at a farm with an old bakehouse on the corner. At the Tjunction turn left until junction 22. On the house on the corner is a well-intentioned advice: 'Do and don't look back'. Continue straight between the fields until you reach junction 82. On the right is the nameplate of Werken, part of Kortemark. Turn left and after 200 meters, at junction 83, continue straight towards junction 97. You pass the nameplate of Handzame and continue cycling through the open landscape to junction 97, just before another name sign of Hand zame. Turn right, direction junction 35. The road becomes undulating and you cycle past B&B Ruidenberg and the Edewallebos.
Turn right at the Tjunction. Leave Edewalle on the right, cycle past the Kortemark name sign and ignore the road on the left to Torhout. At the junction after the nameplate of Edewalle, choose left. At Goed ter Loo, where exotic birds are bred, there is a Maria chapel from 1944. Ignore the street on the right and keep cycling straight until you reach a priority road. Follow it to the left on the cycle path next to a wide concrete road until junction 35. Cycle there with a right left nod into the Pereboomstraat, direction junction 36. After 200 meters you are already there and you cycle with a sharp left turn, towards junction 71. You cross two priority roads shortly after each other and then follow the Vinkaertstraat through a relaxing landscape to the end. Then turn right and then the first road on the left. You now cycle around the domain of Fruit Vanacker (directly from grower to consumer) and an orchard and further along Stal Markhove, although on the gate it says Stal Roelens. Then you pass the Wijnendaelehof, ignore a road on the left and cycle straight towards the Wijnendalebos, which looms in the distance.

At the Tjunction, turn right and follow the Edewallestraat along the Torhout nameplate until you can turn left into the Planterijdreef. A sign warns you that this is a bumpy road. That's right, and it's a stretch between pits in the gravel road, past the beautiful canada poplars. After a right and left turn, continue cycling to junction 71. Here you are at an entrance of the Wijnendalebos with information boards. Continue straight on a narrow asphalt road until you reach junction 85 at the end of the road. Right in front of you there is an entrance to the castle of Wijnendale. Turn right, direction junction 70. Carefully cross the busy N33 and follow it to the left on the cycle path behind the hedges. Then turn right onto the first road and turn left at the fork. You cycle through the fields and past the agglomeration sign of Wijnendale. Turn right at the crossroads. It now continues on a wide asphalt road with loose buildings until you come to another road, which you follow to the left until junction 70 at Wijnendale station. Cycle left onto Groene 62, direction junction 74. It is pleasant to cycle on the former railway bed. You bolt under two bridges and cross two roads. Then you come to junction 74. Shortening Here you can shorten by 14 kilometers by continuing cycling on the Groene 62 via junction 30 to junction 34 and picking up on the main route there.
At junction 74 you cycle right, direction junction 84. Ignore the road to Eernegem on the left and do not take side roads until you can turn left at junction 84, towards junction 69. Cross the N368 and turn left at the fork on the other side. Now follow the Zeeweg Noord and ignore the roads until you reach junction 69. Continue straight ahead, direction junction 64. At the next intersection, on the corner, is the Forest Chapel, between a few lime trees. The current chapel dates from the second half of the 19th century. Continue straight ahead, past the Bekegem name sign, towards junction 64. Don't worry about side roads and enjoy the beautiful landscape until you reach junction 64. Continue cycling straight ahead, towards junction 32. Ignore a road on the right, cross an intersection and continue cycling along a grove to junction 32. Turn left into the Ossenweg and continue past the Witte Molen, direction junction 88. You cycle through the open agricultural landscape to the N368. Cross it and follow the busy road on the cycle path to the left. Note! The signage sends you straight ahead, but then after an unnecessary detour you come back to the lane you are now following. Then turn right into Oude Blekerijstraat and follow it until you reach the Bourgognevaart. Right.

You cycle between poles and enjoy the speed that is hidden behind reed collars and the meadow landscape on the other side of the path. At a first bridge you can take a free brochure of the Bourgognepolder nature reserve, which is located behind the Bourgognevaart. Then ignore a second bridge and where the Bourgognevaart flows into the Moerdijkvaart, you cycle right for a while and then cross the bridge with the sharp bend at the end. On the other side, you have reached junction 88. Follow the Moerdijkvaart to the left, direction junction 18. 200 meters further you are already there. Continue cycling straight ahead, towards junction 34. You don't get to see much of the cruise in the beginning, because you cycle down the dike. Right, meadows and fields. Ignore all side roads. At junction 34 you cross the Groene 62, which you cycled a bit earlier on this tour. On the corner you can admire the statues of the king and queen. Here the shortening comes back on the entire route. Straight to the mill Continue towards junction 49. You come back to civilization, cross the N33 and continue cycling on the cycle path behind the hedges, towards Moere. At the first intersection, turn left into Mosselstraat and you will arrive at junction 49. Turn right and continue along the Moerdijkbeek. You will pass a grove and a former distillery. After the agglomeration sign of Moere you cross an intersection. On the next side road on the left, Moerdijkbeek disappears under a stone bridge and you no longer get to see them. You drive through the center of Moere, cross a priority road (on the right you see the church of Moere) and cycle straight ahead at junction 36 200 meters further, towards junction 26. You bolt along the end of the agglomeration sign of Moere and further between loose buildings, fields and meadows. After a lonely chapel with a stair turret you arrive at junction 26. Next to a picturesque white building, cycle left into Hovaerestraat, direction junction 72. In the distance you can already see the Hovaeremolen. You reach that when you get to junction 72. Turn right, direction junction 62. At the end you come to a priority road, turn left and immediately after it diagonally right into the fields. At the fork you keep right and after the agglomeration sign of De Mokker turn left at the Tjunction and immediately after turn right. After a chapel on the right, turn left. At the end of the street you make a right left nod and you are back at the starting point.