Via Eurovélo 5, Dinant et Ravel ligne 150 / 600 mt of elevation / Level of difficulty: easy to medium
Ride report:
This route is 80 k long, it has about 600 m of elevation and it’s 100% on tarmac. Our starting point is Brussels from where we are taking the train to Ciney. there are direct trains and it takes about an hour and a half.
The first section is about 20 k of mostly down hill from Ciney to the city of Dinant. It’s a very nice road with very little traffic.
Dinant is a touristic city by the river Meuse. It’s known for being the birthplace of the creator of the saxophone: Mr Adolph Sax. The city also has a very old fort on the top of the cliffs and a beautiful gothic church. It’s definitely a place worth visiting.
We continued by the river Meuse for a few kilometers and then we took a cycle path or what in Belgium we call Ravel which stands for Réseau Autonome des Voies Lentes and can be translated as autonomous network of non-motorised paths, they are often old train tracks, not longer in use. This one is the Ravel line 150. We stay in this cycle path for about 35 k.
The last section of this ride is about 20k by the river Sambre direction Charleroi. This area is not particularly beautiful but it’s interesting. The views here are mostly of industrial areas. From Charleroi we took the train back to Brussels. But it is possible to cycle by the canals, check Charleroi Brussels via the old canal here.