🇬🇧 English Version via subtitles available 🇪🇸 Version con subtítulos en Español disponible 🇮🇹 Versione italiana disponibile tramite sottotitoli
Von Fulda nach Aschaffenburg – über die Wasserkuppe in der Rhön und Spessart.
🚴♂️ 143 Kilometer mit den Gravelbike und dem Rennrad, ⛰️ 2.100 Höhenmeter und eine Landesgrenze, die uns nicht losließ.
Genau 1 Jahr nach unserer Alpenüberquerung München – Gardasee sind wir wieder da – Björn und Thomas bereiten sich aufs nächste balkdige Abenteuer vor – mit einem Tag von Hessen nach Bayern. Das Rennrad und das Gravelbike werden herausgeholt und aufgewärmt.
🟡 Hessen? 🔵 Bayern? Wir wussten es selbst irgendwann nicht mehr.
Auf unserer Tour am Donnerstag ging es immer wieder rauf und runter – durch die wilde Rhön 🌿, hinauf zur Wasserkuppe 🗻, weiter durch den Spessart 🌲 bis nach Aschaffenburg 🏰.
143 Kilometer mit ordentlich Höhenmetern – und das Wetter? Wechselhaft wie unsere Beine: ☀️ mal sonnig, 🌬️ mal windig, 😮💨 mal einfach nur zäh.
🚫 Kein Regen diesmal, aber dafür jede Menge Landschaft 🏞️, Weitblick 👀 und das gute Gefühl, einfach unterwegs zu sein.
Kommt mit auf diese Tour durch Mittelgebirge, Mikroklima und Mentalgipfel 🧠⛰️ – es lohnt sich! ✅
📖 Kapitelübersicht / Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
01:07 – Warum das ganze?
04:42 – Abfahrt in Fulda
06:03 – 1 Year ago – ein Jahr wie eine Ewigkeit?
07:36 – Der Berg ruft – Anstiege
11:39 – Top of Hessen
13:05 – Ab geht’s
16:57 – Sie verlassen gleich Hessen
19:03 – Auf die fränkische Eisenbahn
20:16 – Luftkurort und luftige Berge
21:13 – Einsame Straße
21:45 – Verlauf der Reiseroute
22:42 – Wälder, Schafe und Motorräder
25:52 – Rasten ohne Rosten
26:40 – Engländer
27:56 – Willkommen in Aschaffenburg
28:31 – Was vom Tage bleibt
🔗 Links:
Komoot Route: https://www.komoot.com/de-de/tour/2241655529?share_token=ac3yKNEy44up0xiKYNbL5VNBiRPSg3L6orKJbkX6dUcMLQj75a&ref=wtd
Strava Profil: https://www.strava.com/athletes/121093822
Instagram-Profil: https://www.instagram.com/thomasad1973/
SENA PI Intercom-Lösung: https://amzn.eu/d/0gLjecvs
Ortlieb QuickRack Light: https://www.ortlieb.com/de_de/quick-rack-light+F78105
Valkental ValkOcean: https://valkental.com/products/valkocean-gepacktragertasche-aus-recyceltem-pastik
GoPro Hero 11: https://amzn.eu/d/00bteyei
Insta360 X3: https://amzn.eu/d/0faWVVXd
#bikepacking #rennrad #radtour #gravelbike #fulda #aschaffenburg #rhön #spessart #wasserkuppe #mittelgebirge #hessen #bayern #shimano #cycling #fahrrad #cyclingadventure #outdoorlife #gravelride #elevationgain #mentalgipfel #landschaftsliebe #microadventure #tourdurchdeutschland #radreise #cyclingshots #ontheroadagain #bikelife #spessartliebe #rhönliebe #hessenliebe
#bayernradtour #frankfurtbiken #mainfranken #naturerleben #deutschlandreise
The Wasserkuppe ahead Now we have an easy descent, so far everything has been moderate, easy and fluffy, but we’ll see (music) Have a wonderful morning and hello, dear viewers. Today’s tour takes us through two of Hesse’s low mountain ranges, the Rhön and the Spessart. I’m riding with Björn today, the ride is a bit of training and preparation for our Switzerland tour in July and we have 142 km and about 2000 meters of elevation gain ahead of us. I’m here at 6 a.m. just outside of Hochheim and unfortunately now I have to cycle to the train station in Mainz-Kastel because, as so often happens, Deutsche Bahn has canceled the train I need to take to Frankfurt Central Station because our starting point today is Fulda, which means we have to take a regional train from Frankfurt to Fulda and – yes – the feeder S-Bahn is now canceled, so I have to be careful, I have to be in Kastel at 6:30 a.m. Yes, originally we had planned—I’ll ride a bit further—originally we had planned to go up the Brocken in the Harz Mountains today, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, but that too was simply impossible to plan due to German rail connections and the unreliability of Deutsche Bahn. So we really would have had to—let me say —simply leave at 4 a.m., and then start the tour from Göttingen, and we wouldn’t have had a decent way to get home in the evening. Even with ICE (high speed train) connections, it would have been rather inconvenient. So we decided to cancel the plan and do something here in Hesse instead, or rather, we’re traveling through two federal states today: Hesse and Bavaria. We had already planned the Rhön Mountains the year before last, when we drove back home from Arnstadt in Thuringia on a two-day tour. Back then if you’ve seen the video, you might remember that we drove through the Milseburg Tunnel. Back