Combine your lightly sporty cycling legs with a hefty portion of laden history along the 45 km long signposted cycling route around Ypres: the Peace Route. Starting from the Grote Markt of Ypres, you ride a large loop along the eastern side of the city, passing through the domain of De Palingbeek, Zonnebeke, Passendale, and Langemark before cycling back to Ypres.
The journey takes you past the most impressive relics of the brutal history of the First World War. This bike ride leaves you solemn several times. Think of Hill 60 (where the first British deep mine was detonated and where nameless soldiers are now buried) and the impressive Tyne Cot Cemetery (the largest British military cemetery in Europe). In Langemark, you stop at the German Soldatenfriedhof, where 44,000 German and two English soldiers are buried. Along the Ypres Canal, you will also pass the Essex Farm Cemetery, where John McCrae wrote his world-famous 'In Flanders Fields.' Let the poppies grow in your heart as you ride back into the center of Ypres under the Menin Gate.
This is undoubtedly a bike ride that not only sticks to your fitness level but also to your ribs. Wash down the effort and emotion afterwards with a local beer in one of the cozy cafes on the Grote Markt. You can also purchase a cycling map of this route at the Tourist Office.