Grey, damp and with a cold bite in the air, I roll along the banks of the River Enz, through the centre of Pforzheim, to begin my journey across the Schwarzwald.
With all the biking routes through Pforzheim, I get a little confused, but a short, steep, strenuous climb, put me back on track, which soon disappears into the trees. Nature is kind enough to provide an autumnal goldeny-brown guard of honour on the route to Würm. A lung-busting climb through Würm takes all my focus, resulting in me carelessly missing a turn and dropping to the river. I lose so much height unnecessarily; and then the rain begins...
I climb away from the river to get myself back on track, if only for a short while, as I then get a little lost again in the dark and densely packed pine trees. The torrential down pour continues as I ride through the undulating forested terrain. I have often ridden into a headwind, but I have never ridden upstream! I eventually pop out of the trees at the beautifully decayed abandoned buildings of Charlottenhöhe.
The rain finally stops as I descend to Calmbach and then follow the route along the valley floor to Bad Wildbad. The final major ascent of the day snakes away from the southern end of Bad Wildbad. With fatigue setting in, I take a break at the Grünhütte and then continue to pick my way between the trees. The temperatures drop as the altitude increases. I reach the edge of a cloud-filled valley, somewhere below me, hidden in the clouds, is Enzklösterle - the finish line for today. I cycle along the ridge, skirting the edge of the clouds. Eventually I descend into the mist, racing the sun towards the horizon.
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