Cycling through the Trees
After the closure of the coal mining industry in Limburg, Belgium, bicycle tourism has gradually developed into one of the economic regeneration solutions in the region.
Since 1995, a series of transfer stations have been gradually built, and bicycle enthusiasts can design their own routes according to the location of the transfer stations.
Limburg has become a pioneer in the bicycle tourism industry.
The province has a 2000 km bicycle road system with good pavement, safety and separation from the traffic.
In order to maintain the leading position in this field, it is not only necessary to continue to invest in maintaining the bicycle lane system, but also need to continue to innovate.
The total length of the lane is only one aspect, and its novelty is also crucial.
What cyclists seek is experience.
The tourism management department of Visit Limburg proposed the concept of ‘Cycling Synergy’ to create a distinctive riding experience, so that people can experience the local natural landscape in a new way.
This project is one of a series of cycling experience projects, which fully displays the ‘open museums, botanical gardens and nature reserves’ in Limburg, Belgium.
Other projects include ‘Cycling Through Water’ built earlier, ‘Cycling Through the Heathland’ built later, and ‘Cycling Through the Underground’ to be implemented in the future.
Riding in the forest is a special sensory experience.
The lane brings the rider to a higher ‘realm’: through the double ring riding, climb to a height of 10 meters, come to the top of the tree, and feel the multiple impacts of nature on vision, touch and taste‘ Cycling Through the Trees’ takes riders to high crown and treetop positions through a double circular lane.
This lane is located in Bosland area, which is the largest forest land in Flanders area, and also the location of No.
272 transit point of Limburg bicycle tourism grid system.
The overall length of the lane is about 700m, climbing gradually at a gradient of 3-4% until the height of 10m, and then descending after a ride.
The diameter of the ring is 100 meters.
The material of the driveway is steel plate with PU coating, supported by a group of weather resistant steel thin columns (20 cm in diameter), and the guardrail and handrails are made of stainless steel mesh.
The choice of steel material depends on its durability and structural size.
There are 450 steel columns of different shapes, with the spacing of 1, 2 and 3 meters, representing the tall and straight trunk of the pine tree.
The introduction and planting of a large number of pine trees stems from the demand of local coal mining industry for wood.
This technique integrates the ramp with the environment.
The steel column shall be fixed in the form of bolt points to minimize the impact of construction on the natural environment.
The lane width is 3 meters, which is not very spacious, but it also ensures enough space for riders.
There is a new ring road around the ring, which is connected with the overall system of bicycle lanes.
A circular return space is set at the junction of lanes, in which there is a sign system to describe the information of the project.
The surrounding area is equipped with supporting rest racks, which are made of weather resistant steel plates and piled with firewood tree sections.
These are a small number of trees that have to be cut down when building the ring, leaving some memories here.
Most of the forests in this area are coniferous forests, which were mainly planted to provide timber for mining during the boom of coal mining in the last century.
With the closure of the coal mine, these forests still flourish.
Through the forestry management plan, people try to give more living space to the underlying vegetation, so that the original native plants can flourish together with the pine forest, forming a more balanced and healthy forest system…
