Today's riding had some bucket list items to tick off - one of which was the famous Schwarzwald Hochstrasse aka the B500. So after a most excellent brekkie in our hotel (see pics below), we packed up and got moving. Brian and Wayne scooted on ahead of us as they were in the mood of some hammer dropping. The rest of us were keen to cruise along and admire the scenery at a more sedate pace.
Day 2 Route Maps:
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| Day 2 Part 1 |
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| Day 2 Part 2 |
The first section of road out of Forbach led us north towards the top of the B500. It's a nice wee road called the L79. Best ridden nice and slow as it's fairly narrow, it was a nice way to settle into the days biking.
Then we were onto the B500 itself. This was nothing less than biking nirvana. Amazing surface, sweeping bends, lovely views had us cruising along at a nice lively pace flowing from one corner into the next.
First rider in this clip ran a wee bit wide, but sure we're not all perfect. Except for the third rider on the FJR - he fairly had it leaned over!
Then we were onto the B500 itself. This was nothing less than biking nirvana. Amazing surface, sweeping bends, lovely views had us cruising along at a nice lively pace flowing from one corner into the next.
First rider in this clip ran a wee bit wide, but sure we're not all perfect. Except for the third rider on the FJR - he fairly had it leaned over!
Some more B500 footage from a different angle...
We stopped at the Mummelsee lake for a wee look around and to take some silly photos - sure isn't that what being a tourist is all about!! It was a bit cliché with cuckoo clock shops (Aynsley, where are you?), but a good spot to stock up on some water (it was another very hot day) and also drain the spuds.
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| I do my best mermaid impression - kind of a hottie if you ask me! |
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| The trusty steed takes a rest. |
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| Very pretty spot indeed, despite all the humans present. |
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| Popular spot for bikers |
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| Like I said - stay away from french cars! |
As expected it was turning out to be a hot day. Whenever we reached a tunnel the cold air was a pleasant relief from the hot sun outside. Here's me opening the jacket and doing my best to get some colder air through the jacket.
Back onto the bike and as you can see from the vid clips, we were really enjoying ourselves until we got to Bad Peterstal-Griesbach where the L93 we planned to take to Wolfach was closed. Road closures were going to be the theme of the day, we just didn't know it yet! 😧 Whilst examining our options on Google Maps, Jim spotted Brian and Wayne sitting outside a cafe just down the road. So we spun down and joined them to look at our options. Coffee and cake time - we're on holidays after all! 😄
Apart from backtracking which no one was keen on, our only option was to continue on and take the L94 towards Zell and then rejoin our planned route somewhere south of Wolfach. It would mean a bit more mileage but not the end of the world.
What was the end of the world was the amount of slow moving traffic we encountered on the way to Triberg, our planned lunch stop. By the time we parked up in Triberg we were hot, hungry, parched and it was starting to show on all of us. Just getting out of the gear was a task, but it was also a relief.
So picture this...and this is one of those things you look back at and laugh... Up a wee sidestreet we find a nice restaurant with a shaded outdoor area and it's not too busy. Space enough for all eight of us to sit together and it's reasonably quiet too - perfect place to kick back and relax.
Soon as my arse touched the seat this dude starts playing the corniest version of Country Roads I have ever heard. It's badly sung with a saxophone accompaniment (I kid you not), and the backing track is provided by a cheesy keyboard. And it's loud, and right beside us. You wouldn't play this shit in a lift, let alone to paying customers! 😲 The two highlights of the act were when he stopped for a break and when he let a six year old kid sing a tune. Otherwise it was soil.
At least the food was half decent even if the atmosphere was acoustically toxic. It's funny now but at the time I wanted to shove that saxophone very far up where the sun don't shine much at all!
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| I probably should have stuffed those Wursts in my ears! |
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| If you stop here to eat, bring earplugs |
After the lunch of death by sax, we had a wee browse around town. Triberg has a nice waterfall apparently, I didn't go see it though as it was an uphill walk and you had to pay for the privilege. I'm a tight arsed Paddy so that was that.
We stepped into one of the kitschy tourist shops and the crowd of bustling tourists had me back out the door in seconds - life's too short to be enduring that shite. Fair play to Pauline, she stuck it out long enough to purchase a fridge magnet (it's one of the ways we document our holidays). I crossed the road and joined Jim on a bench as we watched the throngs of tourists sidestep each other over and over again.
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| Triberg main street |
If you're in this neck of the woods, I'd ride straight through or, even better, bypass the place entirely. But if you already have a copy of Schindler's 100 Best Lift Anthems and want to see them played live, by all means be my guest and stop by - you won't be disappointed.
Time to go thank God. We opted to skip Titisee to the south and instead head east towards our destination, Ittendorf. The traffic eased off a bit but the heat didn't. As the afternoon progressed it was approaching the mid thirties, which meant stopping for a breather and a drink of water fairly often.
Things only improved when after stopping at a café, we decided to head on as the waitress was less than keen to provide a beverage to some dodgy foreign bikers. As I was about to put on my jacket a friendly local German wasp thought to plant his sting into the back of my left arm. Charming. Like the road closures, this was to become a theme of the trip!
As we got closer to Ittendorf I was starting to think the local council workers were using pop-up road closures to prevent us ever getting to the hotel!! At one point we detoured due to a road closure just to encounter another closure - and not a screed of a diversion sign anywhere. All the while it was hot, very hot and we all just wanted to park up and get out of our gear.
Finally we made it - and it was worth the wait. The hotel Adler in Ittendorf was lovely. Chap at reception was most friendly and helpful. The rooms were excellent, really modern, tasteful and a decent size too. Our bikes were parked safely in the off-street parking around the back. Most importantly, we could enjoy a few beers in the beer garden out front before indulging in a most excellent meal from the hotel restaurant.
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| Lovely room - photo doesn't do it justice tbh |
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| Din dins in Ittendorf - top notch! |
