2022 Tour Project

Years after our last cycling tour, we were eager to plan for another one in August 2022 and chose Belgium due to pleasant memories from a previous tour that included the Eastern Flanders and Wallonia. The cycling conditions in this country - safety, cycling network, accommodation, hospitality - are among the best in Europe. This time we wanted to see the charming cities of the Western Flanders and experience some of the playground of the Northern Classics road races. Conscious that the cobbled hills would be demanding, we planned for a counter-clockwise direction so to leave the hardest part towards the end of the tour. Same intentions as before. That is relaxed mode, quiet pace, individual stages of some 60-100 Km aimed at accommodating in cities to be visited (two-night stays in places), and walks or loops around on "rest days".
Looking up on websites, the complete Flanders Cycle Rout loop is listed at some 850 Km and excludes two major cities and, for logistics, we believe we would skip the easternmost portion. After a bit of cut-and-paste with GPS tracks, the resulting estimated total distance of about 650 Km would make it the shortest among our long-distance tours so far. Anyway sound for a couple of friends who were also interested and with matching timeframe. A spread of word and one more couple gladly joined for a total crew of six.
As for our previous loop tours, we opted for a start-end point in a small hamlet in the countryside to park our cars with peace of mind.
We then searched, planned, and booked accommodations based on the availability of an overnight safe storage for the bikes. Except for a couple of hotel stays, we could find excellent AirB&B solutions in the center of the visited cities.

We have other suitable bikes but opted for the faithful ones that already withstood thousands of touring miles. Panniers and a backpack in the rear, and quick-release handlebar bag. Total weight of about 32 Kg (70 lb.) plus extras - water, food, souvenirs - to come along the way.

The tracklog of the tour is available here:
https://www.wikiloc.com/bicycle-touring-trails/cycling-flanders-2022-111520744