Lucky charm trails: Gerhard Czerner's favourite trails

Enduro tour Fiescheralp, Switzerland

Look at that: an eight-lane motorway made of snow and ice! The Aletsch Glacier is the longest (22.6 km) in the Alps. You have to see it with your own eyes. This view is rare in the Alps. And it gets even better: the trails here are just as spectacular as the panorama and are so challenging in places that you won't even notice the incredible landscape. So stop often and marvel! I love rock. Maybe that's because I'm a climber. That's why I really get my money's worth on this trail. You roll over granite slabs, stone steps, through narrow hairpin bends, bunny hopping over water channels - always with the glacier in sight. Below the tree line, alpine freeriding turns into singletrail surfing. I particularly enjoyed this variety. I say: this trail belongs on your trail bucket list! The start is Fiescheralp in beautiful Valais. From here, take the gondola up. More information at Aletscharena.ch.

Cathedral Trail, Azores/Portugal

Everyone has heard of the Azores, but hardly anyone knows anything about the small islands in the middle of the Atlantic, right? Especially not that they are teeming with enduro trails. Crater lakes on one side, the endless Atlantic Ocean on the other - the scenery is breathtaking. My tip: the Cathedral Trail. At the top, you ride over volcanic rock with technical challenges before diving into the jungle further down and finally ending up on the beach. There you go for a swim and rinse the dust and sweat from your skin - great! The overall experience on the Cathedral Trail is crazy. The bike scene in the Azores is well developed and shuttle rides are easy to book. Information at Trail Forks.

Sella Ronda, Italy

The Dolomites are the mountains of dreams. And on the Sella Ronda you get the most of the super mountains. I can't think of a single trail here, I like everything. Great: you can use lifts everywhere and there are trails of all levels of difficulty. Some technical, some flowy, there are even jumplines. And everything is linked to this amazing panorama. It completely blows me away. The Dolomites are at their most beautiful in autumn. It's quieter then than in summer and the colours are even more intense. I usually start from Val Gardena. In my eyes, the mountain village is a particularly good starting point for trail missions.

Blackhole Trail, Slovenia

How crazy is that - alpine freeriding underground? In the disused lead ore mine in Mežica, a trail specially designed for bikers plunges over 150 metres into the depths. The trail is unique in the world. You roll over rock slides, steep descents, have to keep your head down, steer precisely and hit the line. The trail is very challenging in terms of riding technique, and the peculiar optics in the light of the headlamps turn the ride into a ghost train. The experience is only available as a guided tour and costs €50, but I promise you: It's worth it! Nearby: the bike park on the Petzen. Info about Podzemlje Pece

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Kili" is almost 6000 metres high and quite easy to hike. As I don't like walking downhill, I quickly had the idea of cycling down Africa's highest mountain. In the past, you weren't allowed to bike here because it was a national park. I was lucky and got one of the first permits; today, anyone can book a bike tour to the summit (around 2200 euros). The ascent takes five days and then comes the long downhill, which is best completed in two days. 4000 metres of descent over 35 kilometres, all but 200 metres of altitude can be ridden, depending on your riding ability. Africa, culture, landscape, giant mountain - the keywords make Kilimanjaro a superlative and the descent an experience "of a lifetime" - I give you my word on that!

Gerhard Czerner, Adventure Biker

The Augsburg native loves all facets of mountain biking. Gerhard originally comes from the trial sport. His motto: "I want to collect moments, not things!" He finds these moments in Chile, Pakistan, Israel, China or on his doorstep.