#achieveableadventure
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Woods, farms and cold nights
Bikepacking the lower Bavarian forest
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The Bavarian forest in the south Germany might be better known for its mountains and protected forests close to the Czech border but does spread to the west up to the city of Regensburg. This western part is dominated by commercially used wood- and farmland but is still quite wild and “out there” as this trip showed.
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The route that I chose started directly in the city of Regensburg, famous for its medieval city centre and a world heritage site, into the Bavarian forest through farmland which changed into woodland. The forest tracks and trails I used often followed the small rivers running down the hills into to the valley of the river Danube. My return trip to Regensburg did mostly follow the Danube. In the end I had covered 2500m of climbing and 185 km of distance.The conditions of forest tracks in Germany are mainly very good (I like to call them forest Autobahns) and you can easily cover a lot of ground quickly.
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Germans love there camping and a there are many cheap and quaint campgrounds around. Wild camping is forbidden and I would suggest being careful here because you are either on private land or in a nature protection area and you might find yourself discussing with a humorless forest ranger or worse the police. Be also warned that if you go in the shoulder seasons (May in this case) the days may be pleasantly warm the nights can get bitter cold - I measured 4 degrees C that night while shivering in my 10 degree C sleeping bag.
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Besides the start town of Regensburg there is nothing of note on this trip besides the many beautiful river valleys, endless seas of trees and the occasional wide view into the Danube valley. But that is fine with me and very much worth the trip. You could easily do a longer trip starting from Regensburg and traveling all the way through the Bavarian forest up to the Czech border and beyond. This would be a great alternative to the more busy and technically harder trips across the Alps.
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Mountains, Lakes and Fish´n´Chips
Hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland
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The Scottish highlands do have a place on many travelers bucket-list - be it hikers, mountain bikers or motorcyclists. They are well known for their mystic landscapes, ever-changing weather and sometimes dramatic history. We chose to hike the West Highland Way as our introduction to this part of the world.
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This trail covers 154km from Glasgow to Fort William and passes through some of the most spectacular parts of the Highlands as for example Glencoe and ends at the foot of Ben Nevis - the hightest mountain on the British isles. We did the hike in seven days and walked up to the summit of Ben Nevis (1.345m above sea level) on the day after.
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The trail can be divided into parts: The first from Glasgow to Loch Lomond which brings you from the farms of the lowlands into woods and via the summit of Conic Hill to the shore of the lake. The second part follows the shore of the lake and is the most difficult as you have to climb over large rocks and through muddy bogs the whole way. The third part covers the “proper” Highlands with Glencoe and Devils Staircase. This part does have more elevation change but it is less tricky than the second in my opinion.
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The trail does connect small towns and village so that we decided to use hotels and hostels for accommodation. You are allowed to camp most of the time but we hiked in April 2017 and did have to deal with a bit of rain and cold weather (including snow). Not the cheapest way to travel but comfy and it keeps the back weight down.
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For me the highlight of the trip was the third part of the trail and the subsequent hike up Ben Nevis. The landscape is full “Braveheart” and the low hanging clouds in the mornings give it a mystic quality. Besides that digging into huge portions of Fish and Chips was also pretty great.
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PS: We did spend a few days in Glasgow after the hike and got our geek on.
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Less EDM more bikes
Circumnavigating Ibiza on a MTB
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The first thoughts about Ibiza (the other smaller sister of the Balearic island of Mallorca) is either that one Cafe del Mar sampler that everybody owns or pictures of yachts, rich people and neverending parties. When setting out to Ibiza on the ferry with a bike packed for off road touring I asked myself if there was more to the place than that too - and there is.
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After arriving in the port of Eivissa (aka the city of Ibiza) in almost 30 degree C heat I set out for the first of two days around the island using dirt roads, single track and the occasional tarmac. Day one was dedicated to the south part of the island with Sant Antoni (which is the place where the real Cafe del Mar exists) being the overnight stop. On the second day I went for a long loop along the north coast back to Eivissa and the boat home.
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The dirt roads of the island where a revelation as in almost every third level road is well kept gravel (even a 28mm tire on a road bike would work here). The difficulty is less the surface condition of monster climbs but that fact that the roads and tracks are rarely flat and that every short rise seems to have 15% pitch.
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The town of Eivissa is interesting for its architecture and rich history but Sant Antoni is what one expects of Ibiza with many discos and bars and little else. I did stay on the local campground and even that was used by party tourists who are too cheap for a hotel. I would recommend camping wild if you do not have an issue with that.
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Ibiza did show its other face especially in the north with steep cliffs dropping down the ocean and a quiet back country feel to it. Would I recommend Ibiza on a bike? Yes - if you have seen Mallorca and Menorca already.
