Day 10: Neuastenberg - Haan (Home)

Altitude chaos with life-threatening descents.

What a last day, even though officially the trip home is tomorrow, but 40 km on top would have been too much today.

It was actually catastrophic, but I'm proud to have completed the route. The worrying started the night before, whether the trip would even happen or if I had to take the train. Storm Kirsten was supposed to rage in the mountains, especially in the morning.

After a very good breakfast, I got on the bike and almost fell down several times shortly afterwards. At times, I thought I was just going to fly away and land in a ditch. Absolute bike control was the magic word. It quickly went to the Rothaar Ridge, a HIKING TRAIL, so not suitable for bicycles (see photos). Even mountain bikes would have reached their limits here. But I really wanted to go to the suspension bridge, so I had to go through it. In retrospect, it was cool but already very risky, as the bike could have simply broken in two on the uneven and rocky paths. So I almost went the same way back, but then rode the best descent of all time. Unbelievable. 300 meters of altitude in just under 5 minutes. Car-free and still dry. After that, I took a short break during the first rain shower. It was probably well timed, as then it was only up and down for over 30 kilometers. At times, the gradient must have been over 25%. The fear pedaled along, as there was no opportunity to stop, because then I would have rolled backwards to my death. Probably. Once I reached the top, I went down again, which had been really dangerous due to the rain, as a slip in the curves would have completely thrown me off. Luckily, I didn't have any falls, except for that one time. I actually wanted to ride on the sidewalk and then fell over on a straight stretch. Well, the horror trip continued. Not only was continuous rain forecast after 11:00, but also heavy wind. I especially noticed this when I had climbed the mountain and tried to fight against it at a slower speed to master a level stretch. Going downhill, I also came to a standstill on slight inclines. Wouldn't have surprised me if the wind had blown me backwards up the mountain. But I held on until the end, where it went uphill again from the Bergisches Land (after a longer stay on a train track, the only real bike path on the entire route). In the end, I arrived with over 4000 meters of altitude, which my bones definitely appreciated. That must have been a new record for me. Unbelievable that I managed to do that in this weather.

I want to thank all the readers and hope to have provided good impressions. I can fully recommend the combination of Bad Laer, Lage, and Winterberg as a 3-day trip, thanks to the excellent hotels. Hamburg should also not be missed in one's lifetime. Cuxhaven is perfect as an alternative to Sylt. And for road cyclists, Neuastenberg in the Bergisches Land is the optimal choice for a similar tour like mine.

Until the next trip and stay active

Your Florian

PS: The overall picture and the tour statistics will follow in the next few days, before the blog freezes again for the time being.