Tour 16: Short challenge – MTB in the Spessart Mountains

The "Short Challenge" is a sporty tour. It largely corresponds to the route used in the annual Spessart Challenge. For reasons of nature conservation and the operation of the sanatorium, some sections have been slightly changed. The starting point is at the House of Associations (otherwise Salinenplatz). After a relaxed "warm-up" on the cycle path into the Kinzig Valley, the route goes up to Aufenauer Berg opposite the Schützenhaus. A wonderful view of the Kinzig Valley is guaranteed. At the height of the Hohe Wacht, the tour makes a sharp 270 degree change of direction. On a farm track, with a great view of Bad Orb and the Spessart, it now goes steadily uphill. At the end of this, a first short trail awaits the mountain biker. Then it goes on a forest path around the Lauzenberg to the refuge of the same name. The subsequent descent to Pariser Platz is made entertaining by another trail section. Through the Wolferschanzengrund you get to the Orber Grenzweg. Here a forest path branches off that leads to the trail in the Haseltal. After a successful descent, the route continues on a forestry path above the Haseltal to Wegescheide Gründchen. Next you reach the Teufelsleiter, a rough descent with cross roots in the lower section. After some ups and downs between "Altenberg" and "Wintersberg" you reach the Altenberg Trail, the last third of which runs along an old cable car route. The route climbs steadily along the Winterberg to the Tränenbrückchen. Here another high point awaits the mountain biker, the descent into the Baiertal. This requires a lot of riding skills in the first section up to the state road. After crossing, the route continues on a wonderful trail into the Baiertal. An asphalted path leads to the other side of the valley. Here the tour continues on a single trail (lots of cross roots) to the wildlife park. Above the enclosure you drive to the Haberstal, where another short trail has to be mastered before the tour leads back to Bad Orb. (Source: spessart-tourismus.de/detail/id=61eebc3b7e8c480c6a9689ee)

It was fresh today, but at the beginning the ☀️ accompanied me. It took a few kilometers before I could dive into the Orber 🌳🌳🌳. It quickly became clear that yesterday's storm would force me to climb a few trees. Altogether there should have been 10 trees that blocked the paths. No problem at all, but you will be rewarded with many (for me very demanding) trails. That I did not fall, I have to repeatedly attribute to my luck today 😅. In the end, I was definitely pretty exhausted today. Too long an MTB break 🤔. But the 16 is definitely a great tour, highly recommended 👍🏻.

Tour No. 16 by Spessart-Biken was the template. Shortened slightly at the end and took the faster route back. Very varied round. Nice mix of several climbs and then the right descents. Beautiful trails here. Some for advanced. If you run out of energy and/or air on the way, you can take shortcuts at several points and drive back to Bad Orb.

The night... rain, It finally stopped around 9.30 a.m., So this morning I did round 17... After eating and charging the bike a bit, 😁 So I filled up my tank and the bike 😉 I also did this round in the interesting Spessart Why not do tours that others recommend, that are signposted by the tourism center etc... This one even had some MTB descents Greetings

We set off in sunshine. The forest paths were lush, the trails were sometimes very slippery. Nevertheless, we did a few. The FlowTrail practice course was fun as always. Unfortunately, we were caught in a rain shower so we shortened the round. Now the sun is shining again. 🚵🏻‍♀️🚵🚵🏻‍♀️🚵

After about 15 minutes, the Garmin screen suddenly went black. So I restarted it. Then it displayed a black screen. So I had to navigate by feel. We used to be able to do that, too. 😉 This resulted in an unplanned route that included some new and familiar sections. And I recorded it with my phone for the first time. In the end, a few minutes and a bit of the total distance are missing. 🤷‍♂️