After his first stop in and around Frankfurt in the state of Hesse drove our guest writer Rik de Voogd on through the German country and thus stopped in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. There again, it was good fun, as his travelogue of that route shows. On his trip, he also met fellow instagrammers David Kratz and Markus and, of course, that again provided atmospheric images of this region. Cycling Across Germany is a great account of cycling routes in Germany.
Baden-Wurttemberg
The state of Baden-Wurttemberg is located in the south of Germany. In area and population, it is the third largest state in Germany. Best-known city in the region is Stuttgart, and with its location on Lake Constance, there is a lot of variety when it comes to cycling. Around student city of Freiburg you can already nicely head into the mountains of the Black Forest. Alternatively, you can even briefly switch to the Vosges Mountains in France, as they are there for the taking. Consider climbing the Kandel, where you can climb for 12 kilometres at almost 8% on average. The Feldberg is perhaps the tastiest climb. 16 kilometres at 5.4% average. Be careful though, as it peaks at 16%(!) at the end.
Cycling across Germany
Ever since I was young I have had a thing for topography. Even before I was 10, I knew the entire map of the Netherlands by heart and after my parents gave me a globe for my 12th birthday....I was sold. I am convinced that the passion you feel for something as a child stays with you. Forever. How do I reflect that in myself? I notice that I look at the metadata on instagram a lot. Especially the location tags that are added, they really make me bounce. I click on them regularly. Just to see it on the map. Similarly at Markus. How he shows the area where he lives and rides is really fantastic. To be delighted by.
Many a time I clicked on the location pin to see where it drove. Badfen-Württemberg. So after my first stop in Hesse, it made sense that I would drive on to this southern state to meet him in person. Because over the past two years we had chatted a lot via Instagram, but not yet face-to-face. I was 100% sure that this was a cool guy.
Heilbronn
We meet in a small village just northwest of Heilbronn. First, of course, we have to have a coffee and without really realising it, we are already an hour down the road. The bike is patiently waiting for us. Markus has already prepared a nice route, which will take us 130 kilometres through the rolling, mountainous landscape. In this route, we stop at the Königstuhl. This is the viewpoint over university town Heidelberg. The views here are stunning and the descent to our coffee stop in the city is lightning fast. This climb alone is a bucket list item.
On the way, we had also picked up David, whom we both know through Instagram. He is also from this region and the three of us continued our pleasant ride through the hilly surroundings. After two more beautiful, silent climbs, we are even more in the mood for coffee and cake. The surroundings are stunning. You ride here mainly through the Heuchelberg Nature Park, hence it is beautiful here.
The final stretch of our route
Eventually, David and us part ways and drive back to Markus' house. This 30-kilometre stretch is pretty quiet and ends up helping the basis of a pasta salad dinner. I was so happy to have ventured out to this area too.
