Behavioural researchers will eventually find out why this is the case. Why you always shout an ecstatic "Yes!" to the person who makes a kilometre orgy palatable. Even though you know what that means: lactate pain, breathlessness and a reeling psyche. 168 kilometres and 4629 metres of altitude in one ride rule out any feeling of relaxation from the outset. Nevertheless, I was immediately hooked when Andi Huber from Ruhpolding told me about his new project. An adventure tour through the marvellous Chiemgau region that you can ride in one, two or three days. The reward at the end is a gold, silver or bronze crown. Start: Whenever you like. Chiemgau King is the name of the mountain bike challenge, which will be launched in 2018.
A long day in the saddle: Chiemgau King in gold
Andi's invitation to me: to take part in the test ascent, which was to be completed in one day. The thigh-trembling gold version. It was this mysterious reflex that made me accept immediately. Minutes later, the euphoria gave way to a swirling queasiness. Just for comparison: the infamous Grand Raid marathon from Verbier to Grimentz is 125 kilometres and 5000 metres in altitude. And the participants are sweating profusely at the start. "Blood, sweat, tears" was the headline of an early Grand Raid report. I admit: my body was extremely worried about Andi's violent tour.
A cool Thursday morning, Ruhpolding biathlon arena. Andi welcomes the group he has put together for the test run: World-class biathletes like Simon Schemppformer world champion Andreas Birnbacher, plus the world's best ski mountaineer Anton Palzer and a few emaciated marathon bikers. "Okay, we'll try to ride it smoothly. Ten hours, seventeen kilometres average," announces Andi. Great.
Chiemgau King: Along the signposting to the stamping points
If you look at the route from an eagle's perspective, it has the shape of an eight. From Ruhpoldig, the route initially zigzags along cycle paths with very little elevation gain towards the first short climb. The suspension fork is hardly challenged here until the first stitch awaits just before Maria Eck, which turns into a beautiful singletrail after a short lactate shot. The 600 metre uphill to the Stoißeralm is a pleasant ride and gives a little foretaste of what is to come on this day: Long, technically undemanding uphill serpentines followed by long, technically undemanding downhill serpentines. It's not that there are no singletrail alternatives. The locals ride them, of course. However, the official signposting is almost impossible to realise due to the associated official requirements for municipalities, Andi informs us. But there is something meditative about cranking along gravel paths. This leaves time to marvel at the landscape. And the scenery becomes more enchanting around every bend. At the top, on the Stoisser Alm, you can enjoy an unobstructed view spanning several kilometres. When the Chiemgau King Route is signposted in 2018, there will be a stamp station here.
Back in the valley, the road is undulating at first. Then a nasty tarmac ramp rears up in front of the front wheel, making you gasp for air like a drowning man. The gravel road that now follows slopes a little more gently and leads you straight to the wonderfully rustic Bründlingalm at 1161 metres. Here you should treat yourself to a little refreshment. Normally. But on the gold course and with someone like Andi as your pacemaker, there's hardly any time to top up your bottle.
"Let's go!", he shouts and leads the pack to a trail that is better done on foot due to its extremely rough character. The passage is barely 200 to 300 metres long. A gentle up and down to the peat museum just before Bernau am Chiemsee. Oh, how great it would be to have a coffee on the promenade. No time for that, unfortunately. Only 90 kilometres and around 2500 metres in altitude have been completed. And now comes the really gruelling stuff. Oh dear, and it's already lunchtime.
Up to the Steinlingalm on the Kampenwand
Dear me! Who designed the ascent to the Steinlingalm? First this beastly, dead-straight tarmac section from Bernau to the hikers' car park. Then the beastly, dead-straight intermediate section on gravel. And then the ultra-beastly, straight-as-a-string power sucker in the upper middle section, which - fortunately - eventually turns into a reasonably friendly gravel section. There's nothing better than climbing a mountain with exhausted lungs while the gradients drive the lactate pain into your legs. Oh God, how nice does it look here? Down below, in the distance, the Chiemsee shimmers in the distance. If you tilt your head back, you can see the spikes of mighty, vertical mountain faces stretching into the sky like Gozilla's fangs.
At the top, on the Steinlingalm, all hell is breaking loose. The lifts have been shovelling day visitors up the mountain since early morning. Hordes of hikers. And everyone wants a spritzer and a snack and to look and take photos. The host of the hut is a friend of Andi's and sprints up to us with refreshments when we arrive. The ascent has really frayed the group. It takes ages for the last person to get there. No matter. The view: the best possible! The further outlook: "Just under 60 kilometres to go. We still have a lot of work ahead of us," says Andi.
Start of the day's finale: the gravel ascent to the Jochberg-Alm
We return to the gravel track we came from for a few kilometres, then turn right back into the mountain. A tough counter-climb that briefly gets our legs going again. And then we're already at the Staffn-Alm on the other side of the Kampenwand massif, looking down on idyllic Marquartstein, which is just under 400 metres below us. The descent there is quickly completed. We recommend topping up our bottles now. The gravel climb up to the Jochberg-Alm is not steep, but it is long. Your legs take it without complaining. After all, you are already in the middle of the day's finale. You never knew that the path in the upper section would become quite brittle and challenging. But it's worth it. The Jochberg-Alm also makes it clear why tourists from all over the world come to Chiemgau. The mixture of charm, folklore and scenic grandeur is as overwhelming as it is unique.
One last ascent, a final yelp from the legs that are tired from the kilometres. 400 metres in altitude to conquer, again on tame gravel. Then you reach the Winklmoosalm. If the sun is still favourable, we recommend savouring the incredible panorama. For example, with a cappuccino or a cool drink. From here, it's basically all downhill. First on wide gravel tracks. Then through a gorge with a waterfall and a short climb. It should be noted that biking is officially prohibited here. You have to push anyway. But not for very long. Then the route continues at a brisk pace to the biathlon arena in Ruhpolding, which is the finish line. Click out, be happy. There it is, the moment when you don't have to be a behavioural scientist to know why you keep putting yourself through such exertion. Because it's awesome. That's why.
Conclusion on the Chiemgau King route
The Chiemgau King route is an extremely scenic mountain bike tour that requires little in the way of riding technique. Of course, it is up to you to turn off onto trails wherever there is a relaxed opportunity to do so. The only decisive factor for the crown is to ride to all of the stamping points. According to the organisers' plan, the Chiemgau King route should be signposted by spring at the latest.
If you want, you can also download the GPS track of the Chiemgau King onto your bike sat nav. And the question of gold, silver or bronze? Well, yes. If you're aiming for gold, you should be a well-trained marathon biker with a pronounced capacity for suffering. It took us 11:30 hours to complete the test ride, despite minimal standing time and a consistently brisk marathon pace. Silver is probably the best option for sporty bikers. Bronze is recommended for those who want to be on the road in holiday mode and also want to take in the scenery from time to time.
Find out more about the Chiemgau King here on the organiser website. You can download the GPS data for the Chiemgau King route free of charge below.
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