Flanders Tour 2025: Ride Report

This tour was born of gin and a chance observation on a previous Fridays’ tour. In 2017 at the tea-stop a couple of us noticed we were riding within a few miles of what our friends across the pond would call the enclavest place in the world – the twin Belgian/Dutch towns of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog. And then last summer I was drinking too much gin with a fellow Friday and had a wish for a more genteel tour than the last few, which felt too challenging for someone who’s not riding as much as they’d like. A bit of research suggested that the Baarles were within a day ride of Antwerp, and an idea began germinating. 

To go with the interlocked set of international frontiers I looked for other frontiers – between Belgium and the sea, more normal international borders and the metaphysical one between life and death. Four days of 50-ish miles, one longer day between Bruges and Antwerp via the Netherlands and an optional day to admire the fruits of the treaty of Maastricht (not that one, the 1843 one) – or do anything else riders wanted. And best of all, it was almost flat – apart from a few bridges and one very gentle climb.

27 of us set out from Dunkirk, to be joined by one more at lunchtime on day one. Taking in Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent and Ypres, 28 of us returned to Dunkirk at the end of day six. We’d been very lucky with the weather – almost too lucky as it the week got hotter and yellow heat warnings came into force. Winds in the area can be strong and unforgiving, but we had tailwinds or calm broken only by a headwind as we turned north up the canal to Dunkirk. We were also pretty lucky with mechanicals – total breakages were one front mech gear cable and two Brompton rear tyres (one poorly manufactured and one pierced by a 6-inch nail). 

There are more tour reports out there in the wild of the internet, which will tell you more than I can, and more eloquently. 

• Johnny has one on his blog here: https://johnnyplectrum.com/2025/07/08/bimbling-in-belgium

• Stuart has a CycleChat thread that starts here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/the-fridays-tour-2025-flanders-frontiers-foray-14th-21st-june.303730/

• And the (unfiltered, unedited) photos are on a Google album here (and below): https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOb4MdP3hlFQN2zATo6SVLIZBfZkRiShH__NFFHhGkBychV499bllUqIUUoqZbWOQ

Huge thanks to Adrian and Tim for encouraging me to make the tour a reality, and for respectively all-upping and joining me on the recce and organising waymarkers. I hope to see you on a future tour!