Reports by Dan Gamber

An excellent and complete guide! If you like to ride on good pavement but away from car traffic, the towpaths of Belgium offer some of the best cycling in the world. You can ride across the country from north to south or east to west with only occasional concerns about cars or trucks. Much of the way is through pleasant farmland or nature preserve, with the loudest noise bird songs or the engine of a barge. The network totals a little over 2,000 km (1,200 miles), of which more than 1,600 km provide fine riding for any kind of bicycle.

The purpose of this guide is to describe the entire network from a cyclist's perspective. Included are all waterways in Belgium, and logical extensions into France and the Netherlands, which are or were within the last few centuries navigable and where it is physically possible to ride along or reasonably close to the water. Also included are a few connecting rail trails.