With 't Liefken by your side

Appointment at the church of Lembeke in Lembeke-Dorp. (V) During this tour you cycle a lot on unpaved roads, through the Lembeekse and Oosteeklose Bossen and on real church roads. As a result, the tour is not suitable for bicycles with tubes. With the church on your left, you leave for Eeklo, past Dzilleken and a chapel until junction 77. Turn left into Kerkakkerstraat, direction junction 78. Cycle past residential care center De Boomgaard, ignore two side streets and then, just over a stream, turn right into the Heihoekse Kerkwegel. You cycle between the backyards and the stream and then continue on a single track through the fields to the busy N448. Cross it via a sas for cyclists and follow the church road on the other side to the crossroads with restaurant Malpertuus and tavern Ter Burchgraeve. • Cycle straight on2 through the Tragelstraat into the Lembeekse Bossen (1), direction Sleidinge for cyclists. On the first quadruple turn left and on the next right turn. When you come out of the forest, you cross the Burggravenstroom and continue cycling to the triangular square with the chapel of the Trembling Hazel (2) and junction 78. Straight ahead, through a nice drive to junction 11. Turn left here and continue on the cycle path behind the hedges, towards junction 24. At the roundabout, take the second exit and continue cycling towards Sleidinge. Ignore the Arisdonkstraat on the right and continue through an open landscape with fields and meadows with pollard willows. You cross the Brakeleike and arrive at junction 24. • Turn right, direction junction 15, past the name sign of Waarschoot over 't Hand, a wider road with dotted cycle path. You cross the Brakeleike again and turn left at the first intersection after the railway crossing into Arisdonk. Continue pedaling along a dotted line cycle path through a residential area to junction 15 on the Beirtjesbrug. From here, follow the Lieve, direction junction 28. You bolt along a bridge that leads to the Akkerhoeve. There you can go for fresh farm ice cream, pancakes, waffles and of course also for a drink. At the next bridge you cross an intersection and continue cycling to junction 28. Enjoy the open landscape Cross a somewhat wider road and continue cycling straight ahead, towards junction 30, and enjoy the beautiful landscape with numerous water birds along the banks of the Lieve. At junction 30 you cycle straight on to junction 34. The Kuitenberg mill from 1591 is painted on a building of a mill. It stood on this spot until it was blown over during a severe storm in 1948. On the left is a nameplate of Belzele, on the right one of Lovendegem. Keep following 't Liefken, direction junction 37. Just before a sign for local traffic, take the gravel road on the left and cycle away from the Lieve. At the T-junction after the Belzele nameplate, follow Rabotstraat to the left. After a right turn you will see the church of Belzele and you will arrive at junction 37. Cycle left into Kleine Moerstraat, direction junction 31. After an intersection you continue cycling through the Grote Moerstraat. • Then turn right onto the first road and follow this field road for agricultural vehicles and cyclists to the end. Turn left and turn right into Hulst. After a bend you come to a T-junction. Turn left and then cross the railway and continue along a triangular square until you reach the busy N456. Turn left again, cycle past the agglomeration sign of Sleidinge and at the fork, just past supermarket Match, turn left into the Wurmstraat. You cycle past the water tower and cross the railway a second time. Then you drive past the Psychiatric Center Gent-Sleidinge to the intersection with a mandatory stop. Keep cycling straight ahead, cross the railway a third time and turn right past the last houses into the kerkwegel Hoeksken. • After the less interesting passage through Sleidinge you now enjoy a real single track between the fields and experience the tranquility of the agricultural landscape. The path becomes a wider gravel road to the T-junction with junction 31. Here you choose left, direction junction 27. You cycle into d'Aesdoncksche kerkwegel, next to wine estate Laagland, and bolt over a wide gravel road through the open landscape with beautiful views. After a bend, the road turns into a narrow path and you have to cross a stream via a sas with a bridge. Turn right on the other side. You drive again on a wider gravel road, cross an asphalt road and continue cycling through Schroonhoek. Cross the Brakeleike again and cycle straight ahead at junction 27, towards junction 17. Don't worry about side roads, make a right-angled left turn with the road and continue through the soothing open landscape to the T-junction. Refueling oxygen in the Oosteeklose Bossen Now follow Wittemoer to the right until junction 17 and turn right into Vierhuizen, direction junction 26. Don't worry about side roads and turn left at the T-junction with the two mirrors. You now cycle along a dotted line cycle path next to a busier road and cross the Burggravenstroom. You pass the name sign of Lembeke and where the road turns to the left, you cycle straight ahead. At the end turn right and via the Antwerpse Heirweg into the Oosteeklose Bossen (3). You cycle along a rough, sandy forest road. Ignore a side path on the left and continue cycling straight on cobblestones to a quadrangle. Continue straight on a concrete road until junction 26 and then turn left, towards junction 20. You bolt through a drive that is made car-free along the way with a tractor lock and poles. • At the next intersection go straight ahead and then turn right into the Kloosterpad. Follow this narrow forest path, where no riders are even allowed, to junction 20. On the right you see the entrance to the site of the former Cistercian abbey of Oosteeklo. She played an important role in making the wild lands in this region fertile. Continue straight ahead, direction junction 69. At the roundabout you cycle via the second exit to the center of OostEeklo. Just before the church you turn left into the Koning Albertstraat and cycle out of the center again. At the crossroads, follow the Rijkestraat to the right until junction 69. Turn left here, through the Westakkerstraat, direction junction 77. • Turn right further into Devil's Goods. Follow this winding road between fields and meadows to the T-junction with a dead end road on the left. Turn right and at the next T-junction with the street sign Zoetelucht turn left, direction Lembeke for cyclists. Ignore the side roads and turn right on the triangular square with a covered picnic area. At the next fork you cycle left into the Kerkstraat. On the left in the distance you can see the buildings of Lotus Bakeries. After the agglomeration sign of Lembeke you enter the center. The signage takes you back to the starting point without any problems.