This post is also available in: Deutsch (German)
Holidays in the Bregenzerwald. Finally I had the first road bike holidays in the Corona year.
I had many ideas for road bike holidays in the Corona year. Request was that it should be reachable by car and therefore in the south of Germany and the neighbouring regions. At the end the choice was Bregenzerwald with the starting point in Mellau in the valley of the Bregenzerache. Four tours in five days, partly on the tracks of the road bike tour “season finale at Lake Constance“, which I did in 2018 with “quäldich.de”. Each of the four tours led me in a different direction.
Furkajoch and Lorenapass
The first trip from Mellau started directly into the ascent to Furkajoch. It was harder than expected. The east climb from Au offered longer passages of more than 10 percent several times. Not easy for the first trip. At 1,761 metres, the Furkajoch was also the roof of my tours in the Bregenzerwald.
The subsequent descent went down to the level of Lake Constance. Via Dornbirn and Alberschwende, the second ascent of the day led to the Lorenapass. The ascent was also in the double-digit range for quite long parts of it. Therefore, I arrived in Mellau after the difficult “roll-in trip” with 107 kilometers and 2,256 meters of elevation after 5:22 h.
Lorena, Pfänder, Bödele, Schönenbach
On the second trip I went first to Bregenz at Lake Constance. To reach it, the Lorenapass was in the way. This time on the southern approach from Egg. After a short stop with a view of Lake Constance and the crossing of Bregenz I went up to the Pfänder. There was actually not much traffic and the climb was quite nice. When I reached the top I was surprised about all the people at the mountain station.
The way down from Pfänder was a complete misplanning by Komoot. I ended up on a single trail. Steep gradient, loose ground and big stones were too dangerous to ride on a road bike. It was not only the danger of falling but also the danger of not being able to brake. So I had to push the bike quite a bit until I finally hit asphalt again.
The trouble was quickly forgotten and the next climb came. It went to Bödele. Komoot had planned the first meters with wonderful shortcuts: up the mountain beyond the 20 percent mark. Again just great! With three stops I made it through the last kilometer back to the main road. The traffic to Bödele with partly quite close overtaking maneuvers was the next downer. Fortunately the ascent is not so long and was soon done.
The weather held. The announced rain for lunch time did not come and so I cycled as planned the toll road to Schönenbach and again the small round to Schnepfegg. 119 kilometers with 2.701 meters of elevation in 6:28 h showed my bike computer back in Mellau.
Hochtannbergpass-Flexenpass-Faschinajoch
After a rest day, the next tour led south to the Hochtannberg Pass. Eva accompanied me on the e-bike. That was a nice change and was really fun. The ascent to Hochtannbergpaß on the west ramp from Au and also the descent to Warth were the highlights of my tours. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a pass sign at the pass summit. What a pity. A photo with a pass sign is necessary part of each mountain trip!
Also the continuation of the journey to Lech was wonderful. A small road along the slope of the terrific Lech valley offered fantastic views of the mountains.
Unfortunately, this changed completely after Lech. The ascent as well as the descent to and from Flexenpass took place in heavy traffic. Numerous loud galleries made the part of the ride unpleasant. Finally I arrived in Klostertal, from where the further downhill was not really nice but easy. The descent until Bludenz took quite a while. Not very varied and therefore not very interesting. But at least downhill. I had already 90 kilometers on the clock. That was fast!
From Bludenz an ascent in two-parts to the Faschinajoch began. First part to Raggal. There road changed the side of the valley with a downhill for almost 250 meters. In Garsella the real ascent to the Faschinajoch began. At the end of the day, the ascent, which was not easy anyway, was a challenge. But at some point it was also done. After Fanta and coffee from a vending machine, the last 30 kilometres led practically only downhill to Mellau.
Sulzberg, Alpsee and Rohrmoos
On the fourth and last trip I went to Germany. Over the Sulzberg and Oberstaufen I cycled to the Alpsee. To climb the Riedbergpass I didn’t have the legs anymore and so I took the road to Rohrmooser Sattel back to Mellau. 133 kilometers with 2.194 meters uphill in 6:09 minutes were the numbers of the last trip.
Two years ago, I really enjoyed the trip to Alpsee and the Rohrmooser Sattel. This time it was also quite nice but not really something special. Impressions can be really different.
The days in Bregenzerwald and in Mellau are unfortunately already over. However, the holiday were not quite over yet. Before going back home we continued for a few more days to Chiemsee and to Berchtesgaden.
