The best road cycling routes around Diest

A bit tough if the tires are too hard...

Bring your own seat...

The Schulensmeer is the largest inland lake in Flanders. Numerous benches invite you to take a break.

Steep climb that starts at the church of Molenbeek.

Vlierbeek Abbey is located northeast of Leuven. To the south, it borders the Negenbunders and the Molenbeek valley, which, until the first half of the 20th century, connected to the then-existing part of the Lovenarenbroek. The avenues, the abbey site, and the surrounding fields have largely been preserved over the past two centuries. The priory was founded by the Benedictines of Affligem in 1127. The first monastic buildings were erected from 1158 onwards, and the first church was built in 1170. During the Wars of Religion, the abbey was destroyed. Reconstruction did not begin until 1642. A second building campaign began in 1776, during which only the church and the abbot's quarters were completed. The ruins of the original church tower still exist. The abbey was dissolved in 1796, but thanks to the Concordat, the first monks were able to return in 1801. In 1829, Vlierbeek became an independent parish. The abbey church is a defining feature: a remarkably homogeneous building in the Classical style, a series of geometric volumes devoid of any ornamentation. Adjacent to the church is the cemetery, which is still in use. In the garden adjacent to the church, we still find remains of the cloister, rebuilt in the 17th century. The old abbot's quarters date from the 16th century but have been renovated several times. In the vegetable garden, a 17th-century gazebo with a rococo stucco ceiling still stands, used as a chapel since 1963. Several outbuildings adjacent to the western enclosure wall were converted into private residences in the 19th century. The 18th-century carriage house was also converted into a residence. Farmhouse buildings from the 17th century stand against the northern fence, which originally housed a bakery and brewery. The 17th-century northern gate was originally equipped with a drawbridge, the ironwork of which has been preserved. The western gate with the gatehouse dates from the 16th century. Behind the farm, traces of the Baroque garden and its associated canal system can still be seen. The plot of the former 17th-century parterre garden is still recognizable. Also worth mentioning are the garden belonging to the rectory and the garden near the former coach house, as well as remnants of the 18th-century moated island garden in the northeast corner, remnants of hedges, the old cloister, and the vegetable garden. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Vlierbeek Abbey Domain, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/135101

Northeast of the Sint-Jansberg monastery complex on Schomstraat lies the Oude Pastorij farm, a U-shaped farm dating from the first half of the 19th century, with the open side of the yard facing the street. The brick buildings under gable roofs (Flemish pantiles), hipped on the side wings, are situated around a rectangular yard separated from the street by a long wall and several recent service buildings. The house is located in the center of the central wing, a double house of four bays and two stories on a raised ground floor with a pitched plinth. The rectangular windows have wooden lintels and painted sills, and the rectangular door has a wooden lintel. The house is flanked on both sides by slightly projecting stables of three bays each, with a modified layout. Spacious transverse barns are housed in the perpendicular wings, each of three bays and equipped with an anchored brick basket-arch gate. These volumes feature arched windows and rectangular doors beneath a wooden lintel. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Carthusian Monastery of Sint-Jansberg and its surroundings, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/302683

The municipality of Zelem had three parsonages throughout its history. The first was, and still is, located on the Kolenberg and called "Hoeve Oude Pastorij," better known locally as the "Donkelhoeve." Between 1969 and 1972, this farm served as a filming location for the BRT serial "Wij, Heren van Zichem" (We, Lords of Zichem), stories about "De Witte van Sichem" (The White Man of Sichem) and "Het leven van Herman Coene" (The Life of Herman Coene), written by Ernest Claes. In those stories, the farm belonged to farmer Coene. In those days, the pastor's residence was always connected to a farm that provided the pastor with his daily necessities.

This isn't the main entrance. This entrance immediately leads you past the old sheepfold (later a cowshed), the old abbey farm (built in 1640), and the old washhouse (built in 1640).