NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT. Along the F11 bicycle highway between Antwerp and Lier: “It’s best a social event here” (Deurne)
It’s Wednesday afternoon, half past three. The start of the rush hour for working people. The past few days the rain has been pouring down from the sky, but the weather gods seem favorable to us. There between a faint sun through the clouds. We go to the Vosstraat in Deurne where the F11 officially starts. In the future, this bicycle highway will be extended by the Berchemse Saffierstraat in order to connect it to the Singel bicycle path and the city center via a bicycle bridge over the Ring. Or that is the intention. But now the starting point is in Deurne, right next to the airport.
It soon becomes clear that this soft red asphalt strip is not only used by the sporty commuter but also by the quiet connoisseur. For example, by Sofie (44) who puts on her walking shoes several times a week to take a brisk walk with her Romanian adoptive dog Blue. “Often I walk up to the bridge along the other side of the tracks to return. That is a beautiful route, over the dike, in the green.” Blue sits shyly next to her and looks at us with wary, sky-blue eyes somewhat suspiciously. Sophie strokes the animal’s head.
“Occasionally I also take a bike ride to Lier. I think this is a really beautiful bike path. And my kids love coming here to roller skate or skateboard.” In her eyes there is only one downside: the Berchemse Saffierstraat. There they want to implant the F11 at height, next to the railway verge. “As a result, a large part of the green zone next to the railway will disappear. I think that’s a pity. As far as I’m concerned, they would be better off extending the bicycle highway there as a bicycle path in the street.” An opinion that many residents of the Saffierstraat also share, because in recent years there has been a lot of protest from the neighborhood against the plans.
Theoretical Astronomy
A little further, Monique (65) cycles. She lives in Boechout and has just come from a friend who lives in Zurenborg. “And then this road is the fastest,” she smiles. They are adaptations for the sixties. “I just finished my last one. I am officially retiring in two days. All I have left is a farewell party.”
It all feels a bit double. “Everything has its time, but I will miss my colleagues. I worked in the social sector, for the CAW. I have been asked many times to volunteer. But I’m holding off on that boat for now. I want to get some rust first. And I also signed up for a basic knowledge science course. That’s something that has always fascinated me, but I never had the time to really delve into it. So I am looking forward to it.”
While Monique continues her way towards Boechout, we follow the same route. A fresh breeze rises. Now in the carpet. That will soon be another pair of sleeves. We bump into Bert van Bortel (61) who leisurely cycles in the too practical direction. “I come here often,” he says. “I live in Berchem and here you are surrounded by greenery in a jiffy. Especially in the morning, when you cycle to Lier, it is wonderful here. Then you cycle towards the sun.”
Now he comes back from Lier. “I’ll be performing there at the end of November and I still had a few things to arrange.” He plays with the bluegrass band Rawhide. “Guitar and mandolin.” And with that, he has a pretty full agenda. “This is how we are ahead in the Fakkeltheater with the performance” The Broken Circle Breakdown with Lize Feryn and Roel Vanderstukken. Last summer we were not even three weeks in Portugal where we played at a festival in front of thousands of people.”
Today he is a full-time musician. “Since I retired. I was the last wallpaper garnisher in town. But I don’t mind that I had to retire. Now I can focus on the music,” he says. “That means that I often work from home. And my children, they are also at home a lot. So if I need to get away for a while, I jump on my bike and come here.”
Toereke Lier
At the height of football club OG Mortsel, on the other side of the ditch, cars drive back and forth. Parents who come to drop off young soccer players equipped in red sports suits for their training. But not so Olga (35) and her son Alexander (7). They prefer to take the bicycle. “This is a very safe route for children. In addition, my husband is often away by car,” she says. “But I like cycling here. Sometimes I go on bike rides here in the evenings. With my two children, or alone with my husband. I can really enjoy that.”
We cycle further and find ourselves in the middle of amateur cyclists who enjoy themselves at work on the asphalt. Which toreke Lier is well known among cycling enthusiasts and an ideal training on weeknights. Here and there, those sports enthusiasts are overtaken by a speed pedelec. A short press of the horn as a warning. Because this route is primarily aimed at those who naturally choose to leave their car at the side of the road.
We have an ice cream parlor – unfortunately closed – and see some young people using the dry hours to meet each other in the skate park next to the bicycle street. Not much later we arrive at Boechout station and café Wattan – also closed. It’s right across the street full bowl. And we mean at St. Jozef patisserie. It is even before closing time, but there is not much to notice. “During the weekend there is a line here all the way to the railway”, points out a customer. Inside it is sweet and warm. A welcome stopover.
“We have been here for 27 years”, says manager Els Moens. She is responsible for the administrative side of the case. Her husband is a baker. “And recently my son also joined the business. What new we, hip things don’t think about. Vegetarian sausage rolls, for example, from cinnamon rolls. that sells like crazy.”
Whether they have been attracting more customers since the construction of the bicycle highway? “I don’t really care about that.” Sandy, who has worked in the store as a saleswoman for 23 years, joins her. “It’s always busy here. But the bicycle highway will bring more passage, so yes, maybe.”
80 kilometers of cycling a day
We drive on towards Lier. This weekend, the final piece of the F11 will be celebrated there: a thirty-metre bicycle tunnel combined with a 250-metre bicycle bridge that ensures that cyclists can make a safe and smooth connection between the bicycle path and Lier station.
And then we take on the most difficult task of the day: chatting with a commuter on a speed pedelec. We adopt a strategic position. Well in sight, because it goes fast. After a few attempts, we manage to slow down Gert Wijns (58).
“I cycle here every day,” he says. “I live in Nijlen and work in the port. That makes me cover 40 kilometers each time. only. So 80 kilometers a day.” We widen our eyes, but he doesn’t seem to find it that special. “My speed pedelec helps a lot”, he smiles. “Two years ago I decided to take the step. Before that I often took the train. But it will come, sometimes not on time. And during corona you had to wear a mouth mask all the time. It became too much hassle for me. So I decided to take the bike.”
And he has absolutely no regrets. “I like being outside. I like to cycle anyway and make sure that I always have some pedal work myself.”
He doesn’t have much to say about the route he has to take. “That one is good. Only the lighting in winter could be better, especially for children who take this road when they go to the academy in the evening, for example. I think better lighting would also make this road more popular. Because the F11 is used by more people, it can always be better.”
When we pass a counter around 6 pm, it reads 1,133 cyclists.
Gert drives alone with a motorized vehicle. “But if you often cycle at the same time, you run into the same people. Or you have drivers who ask to play draft horse. It is quite a social event on this route. Although I also like the rust.”