They actually raced there. German championships, world championship races, great sport - but unfortunately: motorsport. The "Schotten-Ring" north of our eponymous starting point was an important road racing circuit for decades, feared for its tightness and bends, but the great era of motorsport in the Vogelsberg ended 35 years ago. There are hardly any traces of the era. Today, the padded posts and double crash barriers in some of the bends are more of a tribute to the motorbike excursionists who come to the varied terrain at the weekend.
And the cyclists? They know routes away from the moped mainstream. Quite a few of their routes are cycle paths, of all things. Often avoided by racing cyclists elsewhere due to sudden turns or poor surfaces, they are real delicacies in the Vogelsberg. And their signposting enables those not familiar with the area to cycle smoothly. The third argument makes them popular with those who like to cycle: Several kilometres run along former railway tracks, so the gradient remains below three per cent. The "Vulkanradweg" cycle path on the route of the former Vogelsberg railway attracts cyclists in particular. Touring cyclists as well as a number of racing cyclists roll carefree along the narrow tarmac tracks on the flanks of the former volcanoes. To avoid ramps, the former railway tracks sometimes stray far away from the other roads. Like contour lines on a hiking map, they follow the contours of the low mountain range through forests and fields.
You can find the complete travel article with these tours in the download area below:
- Tour 1: This is the summit (99 kilometres, 1,400 vertical metres, max. 11 % gradient)
- Tour 2: Rollercoaster (102 kilometres, 1,500 vertical metres, max. 12 % gradient)
