Bikepacking offers the perfect combination of adventure, challenge and pure nature. For me, this way of travelling means combining the joy of cycling with the thrill of the unknown. Each tour brings its own unique challenges, sometimes predictable, sometimes not.
Back to the roots
Rides from A to B, for example to attend a family celebration, a festival or to visit friends, were my first bikepacking tours a few years ago. Most recently, I took part in various ultracycling events such as Badlands, Bright Midnight and Seven Serpents. With the Deutschland-Trail, I went back to my bikepacking roots: combining an event with a bike tour. The gravel edition of the Deutschland-Trail took me back to Munich from a business trip to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. I travelled there by night train.
Germany Trail?
The Germany Trail was first realised a few years ago. Back then, former BIKE editor Stefan Loibl cycled across the country on his mountain bike with the intention of discovering the country's most beautiful MTB trails. Along for the ride: our readers, who showed him their favourite home trails. The gravel edition of the Deutschland-Trail was supposed to be something similar. Both BIKE and our sister magazine TOUR invited readers to submit route suggestions and accompany me for a part of my bikepacking tour.
Route planning was teamwork
I mapped out the rough route myself, following the stages of the Tour of Germany 2024. I asked readers for advice on the detailed planning. Suggestions for the individual stages were submitted, which I put together to form the final plan. Anyone who wanted to was allowed to accompany me for a stretch. This meant I was often travelling in small groups and could listen to the (cycling) stories of my fellow cyclists.
Stage 1: Border experience: Schengen - Saarbrücken
The starting shot is fired in Schengen, a symbolic place for open borders in Europe. Fittingly, the route winds along the German-French border. The stage is challenging with 130 kilometres and 2100 metres of elevation gain, but rewards you with magnificent views, for example of the Saar Loop, which I had only seen in pictures before. The only downer is a punctured tyre, which takes up a lot of time and nerves. More on this later.
From the start at the European Monument in Schengen to the European Monument in Überherrn (Monument to the Great Europeans), we will be accompanied by Saarländischer Rundfunk. The Monument to the Great Europeans is a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation. The result appeared in the current affairs report at minute 27:07.
At the Saar, today's passengers say goodbye and set off on their way home, a mixture of train and bike. I cycle into the city centre to today's hotel. Shortly beforehand, I receive a notification on my mobile phone that a parcel could not be delivered, which my partner had sent to my hotel as an express delivery. The parcel contains my hydration pack, drinking powder, spare brake pads, my rain trousers and overshoes. A lot of things I didn't need for the Tour de France Femmes, but I did need on the bikepacking tour. I wanted to save on luggage by sending the parcel, a tried and tested tactic that didn't work for the first time.
Stage 2: Shortcut: Saarbrücken - Zweibrücken
After the strenuous start, stage 2 is a welcome breather - apart from the unpredictable Challenge with the package, which is described below. To solve the problem, we have to completely re-plan the route. Luckily, Theo, who lives in Saarbrücken, is with us and is happy about this spontaneous change. He can show me and the other riders his favourite routes, which we would have avoided with the original plan. After around 75 kilometres through gentler terrain, my highlight is the Göttelborn spoil tip and a coffee and cake that fellow cyclist Elmar invites us to. In the afternoon, rain tempts us to cut short and take the direct route to Zweibrücken instead of another loop.
I can't say exactly how many kilometres and metres in altitude I've covered in the end, as I pressed stop on the Garmin at the bike shop where I tackled the tyre problem from the previous day and then forgot to press start again. When I arrive at the hotel, I wash the bike kit in the sink and wring it out in the towel. After dinner, photographer Pia Nowak and I fall into bed tired.
Stage 3: Zweibrücken - Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Pattering rain on day 3 makes it difficult to set off. First of all, I put on rain gear, overshoes and a rain jacket. It's far too warm, so I take the jacket off again straight away and stow it in my hydration pack. Then I get on my bike. I'm travelling alone today, no wonder in this weather. Once I've set off, I'm delighted by the mystical landscape. Rising mist gives it a special look. My highlight on 106 kilometres with 1800 metres of ascent is the descent from the Kalmit to Neustadt - the forest literally changes its face every few hundred metres here, the evening light underlining the scenery. The plan for the night is for Pia and I to pitch our tent on a wild camping site. Due to the cold and wet, however, we decide not to camp and enjoy the warm hospitality of TOUR readers Matthias and Claudia, who offer us a bed and cook for us.
Stage 4: Neustadt an der Weinstraße - Neckargerach
After a delicious breakfast with our hosts, Claudia says goodbye and sets off for work. Matthias accompanies me on the stage. We head into the Odenwald via Heidelberg. The first 50 kilometres are flat. I'm joined again and again by fellow cyclists, so that we quickly form a group. In Heidelberg, route planner Peter invites us into his garden. There's coffee, cake and pretzels for everyone. And the laugh of the day: one of his dogs has declared the garden a dog litter tray and four of us have stepped in it.
