Week Long Cycling Holiday in Belgium

Mapaputsi

My gf and I are doing a week long cycling holiday in Belgium this year, and I am looking for some feedback on my route.

We are sailing in and out from Dover to Dunkirk and starting our cycle from Dunkirk, so far my itinerary looks like this:

Day 1: Dunkirk – Bruges
Day 2: Bruges – Ghent
Day 3: Ghent – Antwerp Area
Day 4: Antwerp – Brussels Area

Day 5,6,7: Here is where I am unsure of, we need to get back to Dunkirk within these three days, but not sure of the best route. One caveat, I had a bike stolen in Lille a couple of years ago so not keen to go back there! Also I should say that although days 1-4 are ~60-80 km rides, we are comfortable up to 120km+ over the space of a day, so we don’t necessarily have to take the most direct route.

Any tips/criticism would be appreciated. :?:

durhamwasp

You wouldn't go wrong by spending most of your time around the tour of flanders and 3 days de Panne courses. Basing yourself in Oudenaarde could fill 3 days easily.

http://www.crvv.be/en/317-routes

pottssteve

If you are into pro-cycling races then the roads between Brussels and Dunkirk are interesting to ride in the tracks of the professionals. If you do a round-about route you could include Geraardsbergen, Oudenaarde, Korkrijk, Waaregem etc. to visit iconic climbs of the Tour of Flanders and the other Spring Classics. A few years ago I rode from Brussels via Ninove (although the main N8 is a horrid road), on via Kortrijk to Ypres, which is well worth a visit. That's about 140km, so could be done over 2 days. From Ypres to Dunkirk you could ride via the old town of Cassel, which is a bit over 60km. It's a nice place to ride, especially when the rain's not raining! Bear in mid that riding East you may well have to contend with a headwind as the prevailing wind is from East to West.

Enjoy!
Steve