The outskirts of Germany's third-largest city have a very special traffic problem this evening. A good 20 kilometres south of the city centre, half a dozen racing cyclists on an after-work jaunt are anxiously clicking their cleats. Once again, everything is gridlocked in the Pupplinger Au. But no honking can be heard - just the occasional moo. A herd of cows has to move from one pasture to another. Tails swish at flies, patties slap the tarmac and the young farmer with his stick endeavours to drive the runaways back into the herd. Then the road is clear again, cow dung splashes against carbon, and the graft of the forcibly calmed cyclists dissolves. Very few of them will meet up again on the way. The choice of favourite laps is too great.
One reason for this is probably Upper Bavaria's prosperity. Every farm is connected to the rest of the world by the finest tarmac road, every village can be reached from at least two sides. And because not too many people live out there, those familiar with the area have more low-car variants to choose from than you can quickly memorise. Another advantage of the overdeveloped road network is that there is a nicer, quieter alternative to almost every important motorway connection. These cycle routes around Munich are wonderfully impractical for long-distance traffic, and not even over-motivated car satnavs send their owners here.
This abundance of mini-streets is compounded by a phenomenon that only a few major German cities can boast: Munich has clear city boundaries in the south. You only have to look at one of these colourful maps of Bavaria to see the large green areas along the Isar, in the south-east or in the south-west. The bustle often ends before the town sign. There are a few detours through the outer neighbourhoods, and then it's quiet. It's like closing a door behind you. A door into the open, into the countryside. Into the hills of the Bavarian Oberland.
You can find the entire article as a PDF download below.
You can download these routes as GPS data below:
- Tour 1: To Andechs Monastery
103 kilometres, 400 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of 15 per cent
- Tour 2: To the Gold Coast
80 kilometres, 560 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of seven per cent
- Tour 3: Through the Jachenau
158 kilometres, 1,050 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of eight per cent
- Tour 4: To the ramps
112 kilometres, 750 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of 16 per cent
GPS DATATOUR offers the tour data for free download. You can download the tracks in GPX format directly onto a GPS device or view them on your computer in Google Earth or Google Maps.
