Like a fortune teller looking into a crystal ball, Thomas Taut stares at the windscreen of his car parked in the courtyard. Not a drop of morning dew. That's bad. Morning dew would indicate a stable high-pressure weather situation, dry glass means a change in the weather. Thomas frowns worriedly. As the son of a farmer, he doesn't need a weather app.
It's just after five o'clock. The black-grey of the night slowly fades to morning blue. The sky still hangs peacefully over Thuringia. But what if the approaching storm makes it impossible to spend the night outside? Ask a farmer for shelter? Who might not have a barn full of hay to offer, but only a fully furnished guest room? Sheer horror! Then the wonderful, painstakingly created sense of adventure would be gone. On the other hand, isn't that the very DNA of adventure? The unpredictable? Getting through adversity? Anything else would be scripted reality. And anyway, what does a car windscreen know?
"OK, have you got a gas cartridge? I've got a coffee maker," Thomas calls to his mate Christian Helmert, who is already waiting impatiently for the departure signal. His head moves in the affirmative. The cleats click into the pedals with a bright, metallic click. The best sound in the world. Just as auspicious as the brief, magical crackling sound when the record player needle meets the record groove. For three days, Thomas and Christian want to make their way through the green waves of Thuringia. Sleeping bag, insulating mat, thermal clothing - everything they need. A miniature adventure in the midst of everyday life. "Bikepacking" is the official genre term.
The concept of combining biking and camping is nothing new. But in recent years, the whole thing has become more and more of a trend. The number of self-support races, in which the participants have to conquer crazy distances on their own, is constantly increasing. At the same time, the range of specialised equipment is growing. Panniers, overnight gear, water sterilisation filters, even titanium wood-burning stoves that can be plugged together. It seems as if the bikers want to prepare for the apocalypse. But all they want to do is hide away from everyday life in their cosy ultralight sleeping bags - from the hustle and bustle, from stress. In the past, people travelled to structural wastelands such as the Himalayas, or at least to Andalusia. Today, the adventure starts right on your doorstep. Simply pretend that Germany is a desert. Mongolians or Ethiopians would laugh their heads off. No matter.
The sun has pushed its way over the treetops of the Thuringian Forest. Its lukewarm rays squeeze the sweat out of your pores even more vehemently than the gradients already do. One of Thomas' greatest pleasures is hammering the kilometres into his thighs with a tight chain. In a few weeks' time, he wants to tear off 1600 non-stop kilometres including 40000 metres of altitude at the infamous long-distance shocker 1000 Miles in the Czech Republic. At the Yak Attack in Nepal, he battled his way up 5416 metres in altitude on his bike. His mate Christian is no less tenacious. Next week he will once again be taking part in the 72 kilometre Rennsteig Run. But that doesn't make him nervous, as he has already completed the unofficial 170-kilometre version in less than 24 hours. The powerful endurance pedalling is the result of a combination of lactate lust and an ambitious daily workload: the pace he sets is race-like.
"Watch out! Now it's getting nasty! Very, very nasty!" shouts Thomas into the wind. But it sounds more like anticipation than trepidation. A few minutes later, the two of them are kneading up a gravel ramp that heads straight for the sky, as is typical of the ensemble of hills that surround the Hohnewarte reservoir. Yes, Thuringia also offers Himalayan moments. Short ones only. But still.
Unfortunately, it has to be said at this point: The German forest has an image problem. While the Alps are praised as the mountain bike paradise par excellence, the forests of the German low mountain ranges have a reputation for being a wasteland of adventure. Quite wrongly, as the Thuringian Forest makes clear at every turn. Over a length of 150 kilometres and a width of 35 kilometres, there are hundreds, oh what, thousands of hills, peaks and mountains, at the foot of which an almost endless tangle of valleys winds its way. There are plenty of paths. Very wide as well as very narrow. The trick is to combine them into an exciting route. The three-day tour through the Thuringian Forest is a maxi version of Thomas' favourite rides of recent years. A trail-orientated brute of a ride with 3400 metres of elevation gain today alone, skilfully skirting the built-up areas. Thomas has ridden every section at some point. Fortunately.
"Shit, the track's gone," he presses his GPS device in horror: "Gone! Just dissolved! Maybe because of a vibration or something," he struggles to keep his composure. Never mind, just carry on from memory. They have to be in Katzhütte at the Tegut supermarket by 7 p.m. at the latest, otherwise they will have to crawl into their sleeping bags without an after-work beer. Their legs are already well beaten by the metres in altitude. They've already been in the saddle for eight hours.
Christian (visibly empty-biked): "How long is that today? Let's be honest."
Thomas: "One hundred and twenty."
Christian: "One hundred and twenty, or one hundred and thirty?
Thomas (grinning mischievously): "In between."
Christian (briefly losing control of his facial muscles): "So one hundred and fifty."
The sun is already setting when the day's destination is finally reached: a refuge on the 842 metre high Wurzelberg on the edge of the slate mountains. Refreshments and grilled sausages are in the jersey pockets. The deluxe version of adventure.
"On the 1000 Miles, everyone has to have a can of petrol-soaked rags with them so that they can light a fire in an emergency," says Thomas, as he mischievously digs the charcoal lighter out of his pannier. Oh, how marvellous it all is! The evening pink glows to midnight blue. The fire crackles. In this place in this forest, with the jerseys spread out to dry in the light of the flame, everything feels right. Philosophical lesson: Why is it so nice to sit in the damp, cold forest, even though you have an upholstered sofa at home?
