Bicycle Ride
Reflections on a bicycle ride with international students and the Honorary Doctor Hugo Bollen on May 24th, 2025 - by Els Hannes
“Traveling to foreign places opens up your perspective”, is a truism. It refers to the wonder, the excitement, and the appreciation of discovering new and different ways of living that challenge and enrich your own thinking.
On a cloudy Saturday morning in May, 29 international PhD students of Hasselt University gathered at the main entrance on campus Diepenbeek to get acquainted with an outdoor leisure activity, common in this region: a recreational bicycle ride. Standard bikes, UHasselt electric bikes, and tandem bicycles were available to make sure that even those who are not used to cycling could join in.
The reason for this activity was the awarding of an honorary doctorate to the inventor of the tourist cycle route network, Mr. Hugo Bollen. Thanks to his hard work and persistence, more than 30 years ago, an impressive, safe, and cycle-friendly network with numbered nodes and connections now allows people to enjoy nature in a healthy and sustainable way. In the region of Limburg alone, this 2000 km network is still a motor for tourism and economic development. Since its origin, the junction system has been copied in the whole of Belgium and the Netherlands, and large parts of Germany and France, more than 90.000 km in total.
While the PhD students were testing their bikes and laughing with excitement about clumsy attempts to mount a tandem or e-bike, saddles were adjusted, tires were pumped, and yellow UHasselt safety vests and plastic rain ponchos were distributed. By 10 AM, the guests of honor, Mr. Hugo Bollen and his promoter, rector Bernard Vanheusden, arrived with their bikes, as well as the regional and national press.
The trip was a great success. Via the bridge over the Albert Canal, and the ‘Cycling Through the Water’ section - an impressive piece of landscape architecture - we arrived at Bokrijk park, where we had lunch and visited the open-air museum, welcomed by the main curator. . On our way back, it was ‘cycling through the water’ again, of a different kind this time. The rain couldn’t spoil the fun, though. It was just part of this typical Belgian experience.
While the impact of the trip was visible on the happy faces of the participants during the day, it became even more apparent in the evening, in the news items on TV Limburg and VRT. International students testified about the beauty and sustainability of the network and how it can be an inspiration to their own environment. “Imagine such a worldwide bicycle network that connects all of us”, suggested the rector over lunch, inviting us all to keep contributing to sustainable development.
For all the colleagues involved, this bicycle trip was enriching in many ways as well. Indeed, experiencing our familiar daily life environment through the eyes of international students is simply refreshing. What we take for granted, what we don’t even notice anymore, is questioned by people from different cultures: “Can you kill and eat these ducks?” (about the ducks in the ponds of Bokrijk). “How come no one lives here anymore?” (about the priest’s house of Schriek in Bokrijk open-air museum)...
Ecologist Liam Heneghan termed this phenomenon: “allokataplixis”. It combines the Greek words “allo” (meaning “other”) and “katapliktiko” (meaning “wonder” or “astonishing”). It describes a mindset of experiencing the world with a fresh, childlike sense of wonder, especially when encountering familiar things. It involves actively noticing things, being more fully present in your reality, and experiencing the world with a renewed sense of wonder.
While traveling is one way to gain a fresh perspective, we don’t háve to travel far to experience the joy of “allokataplixis”. Simply engaging with and connecting with international students, involving them in our daily lives and listening to their questions is an effective and fun way to start seeing the world differently and finding beauty where you least expect it.