After the break, 1200 metres of altitude difference follow over 70 kilometres, Königistuhl and Katzenbuckel reward you with fantastic views. The route put together by TOUR reader Peter Sandmann impresses with gravel paths and flowing trails, and the Rocky Mountain Solo shows off its skills. Our group harmonises perfectly, we are all about the same speed. At our destination in Neckargerach, we camp at a cosy campsite right by the river, Matthias is also still with us. But there's no chance of resting, the summer sleeping bags are no match for the night-time cold.
Stage 5: Neckargerach - Stuttgart
Thanks to the sleepless night, I'm not the only one who's been hanging on. Pia feels the same way. Not Matthias. After breakfast together, he says goodbye and it's back to Neustadt an der Weinstraße for him, while my route takes me up and down to Stuttgart, 1800 metres in altitude and 117 kilometres. But first my Garmin doesn't want to start the live track - or doesn't want to display it in the app. That costs me half an hour. It's a good thing that no riders have been announced for the start, otherwise I would have been even more annoyed by the delay. I only have company on the last section, before that I enjoy being alone - a nice change.
Thanks to the almost sleepless night, I'm fighting against tiredness today. Music in my ears energises me - as does a short power nap on a bench. Before I say goodbye to today's passengers in the evening, we eat falafel together.
Stage 6: Alpine gravel: Stuttgart - Ulm
The 6th stage is the longest at 130 kilometres, with an additional 1850 metres in altitude. Thanks to my fellow cyclists Raffael from AlbSchotter and Max, it is the fastest at 20 kilometres per hour. But we don't just rush through or over the Alb, we also stop to enjoy the one or other view and eat a piece of cake. One highlight is an encounter with an alpaca migration. 20 kilometres before the stage destination of Ulm, at the Blautopf, Raffael and Max turn around.
Pia and I treat ourselves to a short breather with ice chocolate before I tackle the last 20 kilometres. We are invited to stay with Vera, a fellow traveller on stage 7, and she and her partner provide us with delicious food. The next morning we even have home-baked bread rolls for breakfast.
Stage 7: Ulm - Augsburg
This stage is easier and, at 950 metres in altitude, manageable. There are three of us starting in Ulm, three women, as Vera and I are joined by Marina from Bamberg, who would be travelling with us for two days. Today we take our time and take an extended break at a cycle service station on the Danube.
Our planned arrival time in Augsburg is 7 pm. But we are too fast. With a few phone calls, we postpone our arrival in a cosy beer garden in Augsburg by around 1.5 hours. There we end the day in the evening sun - invited by tyre manufacturer Maxxis.
Stage 8: Grand finale: Augsburg - Munich
The last day: 92 kilometres and 600 metres in altitude still separate me from the finish. We start at 7am, two hours earlier than on the previous days, as the planned finish time is 1pm. The route is also varied today. Even the last few metres into Munich have something new and unfamiliar to offer.
At the start of the day, I'm a bit crestfallen because some of my fellow riders had to cancel at short notice. So it's all the nicer that people are still signing up at short notice and joining us, some of whom have to turn off again before we reach Munich.
And then: precision landing. I reach my destination with the group of 9 at exactly 1 pm. We receive a warm welcome. After the obligatory group photo, there are snacks and drinks at Konsum.Kiez.Kaffee in Munich.
The Germany Trail Gravel Edition
- Length: 880 kilometres
- Altitude metres: 12,200 metres in altitude
- Start: Schengen, Luxembourg
- Target: Munich
- Highlight stages: Palatinate Forest, Swabian Alb, German Wine Route
- Overnight stay: Hotel, campsite, with friends and fellow travellers
- Packing list: Sleeping set-up, rainwear, toothbrush, sun cream, first aid kit, change of clothes
Challenges on the road
Every bikepacking tour brings its own challenges. Sometimes they are predictable, sometimes not. The two biggest difficulties on this tour were:
1. a defective tyre
On the first day, a defective tyre costs time and nerves. Two days before the start, a large cut in the tyre was initially sealed with a tubeless patch. On the first 5 kilometres of the real tour, the hole in the tread returned. A second "sausage" was unsuccessful, as was topping up the sealant. Last resort: a tube. In order to be able to ride tubeless again and not constantly worry, Paul from TriShop Saar helps to patch the tyre before the shop opens. It lasts until the end of the tour
2. hunt for a parcel
I send myself parcels so that I don't have to carry as much to and from the airport. This time it goes wrong. The parcel with the hydration pack, overshoes, rain trousers and more doesn't arrive. Another delivery attempt, this time to our hotel in Saarbrücken, fails and I can't figure out why. After a lot of toing and froing, the only thing left to do is to re-plan stage 3 and drive to the logistics centre; to the delight of fellow cyclist Theo, who can now present his favourite routes. I have my overshoes just in time for the rain. And with the Evoc hydration pack, I finally have more than 700 millilitres of water with me.
Thank you!
The tour shows once again that you don't need to travel far to discover the unknown. There are many beautiful places right on our doorstep. A special thank you to those who helped organise and accompany this route - you made this tour a special experience!
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
