Single-Tracks and Fairy Tail Castle

Tour Itinerary

Day 1.
Arrival

 

Day 2.
On the first day we will get to know the student's view of the city and make the first little mountain bike tour to the city's own mountain. On a guided tour we explore the historic centre of Freiburg and visit the 900 years old, gothic-style monastery and its 116 m tower. In the afternoon we ride to the most favourite mountain for mountain bikers in all the Black Forest, Mt Rosskopf (737 m). On nice summer days the summit is the target of up to 300 bikers. Which is no wonder, for the view from the tower on the summit extends beyond Freiburg into the Rhine Valley and over to France. Looking at the Black Forest we can see the mountains that we are going to climb the next day. The speedy and fabulous single-track downhill back to the city is another reason why Mt Rosskopf is so popular.

 

Day 3.
Today we head for the highs of the Black Forest for the first time. After some easy forest tracks we soon gain altitude on steep tracks beside cow paddocks and old, traditional Black Forest farms. Freiburg and the Rhine Valley can be seen way below us. Passing Mt Schauinsland (1284 m), which we are going to climb on the fifth day, we take rough paths and fast gravel tracks to Rappenecker Hütte. The hut is known around here not only because of its cheesecake but also for the location of the downhill race of the 1995 MTB World Championships, which was launched from the grassland above the hut. After a little rest we will take some of those championship tracks to get back to Freiburg.

 

Day 4.
Our target of today, Mt Kandel (1241 m) is known as one of the most difficult mountains in the Black Forest. Having covered 10 km in plain terrain, we take some steep forest and single-tracks including short passages so rocky that we will have to push the bikes from time to time to eventually reach the summit. The effort will be rewarded with a 30 km downhill. These superb Black Forest tracks back to Freiburg will truly satisfy. They are well known far beyond Freiburg, at least inside the German bike community. Back in town we will quench our thirst beneath chestnut trees in a very popular beer garden.

 

Day 5.
Today's ride takes us across remote valleys and ridges to Mt Hinterwaldkopf (1198 m). Across Dreisam Valley we head eastwards and up into the sub alpine region around Mt Feldberg (1493 m). Mountain pastures, brooks, and forests dominate the landscape. The uphill forest tracks are steep sometimes, but a good ride overall. Having had some rest at a typical Black Forest mountain hut, we press onwards to the summit and enjoy the great view. Almost the entire ridge that we are going to take down is visible from here, lying just in front of us. At the end of Dreisam Valley we can see Freiburg, the Rhine Valley, and the former volcano Kaiserstuhl, now world-famous for its viniculture. Today's final downhill is just as wonderful as those before.

 

Day 6.
This day features the probably most exertive tour. It will take us beyond the timberline of Mt Feldberg (1493 m), the highest mountain in the Black Forest. Our way once more leads across relatively plain Dreisam Valley and Zastler Valley until we approach Mt Feldberg. Underneath the round hilltop of Mt Feldberg the tracks get rougher. The summit's northern slopes carry snow until May, sometimes even late June. The view is just awesome: On a nice day you can scan the Alps the whole way from Austria to France, to the French Vosges rising behind the Rhine Valley in the West. The 35 km downhill across Mt Schauinsland provides strong reclimbs and some of the most beautiful single-track sections that can exist for mountain bikers.

 

Day 7.
Just after breakfast we drive through the Black Forest past famous Titisee to Constance. We take the ferry across Germany's biggest lake, Lake Constance, to Meersburg, where we have lunch and take a walk about the wonderful town, which is over a thousand years old. Back in the van we need two hours to get to Füssen and the hotel where we will stay the following two nights.

 

Day 8.
The circuit tour of today takes us on tracks used in the Transalp Challenge, the toughest mountain bike race in the world. The participants have to cover 660 kilometers and 22.400 vertical meters in one week. Füssen was the starting point of the race in 2006. Very steep forest tracks lead directly past the legendary Neuschwanstein Castle towards Jägeralpe (1431 m) at the Austrian border. The descent provides another solid downhill pleasure on numerous switchbacks and old hunter's trails down to Tyrol. Past Plan Lake, wonderfully embedded between the mountains, we cover the last single-track section to reach the end of the tour.

 

Day 9.
On a guided tour of the Castle Neuschwanstein we will marvel at the splendour of this awesome building. Only weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886 the gates were opened to the public. The dream-like castle has attracted thousands of visitors ever since. After a two hours drive we reach Munich. The afternoon is at our disposal: We can take a walk through the city, visit the Hofbräuhaus (royal brewhouse), the English Garden (a huge park) with it´s famous beer garden at the Chinese Tower, museums (e. g. Deutsches Museum) or the compounds of the Olympic Games.

 

Day 10.
In the morning of our last day we take on a sightseeing tour through Munich. In the afternoon we go to the famous Oktoberfest. The journey will end with Bavarian beer.

 

Day 11.
Departure