Three years, three new trails. Freiburg is making mountain biking history and proving that even in the lonely land of the 2-metre rule, biking is not yet lost. In 2015, the old club trail "Borderline", whose history dates back to 2007, was supplemented by the "Canadian Trail", which was newly built in just six weeks. 3.5 kilometres of the finest cornering fun, all with official approval. A good four kilometres long, if you include the dreaded Section 0. A largely natural rocky trail that is now also part of the programme. And the name is a tribute to the four guys who made the project possible: Dave, Russ, Eric and Kris from Nelson in British Columbia.
The next trail followed in 2016, again with Canadian support: the "Badisch Moon Rising", a flowing cross-country trail with lots of berms, spiced up with a few jumps that can be ridden around or rolled. The Badisch Moon Rising can be ridden downhill and uphill; after the two purely downhill trails Borderline and Canadian Trail, something different was needed. Unlike the other trails, a heavy enduro bike is ill-advised here, but you can really let your hardtail fly.
"Baden to the Bone": fun on bends with tests of courage
This does not apply to the new trail that the trail builders from Canada have built this year. The fourth Freiburg trail was officially opened on Tuesday 3 October 2017. Allow me: "Baden to the Bone", skull symbol included. In discussions with the city last year, the Freiburg Mountain Bike Association was able to obtain permission for this new trail - but on the condition that the wildly built freeride trail, the legendary "Bombenloch" (bomb hole) among locals, would have to be demolished.
It starts at the Rosskopf summit, which is also the starting point of the Borderline. However, the "Baden to the Bone" then heads west instead of south like the Borderline and ends in the Zähringen district in the north of Freiburg. Here, too, one neighbour follows another, as you would expect from other Freiburg trails. However, to replace the demolished "Bombenloch", a few jumps and tests of courage have been added here, which can definitely only be mastered by more experienced bikers. Highlights of the route include a road gap a good six metres wide, crisp jump batteries and some decent drops - absolutely impossible to roll off. Although many of these obstacles can be bypassed, there are still some extreme steep sections and technical off-camber passages, definitely not a trail for beginners.
Riders who have always missed the real airtime on "Borderline" and "Canadian Trail" will also get their money's worth here. The jumps are well dimensioned, and when they work, an endorphin rush is pre-programmed. Some of the steep sections also look dangerous from above and provide plenty of speed and adrenaline rushes.
Freiburg: The trail mecca of southern Germany?
Freiburg is once again becoming the trail Mecca of southern Germany. However, mountain bikers with a certain amount of basic experience will still get their money's worth. There is plenty of flow here on the three downhill trails and one cross-country trail, but also lots of roots, stones and steep sections - most bikers should at least have a trail bike at the start. You won't find any smooth crushed sand slopes on which even real beginners can have fun here - you're better off in most bike parks. But this is actually more of a positive than a negative: the trails are difficult enough to be fun even the tenth, twentieth and fiftieth time, but not so difficult that all normal bikers are overwhelmed. A good compromise.
All information about the Freiburg trails, including a brief description of the route and the level of difficulty, can be found on the Website of the Freiburg mountain bike club.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