"Just take a break," says Thomas - family man and stove dealer. "Get off the hamster wheel," nods Christian - family man and employee. They stare devoutly into the campfire for several minutes. Then: A day is like a blackboard, says Christian. Still empty in the morning. But as the day progresses, more and more lines are added. In the evening, it's just a chaos of lines and scribbles. "When you go out, it's like wiping a blackboard with a sponge," he says: "Everything is clear and clean again."
Interesting metaphor. A mini-adventure to balance out the feel-good imbalance that arises from time to time in the day-to-day madness. The forest as a sponge that absorbs stress, anxiety and inner tension. Is that adventure? After all, a campfire in Thuringia is more about fighting off a cold than pulmonary oedema. Anyone asking themselves such questions should simply give it a try. The Thuringian Forest is not the Himalayas. But the wealth of experiences on a multi-day crossing with an overnight stay in a sleeping bag comes close to the definition of adventure. "Leaving one's familiar surroundings", according to Wikipedia.
And this is exactly what we continue with on the second day. Germany may not be a desert in the geomorphological sense, but from an infrastructural point of view it is in places. It's just before 10am. The breakfast yoghurt has long since been burnt off in the constant ups and downs of the last few hours. But even along the Rennsteig section there is no open bakery, no supermarket, no pub. Finally a real, substantial problem! Like a shipwrecked man on the verge of dying of thirst, Thomas sucks on his water bottle, which has been empty for miles. So up to the Bleßberg, where, according to his information, there is a hikers' pub. The hope of an apple spritzer keeps the cranks turning. The creaking of the restaurant door triggers a veritable surge of happiness hormones. Open! This must be what the rush of euphoria feels like when you win the lottery!
We continue over tough climbs of uncertain length towards Goldistal. The trails at the pumped storage plant are on a par with those in Durango. And the peace and quiet! Scientists have discovered that city birds are louder than forest birds. The poorest have to chirp around at 90 decibels to drown out the noise of cars. Which is as loud as a jackhammer. Here in the Thuringian Forest, nature seems to whisper. Permeated only by the clacking of gears and heavy breaths.
"So cool!" Thomas murmurs, sweating happily. There are thousands of small micro-events that condense into a big whole over the course of the kilometres. You do and do. Yet at the end of the day, there is hardly anything on the board. Just a single symbolic line to summarise the day's content: great tour. Saturday, 4 p.m.: After three days in the forest, clicking off feels strange. Festive, but somehow brutal. Like after a good concert when the lights come on. Now it's back to normality. Family, job, spending the night indoors. Whether there's dew on the windscreen early in the morning or not.
Info Thuringian Forest
The precinct: The Thuringian Forest is a ridge-like low mountain range that stretches for around 150 kilometres through Thuringia. A highly dense ensemble of small and large peaks, the highest point of which is the 982 metre-high Großer Beerberg. The tourist hotspots, whether Bad Blankenburg or the area around the Hohenwarte reservoir, are well developed in terms of infrastructure. In many corners of the Thuringian Forest, however, you feel wonderfully cut off from the hustle and bustle. Like in a parallel world. Great for undisturbed biking.
Mini adventure: You don't have to travel to exotic mountain regions to experience the feeling of adventure and freedom. Simply set off and spend the night in the open air - you can even do it after work. And from your front door anyway. "Bikepacking" is the name given to the desire to be outdoors, which requires neither air travel nor elaborate planning.
The tour: The three-day orgy of altitude metres through the Thuringian Forest is a "best of" of Thomas Taut's favourite tours. The 120 kilometres and 3400 metres of altitude on the first day took just under ten hours despite the brisk pedalling. Lots of trails, rough ground and constant ups and downs kept the average speed down. The start was near Schleiz. The route went along the Hohenwarte reservoir towards Bad Blankenburg and from there back in a large loop. The Rennsteig was crossed twice. Overnight stops were made at rest areas in the forest. Catering: Village shops, kiosks, bakeries. Total: approx. 247 kilometres and 6400 metres in altitude. The return journey to the starting point was by regional train.
Equipment: Insulated mat, sleeping bag, change of clothes, that's enough. To protect your back, we recommend a pannier for the handlebars or saddle. Important: lighting just in case. Practical items for bikepacking: see photos.
Sleep: The trickiest point: where do you sleep, how cold will it be at night, will it rain? In theory, spending the night outdoors is easy. You lie down somewhere, close your eyes and that's it. Whether you need a thick, inflatable insulating mat or even a pillow depends on your personal comfort requirements. Incidentally, there is no such thing as the perfect sleeping bag. Be sure to check the specified "comfort range" before setting off. But don't panic. You don't have to buy expensive professional equipment just to spend a few nights in a suburban environment. If it gets colder, put on more clothes when sleeping. If it's warm, zip up the zip. If you want to sleep outside, there are a few more things to bear in mind: never sleep in sensitive natural areas. Preferably in the vicinity of shelters. Never leave rubbish behind. Always have an emergency plan in case of a sudden storm. The 8 golden outdoor rules for mountain bikers
Tip: the Rennsteig If you want to explore the Thuringian Forest without a GPS, maps and sleeping bag, we recommend the Rennsteig. The legendary 170-kilometre long-distance hiking trail is perfectly signposted and has also been suitable for bikers for a few years now. Depending on your mood and the number of hikers, you can decide whether to follow the trail or the gravel path that mostly runs parallel to it. We recommend the variant from Hörschel to Blankenstein. Ideally in two days and with an overnight stay in Neustadt am Rennsteig, for example. Marathon fans can also complete the route in one day. But that is hardcore. The gruelling nature of the many steep short climbs should not be underestimated. Oh yes: don't forget to fish the obligatory lucky stone out of the Werra in Hörschel and then, according to custom, drop it into the Saale in Blankenburg. More information about biking on the Rennsteig ...
