Along the lakes of Soumoy

For this bike ride with the occasional steep climb, we find ourselves at the church of Soumoy, located at an altitude next to an 18th century castle.

1. Keep the church and castle on your right and cross Rue de Daussois towards the centre of the village. Ignore the road to Senzeille and cross the Soumoy stream. At the crossroads, turn left towards Walcourt, Silencieux and Falemprise, passing through rue Bauwy and rue Rognac. Do not worry about secondary roads, pass a chapel and notice on the left one of the five reservoirs, with a total area of 650 ha, a capacity of 86 million m³ and 70 km of banks. Economically, they are used to supply water to the Sambre and Meuse rivers and to produce electricity, tourism for water sports and fishing. In the distance you can see the Plate Waille Dam with a 107 m high panoramic tower. At the intersection with a wide traffic, rue de Falemprise, turn left towards Cerfontaine after which you pedal on the Pre-dam of Falemprise between two lakes. Then you pedal down the first street on the right. It is the Plate Waist Dam that allows you to climb to the Plate Waist Dam. Past the nameplate of Boussu-les-Walcourt, you descend and pedal on the large dam. The lake on the left comes almost to the roadway, the right is in the depths. After the spillway, choose the first road on the left. You pass in front of a parking lot, where you can also visit an ecomuseum. It is now moving in the direction of Froidchapelle. Climb gently away from the lake and don't worry about side roads. You can enjoy a panorama of the lake on the left and then you go into the forest. At the roundabout, continue following Froidchapelle and on the T turn left towards Rance. You continue to follow the road that now descends to a roundabout.
2. Follow on the left, direction Église de Froidchapelle. After a short and difficult climb, turn left in front of the church on Albert I Square. Pass the town hall until you reach the end of the village square where you take the downhill road on the right. A little further, you turn left, through Rue de la Station to the Y-junction where you must stay on the left. Now you pedal through the rue de Virelles which takes you to the village. Continue to follow the direction to Chimay. At the crossroads two kilometers further you turn left into the rue de Mariembourg. You now pedal on a quiet road with a beautiful panorama on the left. Again, you don't have to worry about secondary roads until you reach the intersection with the Charleroi-Chimay road. Cross it carefully and continue your journey on the other side, towards Couvin. Follow this road straight until you find yourself on a T after 2 km of cycling through the forest. Choose the Route Communale on the left, direction Cerfontaines. Now you can enjoy a 5 km oxygen cure on a narrow, hilly paved road through the forests of Cerfontaine.
3. You arrive at a road with wide traffic and follow it on the right until you can turn left at Cerfontaine (max. 10 t). Now it's time to pay attention! Let yourself sink and take the first right, rue des Valizes, cross a stream and after about 100 meters turn right at the Y-junction. After 70 meters you will arrive at an intersection. Take the first left and go up to a fork. Follow Rue des Vaux on the right. You climb through the meadows, around the center of the village, then descend next to the cemetery. At the end of the cemetery wall, cross the intersection and continue straight. Now continue cycling straight ahead and ignore all the side streets. You pass in front of a sign indicating the end of the Cerfontaine agglomeration and pass in front of a mobile phone mast. On the left, in the distance, you can see the lakes where you just passed by bike. You go back into the forest and when you go out, you have a chapel from 1709 on the right. By a beautiful hollow and descending road, you reach the castle and the church of Soumoy.