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GHENT, Belgium (Velo) — Belgium might be small on a map, but it’s a cycling superpower in every other sense.
In the heart of Belgium’s bike empire, the sport isn’t just a pastime, it’s a way of life.
Bikes and Belgians are joined at the hip, from students buzzing to classes and businessmen zipping to meetings. Even the mail is delivered by postal workers on bikes.
Since 2020, the Belgian government has invested an estimated €1.4 billion in cycling infrastructure. And it shows.
From a massive network of bike paths and bike-only bridges, everything that is bikes oozes from this country dedicated to the passion and business of cycling.
Also read: Bucket-list guide to the spring classics
Every fan knows Belgium for the muddy madness of cyclocross and the “helligen” of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, but Belgium’s bike culture beats year-round.
Add bike-themed museums, endless cafés, and the world’s best beer waiting at the finish line, and Belgium is a place for every bike lover.
If you love bikes, go to Belgium. And if you really want to get fully immersed into Belgium’s thriving bike culture, rent a three-speed city bike clunker and get lost.
Belgian cycling culture: Where everyone rides
Every year, I am lucky to get my paws on a press pass to have a front-row seat to the spring classics. From Omloop Het Nieuwsblad through Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Belgium is the heartbeat of Europe’s racing scene for a few magical weeks each spring.
But that’s not why I love to go.
Sure, witnessing Lotte Kopecky or Mathieu van der Poel paint another masterpiece out of the mud and muck of some nasty farm roads is thrilling enough, but for me, simply being there is what counts.
Bikes and cycling are lifelong passions for me, and perhaps no place on the planet does racing, cycling, and all the good things that go along with being a bike-junky come together in a giant stew better than Belgium.
Sure, there are no epic hour-long climbs anywhere within a day’s drive, but simply being in a place where the bike is central to everyday life is special.
Ten years ago, the five Flanders provinces began an ambitious dream: a 2,800km network of cycle highways to connect all cities and towns in the region.
With a full subsidy from the Flemish government, municipalities have now built 2,000km—like the 25km “F7” from Ghent to Deinze. pic.twitter.com/aEF6tnMWX9
— Melissa & Chris Bruntlett (@modacitylife) June 22, 2024
In Belgium, cycling is a birthright.
Children start pedaling to school early, and it’s not uncommon to see three generations riding together, sometimes on the same bike in the latest urban-bike designs that are two-wheeled versions of SUVs.
Most towns from Flanders to Wallonia are designed with bike-first infrastructure, from protected lanes and massive bike parking garages to low-traffic zones and bike priority lights.
No one is blaring their horns for cyclists to get off the road. In Belgium, cyclists have priority on most roads.
In fact, rush hour in Belgium is more likely a crush of bikes heading to school and work than a tailback of thousands of cars and trucks stuck on a highway.
Simply being in such a bike-loving place delivers the good vibes. Rent a clunker, get lost.
Celebrating bike history
Paris might have the Louvre and Madrid El Prado, but how many cities have museums dedicated to bikes?
Belgium’s reverence for cycling is enshrined in several superb bike-specific museums. In fact, Belgium has more than 150 street names, statues, busts, monuments, and commemorative plaques highlighting its cycling heroes.
The crown jewel is the KOERS Museum of Cycle Racing in Roeselare, start of Dwars door Vlaanderen each spring.
Nearby, the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen in Oudenaarde is right near the finish line of Tour of Flanders. You can even book a private group ride with famed ex-pros like Thomas De Gendt or Johan Museeuw.
These museums are packed full of photography, jerseys, bikes, trophies, posters, and other memoriabilia celebrating both the iconic races of the region as well as the deep cycling history.
Fans can also rent bikes, sip coffee (and beer) at cafés as well as take part in special exhibits, virtual berg-climbing stations, and buy some cycling-themed collectibles.
This is Disneyland for bike geeks.
Lambic beer bike tour
This might be the greatest idea Belgium has ever had: Combine a cycling route with Belgium’s ancient brewing style of Lambic beer.
I did this route a few years ago to write up a story on the “Lambic Beer Trail,” and it’s a winner.
The Lambicland cycle route covers about 50km through Pajottenland and the Zenne Valley south of Brussels. It connects some of the most famous lambic and gueuze breweries like Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Brouwerij Boon, and the must-see Cantillon in Brussels.
Like all the dozens of sign-posted routes across Belgium, this one is easy to follow, so the formula is beautiful in its simplicity: pedal, taste beer, and repeat.
There’s also a stop at the De Lambiek Visitor Centre, which offers tastings and history lessons on the brewing style’s unique open-air fermentation.
There are plenty of other famous breweries sprinkled across Belgium, all connected by the nation’s cycling trail system that’s more than 2000km long and growing.
Colleagues each spring often arrive late to the finish line for Gent-Wevelgem after making a must-stop to load up on fresh crates of Westvleteren 12, considered the most exclusive Trappist ale produced by the monks at St. Sixtus Abbey in Belgium.
Now that’s professional dedication.
And then there’s the riding
The riding in Belgium is world-class.
From the bergs of Flanders to the hills of the Ardennes, there’s something for everyone in Belgium.
There are famous loops out of Oudenaarde to trace the decisive circuit at the Tour of Flanders, that includes Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg double, not to mention the fearsome Koppenberg wall. (Read: 600 meters that divides Flanders).
The Ardennes doesn’t get the same glowing media coverage as the Flanders region, but the cycling in eastern Belgium is some of the best in Europe.
Roads lead into the deep forests of the Ardennes on a low-traffic, well-maintained network that tackles the iconic climbs of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
There’s also excellent off-road riding, both for mountain biking and gravel. Places like Le Coffee Ride, a one-stop spot with rooms, bike shop and café all in one, in the Ardennes is a nice spot to start.
ITKYK Belgian Beers pic.twitter.com/FAauYIKcX5
— Morgan Wright (@morganwright_us) April 20, 2025
Belgium also boasts an endless calendar of gran fondos to help live out your Flandrien dreams. The We Ride Flanders sportive draws thousands of riders to tackle the same course as the pros, with a big party start in Oudenaarde.
In the Ardennes, the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Challenge covers iconic climbs like La Redoute and Côte de Stockeu. Other top events include the Dwars door Vlaanderen Cyclo, La Chouffe Classic, and the Flèche de Walloniesportive, all offering pro-level suffering with a cold Belgian brew at the finish.
Buzzing around on two wheels
It’s easy enough to get to Belgium with your own bike — or rent a high-quality performance bike locally — but when I’m up in Flanders, I always rent a clunker.
I’m not locking my $8,000 pride and joy to a lamppost outside a beer café. If you really want to soak up the Belgian bike vibes, rent a three-speed city cruiser and go native.
Every Belgian city has rental options galore. Operators like Donkey Republic, Bolt, and Dott have dockless fleets.
In Ghent, I use De Fiets Ambassade, with four shops across the city, for cheap week-long rentals on city bikes for 36 euros for a week, or about $40.
That unlocks Ghent’s full potential of zipping from bar to bookshop to canal-side café with no hassle, no car, and no stress. That’s when you truly feel Belgium’s bike buzz.
There are more than 5.5 million bikes in the country and more than 2,000km of dedicated pathways, including urban commuter highways called Fietssnelwegen, or cycling highways. And with more than 2,000 cycling-related companies across Belgium, this is a place where bikes are central to the economy.
But at the street level, this isn’t about fitness or racing. It’s the ultimate immersion into local bike culture.
In Belgium, you’re not “on a bike ride,” you’re in the cosmic two-wheeled flow.
So get a clunker, buzz around, and get lost. There’s no place like it.