to our trip: Yes, today is a holiday, and I had to decide to ride my gravel bike because my road bike broke down. So I resorted to the pannier rack solution again and also brought some food with me, because quite a few things are closed today, including my favorite bakery where we planned to stock up in the morning. Yes, now I’m approaching the train station in Mainz-Kastel, and I’ll be in touch from there. See you then, bye Our day begins early on the train to Fulda, still sleepy, but full of anticipation. What began as an idea at the breakfast table became a fully planned route with everything a biker’s heart desires. “A little rebuilding… Oh, come on, rebuilding and cleaning like always.” So, we’re in Fulda and now we’re about to get going. We’re in Hesse and are driving to Bavaria via the Rhön and Spessart mountains. It’s a beautiful Thursday morning, a holiday, Father’s Day. The sun is shining, and yes, it will be 25° and we’ll be having ice cream, like you said back then. Fulda, just before nine in the morning, get on, roll off, take a deep breath, the city is still quiet and will soon be behind us, but the Rhön mountains are already towering before us, we’re leaving Fulda quickly. The Wasserkuppe ahead. We remember: a year ago we cycled from Munich to Lake Garda. I’ve linked the video above. Easy-going A year has passed, almost to the day when we stood at the Brenner Pass last year and now we ‘re back on the road with Björn and back to the mountains, again the thought of what awaits us over the next hill, what looks like a spontaneous day’s stage quickly feels like an adventure again. The climb to the Wasserkuppe begins gently, but it gradually gets steeper. Several times we think back to the Brenner Pass: steep, sweaty, and demanding, and then this realization: It was exactly a year ago, then the Alps, now the Rhön, yet the feeling: the same! The landscape surprises us: rolling hills, wide meadows, and quiet villages, and then the grazing cows, the fog, the small mountain chapels. It feels as if we’ve landed somewhere in South Tyrol, only it’s still Hesse. So, we almost crashed. Well, let’s keep going, I’ll drive a bit. Keep going. Yeah, right, the red light will be coming up again. (Music) Tell me, we’re still in Hesse, actually. You have to say “Gude, Gude,” exactly. So, I think I’m in second gear now, yes, I’m in second gear now, I should be able to manage that without any problem, let’s see. Yes, exactly, that’s the 35, I think, the second one. Wow, how awesome. Cool, with a sedan chair like that. Ascension Day: In almost every village we encounter a procession with people in traditional costumes, children with flowers and bells ringing. It’s moving, unexpectedly reverent, almost as if the day were bowing down for us. Pause for a moment. Yes, so we’re now about halfway up, or a little further, to the Wasserkuppe. The landscape is beautiful here, and we’re having nice weather, too. Right, Björn? Perfect weather. Let’s move on. Whether this water is drinkable, I have no idea, probably not. At least the “Not Drinking Water” sign is missing here It can’t be far now. 700 m. Access to the Wasserkuppe is clear. So, we’re almost at the top of the Wasserkuppe. The last S-curve awaits us. There’s a sign here saying “Caution: Air Traffic.” So, we’re almost at the Wasserkuppe. So, we’re now at the Wasserkuppe. 917 m. First summit reached: The Wasserkuppe, 950 m high, is Hesse’s highest mountain and a place steeped in history: This is where the history of gliding began. Today it’s a popular launch site for paragliders and, for us, the first major highlight of the tour. Yes, both buttons and then down: “Hello” – and then both again down, just down for 5 seconds “Hello hello hello hello hello,” now, all right, here we go Behind the Wasserkuppe, the flight begins not with wings, but with wheels, a descent through beech forests. Wide curves, rolling asphalt, we leave the altitude behind us, but not the euphoria! Suddenly, we unexpectedly left the country road. We lose touch, and Björn and I don’t find each other again until 5 km later. We’ve passed the highest point of our route, and now a constant up and down begins, alternating between Hesse and Bavaria. Gersfeld, a beautiful place after the long descent, is where we meet again “So, we’ve found each other again.” “Yes, do you need a break?” “Beautiful half-timbered houses there.” “Yes, do you need a break?” “No, you?” “No, not me.” “It’s just downhill, the whole time.” I didn’t have to pedal much.” “Yes, you turned right there, I just went straight ahead.” “But it was beautiful