Mountain biking in the Bregenzerwald: feat of strength on the Kanisfluh

In recent years, a good 450 kilometers of mountain bike routes for beginners, advanced bikers and professionals have been newly signposted in the Bregenzerwald. Varied mountain bike tours, bike camps and riding technique training, a bike school and two bike courses: The rustic mountain region south of the Allgäu has a lot to offer mountain bikers, but is still largely an insider tip and has a lot to offer from green valleys and gorges to challenging summit tours.

by Henning Heilmann

No matter how you go about it, when you ride into the Bregenzerwald, at the beginning it's almost all over a mountain. For many cyclists, the way there is already the destination; the Furka Pass, for example, is very popular with racing cyclists, while mountain bikers like to overcome quite a few meters of altitude from Dornbirn via the Gütle along the wild Dornbirnerach to reach the Bregenzerwald.

Cycling in the valley
Once you have entered the Bregenzerwald, you will find wide valleys and narrow gorges that are ideal for cycling in. A tour from Mellau to Schoppernau, for example, offers a first insight into the landscape of the Bregenzerwald. Following in the footsteps of the hit song "Vo Mello bis ge Schoppornou" for 25 kilometers always slightly uphill, you can well imagine on the bike path how strenuous the same stretch would be on foot. The bike path from Egg to Doren, which was only opened in June 2014 at a cost of four million euros and runs along the route of the former "Wälderbähnle," is also spectacular in terms of scenery. The gravel path with slight inclines stretches over a length of 10 kilometers, surrounded by nature, landscape and the buildings of the Bregenzerwälderbahn. Thus, it also provides an insight into the historic railroad, which once ran from Bregenz to Bezau in the Bregenzerwald.

Bike to the mountain
"Around the Kanisfluh" - already an advanced tour - is the classic in the Bregenzerwald. At the same time, it was my first tour, which took me there with the local cycling club. The bike tour is no mean feat. After all, there is a distance of over 44 kilometers and 1,340 meters of ascent to overcome. After the first ascent of about 700 meters in altitude, the Alpengasthof Edelweiß invites you for refreshments. The route continues past the Kanisalpe. Narrow bridges and water crossings provide variety. On each altitude meter gained...