Chênée-Verviers-Chênée along the Vesdre 85 km

This cycling trip takes you along the Vesdre River (Weser in German) from Chênée, where the river flows into the Ourthe River, to a bit past Verviers and back. The trip includes quiet and green countryside with rolling hills as well as built-up areas in the Liège and Verviers agglomeration, meandering rivers, quiet villages, strenuous climbs, orchards, quarries, castles, industrial heritage and forests. The trip is suited for the road bike, but includes a badly paved cycling path along the Vesdre in Verviers and a few stretches with bad asphalt or cobblestones. The hills on both sides of the Vesdre valley are peppered with strenuous climbs, described e.g. on www.klimtijd.nl. A few of them are climbed on this trip, the most notables ones being the Drolenval, the Voie des Chars and the Côte de Hansez. You can find something to eat and drink in e.g. Chênée, Pepinster, Verviers, Soiron, and Chaudfontaine. At the east side of Verviers, this trip connects to another cycling trip along the Vesdre, bringing you to the source of the Weser in the Imgenbroicher Venn (part of the High Fens Natural Park).
The trip starts in Chênée where there is ample free parking along the Vesdre. You first cycle to the bridge at the mouth of the Vesdre, where there is the confluence with the Ourthe. You cross the Ourthe to Angleur and the cycle back along the Ourthe to have a look at the confluence from the other side. You then cross the Ourthe again on a cycling bridge and follow the L38 cycling path along the railway to Vaux-sous-Chèvremont. You leave the cycling path and follow the Vesdre to the N61. You follow the main road a short while and then turn off towards the first strenuous climb of the day, the Voie des Chars in Chaudfontaine, 1.3 km at 10.5 % average. Via Ninane you cycle to les Croisettes where you descend back to Prayon on the Vesdre. You follow the N61 past the quarry to Basse Fraipont, where you start another climb through quiet countryside towards Fraipont, with a challenging section at the end. You descend to Nessonvaux, take a minor road along the Vesdre, and then follow the N61 past Goffontaine to the turn-off for the Drolenval climb, with nice sections of the Vesdre in between. The Drolenval is another challenging climb on a minor road, with 1.1 km at 10.8% average, and a parting shot of 100 meters at 18.7%. You descend through mostly built-up area in Cornesse and Drolenval to Pepinster in the Vesdre valley. You pass a former textile plant (the Vesdre water is acidic and was therefore very suited to textile manufacturing), cross the river and follow the N690 out of town. You then climb through very quiet woods and countryside to Oneux. Here follows a section of busy road (N657), which takes you down into Verviers. In Verviers you cycle past the Place de la Victoire and then to the city center along the Vesdre. You continue cycling east and climb to the cemetery at the edge of town. Past the cemetery the quiet road continues to the N61b which you follow down to the roundabout Jean Mobers in the Vesdre valley. You turn back to Verviers along the N61 and then cycle past Renoupré to Verviers. Here is a badly paved cycling path directly on the river which is popular with fly-fishers. Although badly paved, it is not worse than the cobblestones elsewhere in the center. You end up at the Quay des Récollets and continue to the Rue de Dison. This is an area with a lot of immigrants and a lively street life. You cross the Vesdre a few times and cycle beneath the highway towards the Rue Francomont, a bridge across the Vesdre followed by cobblestones. You continue towards the N61 and follow this back to Pepinster. Here starts the climb to Cornesse, mostly through built-up area. From Cornesse you descend to Soiron, a picturesque village. From here you descend through the Bola valley to Nessonvaux. In Nessonvaux follows the Côte de Hansez, another strenuous climb with good views across the Vesdre valley. From the hamlet of Hansez you continue to the quiet village Forêt through quiet countryside. In Forêt you start your descent past a castle towards Trooz/Prayon, with a nice hairpin with a view just before the town. In Trooz, you follow the N61 to Chaudfontaine, the town giving its name to the bottled spring water, now property of Coca-Cola. Here you cross the river to a steep climb on a minor road through woods, the Chemin de la Lemmetrie. You do not climb to the top, but descend back to Chaudfontaine after you leave the forest. On minor roads you cycle through Chaudfontaine back to Chênée, with occasional stretches along the river.