My breath freezes and my clothes, still damp from yesterday’s torrential downpour, stiffen as I step outside to load my bike. Winter is coming...
I start the day by following the road for a short distance along the valley. I soon rejoin the trail for my first climb. The ride through the forest is a blur of amber, yellow and green hues ending in a farmer’s field! Besenfeld, home to a herd of local llamas, is surprisingly easy to navigate though. I am making good time and it really is a joy to be out on the bike. The signage is much easier to follow and the views are stunning as I head up and over to Huzenbach.
All good things eventually come to an end and the sign that pointed off the side of the mountain into the crisp autumnal air signalled the end of the easy start to the day. Roughly translated the sign said: “Here endeth the signage, we will see you at the bottom”. I peer over the edge and smirk to myself; this sign is clearly an attempt at humour as nobody would ride down that! I ignore the sign and continue on the track until it was blinding obvious that I was going the wrong way. I return to the sign, all the while scouting down the hill for signs of a trail...
I drop in, my heart in my mouth, as the bike bucks underneath me. The loose, green, wet boulders do not offer much traction, and throw my bike every which way but loose. I grip my handle bars, throw my weight back and surf down the green, rock strewn wave. After what seems like an eternity, I meet a track, orthogonal to my direction of travel, I pause for breathe and am happy to have survived the first section. The next few sections of single track were drier, browner, but no less bumpy. The camber of the trail and exposed tree roots keep threatening to throw me down the hill, but I manage to maintain my balance. Finally, I reach the bridge that crosses the River Murg and takes me to Huzenbach.
Another lung-bursting climb along a road brings me to the pretty Huzenbacher See, where the climb continues into the forest and, before I know it, I reach another descent. Another single track trail, but in much better condition than the first of the day. I cruise down the trail enjoying the switchbacks. The loggers ruined my fun though as, a few hundred meters from the end, the descent is blocked by piles of debris from the recent tree felling. Scrambling over the discarded logs, brings me to the path that takes me through more farmer’s fields, down steep grassy slopes and through downtown Baiersbronn. It was clearly rush hour as it took me ten minutes to cross road! Thankfully the S8 tram disrupts the flow of traffic, but it also reminds me how close to KA I still am :-/
The long shallow ascent out of Baiersbronn soon steepens for the final large climb of the day which, I soon discover, has one unwelcome surprise in store. Sand; the enemy of a mountain biker. Loose, heavy with no traction and completely energy sapping. By the time I reach the top, I am broken. My wheels roll to Kniebis, by which time some of the power has returned to my legs. I find enough strength to contour around, parallel to the road and under a huge wind turbine. Here, I leave the main track and descend, legitimately, through someone’s back garden to Bad Griesbach for some much needed rest and recuperation.
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