Tips & tricks

Things the planner can do that are easy to miss. You never have to remember any of it: say what you want in your own words and it works out the rest.

• You can name a junction to ride past, too, "via knooppunt 131" and I'll thread the loop through it.
• Tap Legend on the map and it names every colour and sign on this route, amber is unpaved, ⚠ is roadworks.
• The signs sometimes take the long way between two junctions. In the app during a ride, More → Shortcut checks whether the road is genuinely shorter, and stays quiet when the only short way is a main road.
• You can make the text bigger, open the menu top right and pick a larger size under Text size; the whole app follows.
• Keep the ones you ride, tap Share to keep a route, and next time you plan from here I'll leave those out and give you new ground.
• For an easy ride you can also tell me "paved only", "keep it flat", "quiet roads", "some shade" or "avoid town centres", I'll steer the loop accordingly.
• I plan loops up to 120 km; for a longer day name a destination, "from Ghent to Bruges", and I'll build the route point to point instead.
• Riding electric? Ask for "a charging stop halfway" and I'll route the loop past a charging station.
• Curious what you'll pass? Tap "On this route" under the ride for the cafés, sights and climbs along it, each one says how far in and what the detour costs, and adds itself as a stop.
• Not better? Say "back to the previous route" and I'll swap it straight back.
• You can also describe the whole loop by its places, "from X to Y via Z and back", and I'll build it through them, no distance needed.
• If you would rather stay on dry land, say "without the ferry" and I'll route around the crossing.
• You can also ask for the famous climbs by name, "over the Oude Kwaremont", "via the Muur", and I'll build the ride over them, even two in one loop.
• Say "with a coffee stop" and I'll pick a well-rated café and route the ride past its door, swap it for another with one tap.
• Riding together? Tap Share, you get a short code anyone can type on knoophop.be and they'll see this exact route, no account needed.
• Your device is covered too, under "Take this route" → Other devices you'll find Garmin, Bosch, Suunto, Sigma and more, each with its exact import steps.
• Planning at the computer? "Take this route" shows a QR code, scan it with your phone and the route opens there, ready to ride.
• No need to write anything down, "Take this route" sends it to your phone, Garmin or Wahoo, downloads a GPX, or prints a cue sheet.
• The start spots I suggest here marked TOP are official Toeristische Overstappunten, free parking, a signed pole and a direct link onto the node network.
• Driving there? The blue P on the map is a real car park near the start, tap it for directions.
• If you'd rather browse than ask, knoophop.be/discover has hundreds of ready-made routes, filter by distance or pick one straight off the map.
• You can ride it the other way round, say "reverse the loop" and the same roads flip direction instantly, no replanning.
• Have a good ride, tap "Ride now" and your phone will call out each node as you reach it; on the way you can even say "find water" or "bring me home".
• This one runs close to the {route}, by the way, one of the nine signed Flemish routes. Name it and I'll ride the real thing: the whole route, a day loop on it, or a stretch from one town to another.