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Enduro trails in southern Germany
Enduro trails in southern Germany
The Swabian Alb dream
Gravel roads, forest paths, stream crossings ?? what if we weren’t slowed down by a prohibition sign for 48 hours? A fantastic trip from Stuttgart to Lake Constance.
Werner Koch
01/28/2004
The tractor pushes itself hard along the roadside, the farmer beckons in a friendly manner from his cabin: “Drive up, now hosch space g ??” Schwups, the enduro rider elegantly pushes past the huge tires, raises his hand in greeting, ” thank you, ”and growls away in a small cloud of dust. Who would have dreamed that the wandering faction of the Grobstoller could cross across southern Germany without being shot down by a volley of shotgun pellets?
The trigger for the happy event were fantastic quarrels in the Bundestag:
Defense Minister Struck was due to illegal arms delivery to the Principality of Lichtenstein ?? it is said to have been a hundred sharply ground NVA canteen knives ?? got into the line of fire and forced to resign. Since the state coffers are currently no longer available, Prime Minister Schroder did not find his ex-minister pecuniary but materially: Twenty retired and fully refueled 250 German Army Maicos had to hand motorcycle friend Struck. But because even those who can’t do anything with off-road motorcycles without off-road terrain, my transport colleague Stolpe kindly quickly changed the Germanic road use law. From now on, Struck can plow gravel paths wider than 1.32.5 meters with his Maicos.
And what applies to ex-ministers also applies to common citizens since April 1, 2003. Aaah, what a dream! The Greens used the anarcho chance and also called for the reforestation of all golf and tennis courts. Don’t wake up now! Up on the box, ride with you as long as the dream lasts.
We set off in our sleep on the bumpy, virtual Enduro Passage Stuttgart – Lake Constance. A path that crosses half a dozen dialect regions including the associated landscape. Thanks to Struck, the enduro rider is allowed to drive his petite one right behind the town sign beta Branch off Alp 200 into the bushes. With a weight of 120 kilograms and 15 whispering horsepower, it is exactly the right device for quiet enduro hiking without competitive ulterior motives. Roaring XR crackers and shrill crossers have no place here, enjoyment is the order of the day, the pace is just a few crank turns faster than on a mountain bike.
The man-machine duo dives excitedly into the dark, musty ones
Valleys behind Waldenbuch and only sees the sun again, smeared with clay and grinning, on the huge orchards just before Tubingen. Where the recent Swabian must thrives and the vintner next door picks the dry wine from the vines, the Swabian Alb rises into the sky. A wild landscape with a highly idiosyncratic population. “Rough, but warm,” is how the elderly define themselves. “Stubborn and stubborn” say the others who live below the night eaves ?? “D ?? Staddr”. They could live with the Sunday excursionists from Stuttgart and Tubingen, but what infuriates the rough souls, so they can “uffdit,” as the landlord in the Laucherttal angrily reports, are the Buttel, the detained police officers from Tubingen that are supposed to put a stop to the anarchic goings-on on the barren Alb plateau.
Up here, the gentle off-roader had an easy time of it, even without dream insoles, because on the Alb no dog itches when the motorbike is gondolaed around on the small gravel roads. Often there are tiny »Promillestrable« that are used by farmers during the day and occasionally at night for illegal journeys home. No signpost, no sign, nothing at all ?? if you don’t know where to go, you will never find your way home. Sometimes even one or the other young crosser comes by without lights, exhausts and license plates? no matter! We are in the middle of nowhere and d ?? Alb g ?? hears us. Basta!
With a little flair and an eye for the region, you can find kilometer-long enduro trails. If you take the viewpoints up to a thousand meters high under your wheels, you can enjoy the view from far
over the Lake Constance hinterland to the Swiss Alps. A real nightmarish dream, which is good for a lot of surprises if you patiently explore asphalt-free paths. Because the at first glance monotonous plateau has more limestone cliffs and rugged, deep gorges to offer than the hurried traveler on the main road perceives.
The cut runs suddenly from west to east: the Danube. Here the Alb surface plunges down steeply, the enduro rider gently threads his way over the forgotten Schmeiental into the gorge of the young Danube. Tourism has a break here during the week. Ideal for motorized hikers who want to swap hectic for leisure. Countless side valleys and pass roads with an almost alpine character swing left and right from the romantic Danube valley uphill to dizzying ones
Climbing rocks and rustic palaces and castles. The crowning glory of the climbing tour: the most beautiful inn in the area. The Jagerhaus near Beuron, located under imposing rocks and can only be reached via gravel paths or even the ice-cold ford through the Danube.
At sunrise, the hiker manhandles his way up to the southern side of the Danube on rough, furrowed pass roads and slippery limestone cliffs. Standing in the pauses, with an elegant swing of the hips, the rider maneuvers the horse through the damp, dark ravine, crawls with swing over fallen tree trunks and boots straight through gurgling streams. Just enduro hiking. The planet is already blinking brightly through the gaps in the clouds, the ridge south of the Danube and thus the border to the Baden part of the journey has been climbed. A contrary people to the rough elderly. No less hard-drinking, but with a sunny disposition and a talkative tongue.
On the 860 meter high Witthoh above Tuttlingen, in clear foehn weather, the gigantic view spreads over the volcanic hills of the Hegau, behind it, stretched out like a Luis Trenker motif wallpaper, the Alpine chain. In the east the sun pushes through the haze, in the south a first small tip of Lake Constance can be seen. The stony path is easy to find, each valley strives south, where the Rhine meanders along the Swiss border.
The dream hiker opts for the Stockacher Aach valley, which, after countless loops and twists, finds its way via Nenzingen to Wahlwies. Accompanied by gravel paths and already legally accessible before April 1st. Only shortly before Lake Constance is it time to flee: bathing beaches, surfers, sun worshipers ?? get away, up to the Hohentwiel, the massive fortress in Hegau. In first gear, the little 200 struggles on the long, steep path made of coarse cobblestone, looses frighteningly in power, glow ignitions nail the cylinder, the engine hammers and rings, more and more violently, always louder. The ringing turns into screeching, you want to cover your ears in pain? pat, out. The alarm clock lies bent on the floor, I am bathed in sweat in bed, in front of it the enduro clothes, boots, rucksack and the map “Swabian Alb ?? Bodensee”. The real dream can begin.
Enduro to power
Of course, this story is at least partly fictitious. Because gravel roads are either in Germany
paved ?? or blocked. Those who get involved in enduro hiking have to live with the fact that they can only find an adventurous route with a good map and a lot of questioning in order to cheat their way through the country without asphalt. There is no chance of indulging in pleasure in the vicinity of large cities and metropolitan areas. In contrast, the situation is different in remote regions, where the rabbit and the fox say good night and it is too far for urban refugees and too unattractive for tourism on a large scale.
By the way, off-road fun does not only have to apply to enduro riders: If you are not just a novice driver and use the accelerator and brakes moderately, you can easily master most gravel roads with all-round road machines like a Suzuki GS 500 or Yamaha XJ 600. Consideration and a restrained driving style are much more important than tunnels, because when the few gravel roads resemble a cross piste after a motorcycle season, the closure is programmed. In addition, the routes hold a lot of surprises in the form of deep transverse grooves or powerful agricultural machinery. And please remain legal: Driving on a forest path with the round prohibition sign (ban on driving-
witnesses of all kinds) will be punished severely. However, pushing motorcycles is allowed here. well then.
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