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Another article I wrote for Advntr.cc
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Never ending views and never ending climbs
Through the Tramuntana mountains by MTB in two days
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The Tramuntana mountains, which range the north-west coast of Mallorca, are well known for their beauty both among road cyclists (just look at early season training photos of any pro-team and the chances to see shots from here are great) and hikers who cross the mountains following the GR221 trail taking between six and eight days. The Tramuntana has several mountains above 1.300m and the whole area is protected as a UNESCO world heritage site.
In my quest to get to know the island better I went for a two days MTB traverse of the mountain range in February 2017 starting from the city of Palma in the south and finishing in Pollenca in the north. The route took me from the city center of Palma to the most south-western point of the island and over many mountains to the north until the end of the range itself. The trails I used combined parts of the GR221, hiking routes, double track and some asfalt racking up 200 km with 4500m of climbing. The tracks I used where very rough in parts I could only manage a 16 km/h average speed which included a lot of pushing and some cursing.
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Along the GR221 there are a number of refuges managed by the island government that provide food and shelter with good quality and very reasonable prices. I made use of the refuge at the lighthouse in Port de Soller - which, like the other refuges as well, I can only highly recommend. I was especially happy to have a bed and warm food after arriving right at sunset on the first day.
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Overall the trip was fantastic but I would definitely split up the trip into three or four days the next time to be able to enjoy it more and suffer less. Besides the never ending views and great trails the highlight that stuck into my head is riding out of Palma harbour into the mountains with concrete switching to trail and solitude with almost no transition.
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Exploring the home of mayonnaise
Menorca on a road bike
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The island of Menorca in the Mediterranean sea is known to be the greener, quieter little sister of Mallorca. It is about a fifths in size and inhabites only an eighth of the population. Driving from one site to the other of the island takes less than 45min. So all in all perfect for a two day trip around the island on a road bike to get a first impression.
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After arriving via ferry the route took me from the old port town of Ciutadella on the west coast of the island over to the east coast to the capital Mahon (namesake of the mayonnaise which was invented here). This first day stayed close to the north coast and went up the Toro (Bull in spanish and the highest mountain of the island). I stayed in Mahon overnight and road back to Ciutadella the next day - this time staying closer to the south coast.
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The roads are well kept but there are parts of the island you can only reach by taking the main road between Ciutadella and Mahon which is fairly busy. The terrain is rolling most of the time and the Toro is the only bigger hill (342m above sea level). The Toro does have some serious gradients but offers a great view over almost all of the island.
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Both Ciutadella and Mahon are nice towns to visit and also stay. I did like the flair of Mahon with its harbour surrounding the old town build on a rock some 25m above the sea. Finding a place to stay and eat is easy especially if you are going in the off season (in my case November).
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One last thing to mention that maybe the best way to really get to know Menorca is by traviling along the Cami de Cavalls - an old watchmen way following all 190km of the coast and open to foot, MTB and horse travel. I will definitely come back on nobby tires and I am not the only one as the picture below shows.
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Mountains, Forests and a Bowl of Spätzle
2 days of bikepacking in the Bavarian Forest
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Bavaria: Beer, generous portions of food and some more beer - at least as far as the clichés go. Having lived in that southern most part of Germany for five years I can assure you there is much more to it as this small trip shows.
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In mid 2016 a good friend of mine and I packed up the bikes for a two day adventure in the Bavarian forest close to the Czech border. At that time we both lived quite near to the place but had never toaken to close a look on bikes. After the trip it is hard to say why we did not go earlier as we found great landscapes, fun trails and a bit of adventuring right at our doorstep.
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Our route went over the highest mountain in the region - the Grosser Arber (1456m above sea level) - and its slightly smaller cousin on the other side of the valley - the Grosser Falkenstein. The rest was mainly on gravel roads, forest trails and what we liked to call forest Autobahn (this is Germany after all and even the forest roads are well groomed and great for quick riding). Riding was easy in terms of terrain but you need to deal with some longer climbs. Overall the route was about 140 km long with 3.600m of climbing (most of which due to the two mountains we passed).
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We camped in a log cabin and did a small detour into a town called Zwiesel to restock supplies. You cannot wild camp in Germany, however cheap campgrounds, cabins and mountain huts available all over the area. Actually using a campground is quite the cultural immersion as Germans both love their camping and are quite unique about it.
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Standing out from this trip is the great landscape, the chance to see “real” Bavaria and eat tons of carb and fat laden food. It easy to do a much longer trip in the region by taking in more of the German Bavarian forest and maybe passing over into the Czech republic.   
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Rocks, sheep and a beach for one
Two day bikepacking the Natural Park of Levant on Mallorca / Spain
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The island of Mallorca might be more well known for its lovely beaches and parties and, if you are looking it bit closer, fantastic road cycling opportunities and great local culture. However if you go a level deeper you can discover wild and sometimes solitary beauty.
