Day 1: Brussels – Leuven
For five days, the four of us explored the Flemish cycle routes. Of course, this involved some logistics. Only my wife Lesley rode her own bike on this trip. Our daughters and I used hire bikes. We collected them in Brussels from the helpful people at Bike-Packer.
Our first few kilometres ran through the heart of Brussels. It remained special to cycle through such a big city. The bustle and enormous buildings were overwhelming, but at the same time it was a privilege to explore the capital in this way. What did we learn there? Brussels had quite a lot of elevation differences.
After overcoming a number of climbs we left the city. As we cycled, the scenery changed. It went from classical façades to ultra-modern buildings, along the greenery in Woluwe and the impressive Park of Tervuren. From that point on, the horizon became wide. We headed east, towards Leuven.
After leaving Brussels, we crossed a rolling landscape towards the plateau of Duisburg. At Ooghoogte we squeezed on the brakes for a moment. That artwork and viewpoint offered a 360 degree panorama over the surroundings. Wow.
With a smile on our faces, we reached the final kilometres of this cycling day. Via Heverlee we headed to Leuven. In the heart of the city, we admired the historic buildings on the Oude and Grote Markt. Soon afterwards, we reached our first accommodation for this HiFlanders cycling holiday. Hostel De Blauwput was an inviting place, and we immediately felt at home there. After a satisfying evening meal, we went together to the relaxation room and concluded a successful opening day with a few board games.