Cycling in the land of Urbanus

Meet in the centre of Herne. Drive towards Kokejane restaurant and turn opposite De Eglantier restaurant, at junction (KP) 36, turn right onto grotestraat, direction KP 35. You leave the village by bike and head towards the slightly hilly landscape. Ignore the Hernebosstraat on the right and turn right onto KP 35 in the Hoogbaan, direction KP 46. You meander between the meadows and choose at the fork on the right, Barakkendries. At the end, you cross the railway and the Edingsesteenweg at the same time and continue cycling through the Daelstraat. At the crossroads, with a dead end straight ahead, follow the N495 on the red cycle path on the right.

At the Smeiersmarkmolen you cross the mark. You can see a high industrial building with electric mill, but there was already a mill here before 1355. Then take the Donkerstraat on the left. Enjoy the view and turn left in front of a house with a chapel in the wall in the Roosbroekstraat. You pass a farmhouse with a bell tower and an integrated chapel against a stable and pedal to a T. Follow the Markstraat on the left. Just before the Marcq-Mark nameplate, turn right onto Torreborrestraat. You are now pedalling right on the language border – you could already see it on the nameplate of the municipality – and also a little parallel to a railway track on your left. Ignore the Rasbeekstraat on the right and climb further through the open landscape to the T with KP 46. Turn right onto KP 2.

Turn right into a brickfield chapel and continue through the Philipskouterstraat through Hoog Manhove to a T with a 1900 house. Turn left and at the junction with the brick chapel keep right and continue along the mirror through the Manhovestraat, until the junction with the chapel on KP 2. Choose here on the left, direction KP 44. You pedal through the Zullikstraat, passing a farmhouse with a large crucifix on the façade. Just before the bridge, which crosses the E429, you arrive at KP 44. Turn right onto KP 49. It continues undulating and winding past the country chapels and on the left the E429. Ignore all the side streets, cross the hamlet of Romont and stay at the chapel with the bell tower on the right.

Continue cycling to the T. Left Bassilly in Hainaut, right Bever in Flemish Brabant. Follow this wide road without a cycle path on the right, pass a chapel with a bell tower, then turn left into Muydt. You go down, stay left at the first fork and on the second immediately after, on the right. It's slowly going up now. Don't worry about side roads and follow Muydt to the fork on a wider road and an 1880s farm across the street. Left. You can go down a lot now. Ignore a street on the right, which is also called Muydt, turn with the road on the left and just before the name sign of Bois-de-Lessines take the rue Notre-Dame on the right. You pedal again on the language border, through an impressive open landscape.

Vicious ascent, beautiful scenery
On KP 49, you continue straight towards KP 3. You pass the name sign of Bever and continue straight on at a crossroads with a chapel, towards Akrenbos. At the Y-junction with a white house on the right and a brick house in the middle, keep left and continue cycling to an intersection with mandatory stop and a beautiful chapel on the left. Turn right, past the restaurant 't Platteland and the church of Akrenbos. Ignore left and right in front of a white chapel the streets that are both called Akrenbos, just like the road you follow. Then take Bloemendael on the left. Now comes a vicious climb, but the beautiful scenery makes up for a lot.

After a turn, ignore a cul-de-sac on the right and arrive at FP 3. Continue straight, direction KP 4. In the hamlet of Burght, turn left into Eeckhout, a narrow concrete road between fields. At the end, on the T, follow the wide road on the right to the center of Bever. At the intersection with the De Kleine Bever café around the corner, turn left towards Galmaarden and Enghien. You pass the town hall, the police station, the Ter Plasbeek sports hall and a football field and leave the wide road at the beautiful white Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekapel with bell tower from 1725. Ignore all secondary roads and continue following the Kamstraat through the open landscape passing a few farms. Where the Kamstraat becomes a dead end, turn right into the Eysbroeckstraat. You pass a white farm and the nameplate of Sint-Pieters-Kapelle and climb by a hollow road and the Caesar's Farm from 1777 to the junction with KP 4. Turn left onto KP 5.

You cross the Boulevardstraat past a U-shaped farm from 1799 to five jumps on the N495 with KP 5. Carefully cross the busiest road and continue cycling through Kramerijkstraat, in the direction of KP 7. At the fork, turn right, then, on a triangular mini-square, turn right into Kwatemstraat. You descend and pass the 19th century Hof te Kwatem with a crucifix against the façade. At the next fork, turn left and follow Haagstraat. Ignore the Hogekeerstraat on the right and the Pausleenstraat on the left and continue cycling along the Imbeekstraat. Cross the railway tracks and continue cycling to FP 7. Turn left onto Dronckaertstraat, direction KP 8. Ignore the Groenstraat on the right and go further up to the T. Turn right and at the crossroads with a mirror and a chapel straight into the Processiestraat. At the end follow the Hernestraat on the left.

Poplars and draft horses of Canada
You cycle along some football fields and from the square with the bronze statue of Urbanus with Amadeus and Nabuko Donosor to the church of Tollembeek. Here you turn right and pass the De Kaatser statue out of the center. You cycle on a wide road without a bike path and cross the brand with the Watermill Wielant. The mill of 1474 was destroyed around 1580 and rebuilt only after 1601. Turn left into Hollestraat and follow it past some farms until you reach the junction with the crucifix. Take the Haagstraat on the right. It now climbs gently on a narrow paved road.

At the Vollezele sign, take the Gaubergstraat on the left and continue by bike until KP 8. Turn right onto Ezelveldstraat onto KP 9. Cross the intersection with the Repingestraat and pedal further through the Repekouter past a chapel with a stepped gable, a white field chapel and through a landscape with Canadian poplars to the Steenstraat. Follow it on the right until you reach the church of Vollezele. Keep the church on your right and cycle along the Oudstrijdersplein between the statue and the Belgian draught horse museum to the busy N255. Follow it to the left on the wide cycle path until you can turn right between the Route 255 café and the Dries café in Molenstraat towards Oetingen. At the fork, keep right and continue on the wide road until FP 9. Turn right onto Heystraat towards KP 31.

You cycle along the Hellebos and turn left onto the T. On the right, it's dead. Ignore the street on the right after the café 't Rozenhof with dovecote De Reisduif and pedal further into the open landscape. Past the Oetingen nameplate, you arrive at a fork with a chapel. Choose here on the right, then take the first road on the right. At the end, turn right, then immediately left into Raseveldstraat. Follow this winding road between meadows to the end. You are now on FP31. Turn right onto KP 36. Follow the winding Leenstraat between fields and meadows and pass some farms until you reach the first crossroads. Turn left here and continue cycling through Klein-Leenstraat. At the end follow the Druimerenstraat on the right and on the next T the Ekkelenbergstraat on the left. Then take the first road on the right, the Schereweide. At the end, follow the Aerebeekstraat on the right until the next T in a chapel. Turn left onto Harebeek and continue past some chapels. After the Herne agglomeration sign, you enter the bend of a wider road. Continue straight until FP36.