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One example of this is Natural Park of Levant in the north east of the island. In April 2017 I took my MTB to ride from the coastal town of Sa Coma via the GR-222 hiking trail to the town of Arta and into the Natural Park. I camped in the park and rode along the coast and through the back country back to Sa Coma the next day. Both days were 50km with roughly 1.000m of climbing each.
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Riding a bike off road on Mallorca means dealing with rocks - lots of them - but overall the route is fairly easy even for a less skilled rider like me. It combines single trail (the GR222 between Son Severa and Arta has both divine single track and views - sometimes you got to scare away the sheep in your path however), dirt roads and rocky bits of double track.
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Along the way you pass through the nice town of Arta on day one and more tourism focused Cala Ratjada on the second day. Both have shops to restock water (there is no drinking water in the Natural Park as far as I know!) and bars to have a coffee and some nice spanish food.
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You can pitch your tent on the small camp ground close to the beach in the parc but not elsewhere as wild camping is forbidden in Spain and especially in natural reserve. The campground is 5 Euro per person / night and needs to be reserve beforehand by contacting the parc management.
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For me the highlight of this trip was the absolute solitude in the natural parc in the evening, night and next morning - The feeling of being “out there” while most tourists and many locals do not even know this place exists.
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Le Tour de norddeutsche Tiefebene
Four days in the cold north of Germany
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So I did want to meet a bunch of friends living in and around Hamburg in the north of Germany. And with it being late March I thought: “Well let's borrow a bike and ride the distance between the overnights stops.”
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So I traveled from Spain to Hamburg and got the bike on a Friday and rode the next four days first from the outskirts of Hamburg in a wide arc to LĂĽbeck, then from LĂĽbeck back to Hamburg, on to Stade on the south of the river Elbe and back to where I started. All in all about 350 km - so nothing to bad.
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What made it a bit more challenging was the weather (A nice mixture of fog and clouds at around 0-2 degrees C) and the fact that meeting friends does not mean getting into bed at 10pm to get a good nights sleep.
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In the end hobo-ing for a few days with a small backpack and enjoying the evenings among friends is a good way to spend your time even if your hands are cold and you need to yawn from time to time.
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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The best sunset on the island
A two day hike to Castell d'AlarĂł
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Besides riding bikes hiking might be the second most popular outdoor activity both locals and tourist do on Mallorca. The GR221 hiking trail through the Tramuntana is world famous for being very beautiful and at the same time accessible for a trail right through a mountain range. But besides this there a hundreds and hundreds of kilometers of other trails in the mountains and the rest of the island.
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In January 2017 my girlfriends and I took of for a two day hike from the foot of the mountains into the Orient valley and up to Castell d´Alaró sitting on top of a rough mountain. This hike does include quite a bit of elevation and rough trails but is very doable even for less experienced walkers.
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We stayed in the refuges which is situated right in the walls of the old castle. The castle has a long history and might be most famous as the last holdout during the christian conquest of Mallorca. Today its frequented by hikers and day visitors for its fantastic views into the mountains and rest of island and what may be the most spectacular sunset visible there.
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PS: This is one of the two burros responsible for carrying all the food and drinks up to the refuge.
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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I started writing stuff for a UK based cycling adventure website. Have a look!
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achtervolger · 7 years ago
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Keeping an eye out for pirates
Bikepacking the Cami de Cavalls on Menorca
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After my previous trip to Menorca on a road bike I quickly made the decision to come back on nobby tires to ride the famous Cami de Cavalls. This roughly 170 km hiking trail follows the whole coast of the island and was used as the locals to survey for incoming pirates who tended to raid the island quite regularly.
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I again arrived in the town of Ciutadella by ferry from Mallorca and started my three day clockwise trip around the island keeping on the Cami de Cavall at all times. The first day I went most of the way around the north part of the island, day two went through the capital city and part along the southern coast and on day three I went back to Ciutadella.
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The Cami de Cavalls itself is a hiking trail but open to bikes and horses. Overall the track is quite difficult due to the rocky and narrow nature and the fact that while you are never high above the sea (roughly 100m) the track goes up and down in steep slopes all the time. Another “difficulty” are the many, many, many wooden gates on the trail. The northern part of island is definitely more difficult but also more beautiful. In total I did ride, push and carry the bike for 17+ hours. If you do not like hike-a-bikes this one will be difficult to do!
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Of the towns that you come through only Ciutadella and Mahon are worth noting while the rest are coastal resort towns. However these two are really nice and worth a trip alone. I went November 2017 and almost all places outside of the two main towns were closed but I was able to find a place in Fornells in the norths and in Cala en Porter in the south for my overnight stays.
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I would fully recommend doing the Cami either by MTB or even on foot. The trail is fantastic and unique as it is continuous around the whole of the island. The landscape changes several times and is beautiful all the way. So if you are happy to work a bit harder take your bike, if not get out your backpack and boots.
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PS: The trail is rocky as in “ripping off derailleur hangers”-rocky - which happened to me on the last day of the trip.
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