The Bregenzerwald is located in Vorarlberg, in the far west of Austria. The landscape there is characterized by small villages and - above all - an imposing mountain backdrop. So you can already guess that road cyclists can expect one thing above all here: passes, passes and more passes.
by Martin Budweiser
For many years now, my wife and I have been passionate about road cycling and have crossed many beautiful Alpine passes. A completely white spot on our personal map is still the province of Vorarlberg. A very specific tour is now finally luring us to the far west of Austria - the 3-pass ride in the Bregenzerwald racing bike region.
Late in the evening we arrived yesterday at the hotel Wirtshaus zum Gämsle in Schoppernau and had Isabella Felder, head of the house, give us a detailed tour description. 106 kilometers of route and about 2,600 meters of altitude will put our current training condition to the test, but should be doable. With the rich breakfast it is not difficult for us to fill the energy stores for the planned round properly.
The 3 passes ride
From Schoppernau, it's already uphill after five kilometers. So it's pedaling hard on the way to the Hochtannberg Pass. Almost 900 meters in altitude are already behind us when we plunge into the first descent in good spirits. However, this pleasure lasts only for a short time, because behind the famous noble ski resort of Lech am Arlberg, the route goes uphill again in the direction of Flexenpass. This mountain is also quickly conquered - now it's back light on and through the Flexengalerie down into the wonderful Klostertal. Isabella has given us yesterday still the valuable tip with the lamp. Especially in the tunnel you are otherwise easily overlooked by motorists. Parallel to the Arlberg expressway, the longest descent of the day takes us through the towns of Klösterle and Dalaas to Bludenz. We find a small café in the center of town and decide to take a lunch break. Cappuccino and cake taste great, the sun shines from a bright blue sky - it's hard to get back on the saddle. The grandiose landscape provides the necessary motivation. In the Klostertal valley, mountains rise up to 2,000 meters on the left and right, providing the backdrop that one expects from a racing bike tour over Alpine passes.
We have already completed more than half of the route, but there are still plenty of meters of altitude on the program. Isabella has also quietly warned us that the hardest part of the route would only come after Bludenz, when it goes through the Biosphärenpark Großes Walsertal back to Schoppernau. After 500 sweaty meters of altitude, we reach the hill in the village of Raggal and realize that this tour should actually be called 4-Pässe-Fahrt. That's the problem with riding in an Alpine country - hills, no matter how steep and energy-sapping, simply don't count as passes here, and certainly not as mountains. A glance at the bike computer tells us that there are now still 750 meters of altitude ahead of us. Fortunately, the legs do an excellent job, we find again a good rhythm and cope with the hairpin bends up to the Faschinajoch without problems. So now we have also successfully completed the last mountain classification of the day. What follows now is pure downhill pleasure. Passing the ski lifts of the Damüls ski area, we enjoy the final downhill to Schoppernau at an extremely brisk pace and end the 3-pass ride over three mountains and a hill at the hotel Wirtshaus zum Gämsle.
The Tannheimer Valley Round
So the form is right and we have booked another night. A small increase would still be in tomorrow. Again we consult with host Isabella Felder, who, how could it be otherwise, promptly has the next suggestion ready. The "Tannheimer Tal" loop is significantly longer than today's tour, with the same number of vertical meters, which means that more flat sections are to be expected. In addition, it leads in a completely new direction and only at the very end we meet at the Hochtannbergpass on familiar terrain. Challenge accepted!
In order to be well prepared for the start again tomorrow, we will enjoy the delicious 5-course dinner menu. In combination with a glass of red wine, this is a very special treat for the palate. Punctually at 8:30 a.m. we roll leisurely from Gämsle down to Mellau and on via Andelsbuch to Egg. With the 1,406 meter high Riedbergpass, the first and also longest climb of the day is now on the agenda. We feel good, the legs are loose, yesterday's tour seems to have left no after-effects. From Hittisau, a wonderful high valley leads over the border to Germany and on to the top of the pass. The descent on the Allgäu side is surprisingly steep. Even though fortunately there are no tight hairpin bends to ride through, I am glad to have switched to a brake disc this year. My wife has with the significantly lower body weight and her excellent driving technique anyway no problem with this section. Once in the valley, it goes past Sonthofen Castle into the center of the town of the same name and then back up to Oberjoch and back into Austria, more precisely into the province of Tyrol. The Tannheim Valley has been reached, and at Haldensee the speedometer already shows 100 kilometers. Our stomachs are rumbling and in the meantime our leg muscles are showing the first signs of fatigue. We complete the short descent into the Lech Valley and take an extended lunch break in Weißenbach. As yesterday, early summer temperatures prevail again today - it simply has quality when you can sit in the guest garden in the short racing bike dress.
The next 55 kilometers are always uphill, at first still leisurely, following the Lech, to Steeg and then steeper and steeper to the roof of the tour at the Hochtannbergpass. On my bike computer I see that I'm still riding at a good pace, but it doesn't feel easy anymore. The legs hurt, the sweat runs down my face, it is only the mountains and my wife that motivate and drive me again. The nice thing about the alpine passes is that you usually don't need a display on the last kilometers. The roads are written with the names of the racers who have either recently won this mountain classification or will do so in the near future. In addition, one also finds information about the remaining meters to the "summit". Another 500 m, another 200 m, another 100 m - done! We pause for a moment, look out over the beautiful region on the border between Tyrol and Vorarlberg and look forward to a rapid descent back to the starting point in Schoppernau.
We will definitely plan more time for our next stay in the Bregenzerwald. The many possibilities that this racing bike region in Vorarlberg has to offer range from relaxed tours to Lake Constance and cross-border laps to Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, to true royal stages over fantastic Alpine passes with several thousand meters of altitude. You can certainly fill several weeks of your vacation with these tours.
Region
In the western tip of Austria near the Swiss and German borders, this picturesque region offers racing cyclists plenty of variety.
Distances: 180 km/2.5h from Zurich, 200 km/3h from Munich and 174 km/2.5h from Innsbruck.
Road bike region
22 passes clearly mark the region as an Eldorado for altitude lovers
Road bike hotels
Hotel Bears & Café Deli
Square 66, 6881 Mellau
Tel. +43 5518 2207
[email protected]
www.baerenmellau.at
Hotel & Inn Gämsle
Mrs. Isabella Felder
Hinterm Stein 309, 6886 Schoppernau, Austria
Tel. +43 5515 30062
[email protected]
www.gaemsle.at
More road bike regions & hotels at ROADBIKE HOLIDAYS at www.roadbike-holidays.com
Addresses
Bregenzerwald Tourism GmbH
Gerbe 1135, 6863 Egg, Vorarlberg, Austria
T +43 (0) 5512 23 65
[email protected]
www.bregenzerwald.at
The report comes from the issue 1/2020 - In the issue more regions, sporty e-bikes and bike stars are presented and judged!
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