Stiemerheide Cycling: Enjoying Scenic Routes and Local Culture

On our second day at Stiemerheide we went for a day bike ride. The plan was to do a tour of almost 60k this time in the opposite direction compared to the day before. It was not as sunny as the day before but still warm enough to ride without a coat. We did take the, along in case the weather forecast was right and we would end up in the rain. After 13km we had to stop because one jumping cyclist in the party had a flat tyre when his rear wheel landed on a curbstone. Unable to fix the tyre and as it was anyway lunch time we decided to walk to Roots pub to have lunch while someone cycled back to the hotel to get a car to take the bike back. The sun had come out so we could sit outside on the terrace. The menu was limited but the food was as good as one can expect in a bar. They had a lot of choice in beers, cocktails and other drinks. Our party split up with some going back to the hotel to swim and run while the rest decided to continue the bike ride but with a short cut. We ended up cycling close to 50k this time. The route was a lot more hilly so we often had to do short climbs. The members in the party riding electrically took the opportunity to go slow but for me this does not work, I can only cycle uphill in the right gear and in the right cadence, if I go too slow I end up having to put force on the pedals. Near the end it looked like it was going to rain and it was getting chilly so we decided to skip another drink stop and instead have a beer in the bar of the hotel. The last 5k were mostly uphill so that was not an ideal finish. But the variation in landscape and mix of terrain made this ride more engaging and more fun. If you don’t mind a short not too strenuous climb every now and then to break the monotony then I can certainly recommend this ride. Along the way we cycled through the water, a famous tourist attraction of the region and we passed Bokrijk as well. This is a well known open air museum where you travel back in time while walking through old buildings that were relocated to the site and where you can see how people lived in the past. In some buildings and some days you can watch people practice old crafts.