through a small forest, then I met some hiker and asked: “Is there a…” “…cyclist passing by here?” “No, not for the last 15 minutes.” “Then I thought, “Where are you?” After Gersfeld, however, a four-lane road begins, which we can’t simply take; we have to find an alternative route. We… up Mount Everest Today is good mountain training. Yes. Hey, we told you, we have 2000 meters of elevation gain today We’ve probably already done a third of it, at least. Probably more, it’s going to get tough soon. The gradients on the alternative route are very steep, and soon we’ll reach Bavaria for the first time. Did you record anything with your GoPro? Yes, okay. Now in Bavaria, and it’s time for a short break, with a sausage, of course. We’re on a former disused railway line that’s been converted into a cycle path for a long time. Not red. Tuff tuff tuff. Steam locomotives again. It’s a nice yellow climb now, I’ve seen it before, I don’t know how long ago. But that was a bit longer, I think. Quite unexpectedly, behind Bad Brückenau they begin, the steep ramps. We wind our way up the mountains and it’s incredibly tough. Panting, we cycle at walking pace and it never ends. The Sinntal valley welcomes us with expanse, the sky opens up. The streets lead like a painting through lush green, everything suddenly seems peaceful, calm, light And then we have it for ourselves: This street, closed to cars Because of roadworks, but by bike, open, a deserted country road all to ourselves. Not a soul, no traffic, just the whir of the chain and the wind. A small gift. Again and again, groups of motorbikes overtake us, a brief noise, then silence again. Two worlds that meet but never fully understand each other. Is this a bad omen? Please not! We are on a road that reminds me a little of last year when we cycled to Austria (before the heavy rain started!), the steep ramps, but we are making progress because we are no longer in the Rhön, the Spessart is calling! More densely wooded and wilder, a different green, darker and denser, and our legs are slowly getting heavier. But we still have about 60 km to go, so there is still a lot to do, still lies ahead of us. On and on, on and on, on. The man in front of me, short jersey, summer jersey. Then the mowing of the sheep. For photography. Oh, look here, nice, yes Yes, a few drops are falling, oh, now they’re coming towards us They think we have something to eat No, you can’t eat sour fries, I’m sorry Wow, I wanted to take a picture of you So, we’re now at a junction here, we’re already on the Spessart High Road So, (sighs), then we’ve done 100, we’re still about 40 to go So, dear friends, we’re riding quite comfortably on the middle sprocket at just under 20, so that we can let our bodies recover a bit, the climbs were already pretty challenging. Uh, we only have one more climb of more than 1 km ahead of us, all the others are much shorter, so there is light at the end of the tunnel. Well, it’s about 2 hours to Aschaffenburg , a bit more, about 45 km to go and yes, here it’s brightening up again. The sky is clearing up a bit, uh, it’s getting brighter – the last climb. Yes, we’ve been spared any rain so far, it was just a few drops of drizzle. This time we’re not standing in the forest because of rain, thankfully, and we’ve already done 100 km. There are still about 40 to go to Aschaffenburg, now it’s time for a little something to eat. We treat ourselves to another break in the forest, a last snack before the final sprint. Our last experience in the Spessart is the so-called Englishman (“Engländer”), a mountain pass, and the descent from there … into Hösbach is exciting and fun. The Englishman, as the descent of the same name in the Spessart is called, is actually an inn or an old forest house from the 19th century, which King Ludwig I had built. There are also several excursion options here, but we simply pass this stretch quickly. After 143 km, we roll through the suburbs into Aschaffenburg. The sun is low, and we are tired, but expansive inside. It wasn’t a race; it was a journey, an experience for all the senses. So, we’re approaching Aschaffenburg’s main train station. We’re about to take the train home again. We head straight for the main station, trying to catch the next train. There, we talk about the day, about detours, about the Rhön and the Brenner Pass, and about how close some places suddenly seem. And perhaps it wasn’t a new chapter at all, but simply an echo of last year, a memory on two wheels. “That’s it, now we’ll just look for the train – we’ve done it!” “Is the camera still on?” – “We’ve done it!”