Black Forest guided motorcycle-tour

On the second day we will travel to the Black Forest via the beautiful Alsace as well as Lorraine regions. This is an enjoyable and relaxing ride, mainly off the beaten track. So we’ll take our time and enjoy it. If there are any of us interested in military history, then one of our ports of call could also be the impressive citadel at the historic town of Bitche.

This spectacular 18th-century citadel protected the town during the turbulent times and held out against many invasions throughout its history. As we continue winding through the lush countryside dotted with traditional villages, cultivated fields and green forests, the landscapes will gradually become hilly and eventually mountainous-ish.

From here, we’ll be able to get the first glimpse of the distant dark contours of the Black Forest. Crossing the Rhine River, which is also the French/German border, will mark our arrival at the beautiful Schwartzwald. A short, sweet and easy climb up the small but twisty forest road will guide us to our destination.

During our passage to the Black Forest, if we wish to stop for lunch or drink or just have a break, there are many convenient towns along the way. When we start feeling peckish, we’ll just look for a café or boulangerie, and we can’t go wrong.

Our traditional hotel in the Black Forest will welcome us with comfortable rooms and a delicious evening meal.

As this day is our first free day, we’ll use it to explore this wonderful part of Germany. We’ll be staying in an area where we are likely to end up somewhere nice regardless of the direction we take. Today there are several also options we might consider.

Pending on the level of our enthusiasm and, of course, the weather, we can attempt the entire suggested ride as well as split it and stretch it over two days. The proposed route will take us via the tranquil Lake Mumelsee and Triberg – the town of cuckoo clocks and tumbling waterfalls, all the way to the beautiful Lakeside town of Titisee and back to our hotel.

Lake Mummelsee, on top of the legendary B500, is the most scenic coffee stop anyone can wish for. Also, from here, we’ll get the best vistas of the German as well as French countryside below. For lunch/snack, we often use the restaurant directly on the waterfront. It offers a great menu of traditional dishes and meals prepared with local produce. From here, following the superb Schwarzwaldhochstraße, we’ll get to Triberg.

The town presents a perfect opportunity to take a photo or two of the biggest cuckoo clock in the world. And the more energetic ones can take a shorth-ish uphill/downhill hike to the highest waterfalls in Germany. As we continue with our ride, still following on and off the B500, we’ll arrive at Titisee – the furthest point of our trip. It is also a sort of German answer to Windermere back in the UK. The town is a great place to take a stroll around and perhaps catch a boat ride on the lake. But we’ll make sure we don’t leave before we have a slice or two of the delicious Black Forest gateaux.

If we park our bikes in the train station car park, there are designated lockers for bikers. So we can store our helmets and extra bike gear while we are in the town. How good is that? If everything goes according to plan, we should be back at our hotel in plenty of time for the evening meal. If not, we’ll find our dinners in the oven.

As well as being the halfway point of our Black Forest guided motorcycle-tour, today is also our second free day. And today is also the day when the democratic process of decision making often ceases to function and goes a bit **** up. Some will prefer not to ride and have a relaxing day exploring the town on foot. Others might opt to go for a short ride to the next town and explore at a more leisurely pace. But undoubtedly, the rest of us with a lower boredom threshold will want to go for a ride. So we will.

A great way to experience the beauty of the Black Forest that also does not require travelling too far from our hotel is a visit to the spectacular Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald in Bad Wildbad. It is a dizzying 66ft (20m) high wooden pathway that’ll take you on a stroll through and above the forest canopy. If a treetop walk is not your cup of tea, the Sommerbergbahn funicular railway is also nearby. The ride as well as spiralling observation tower at the end of the ride will give you equally stunning views of the Black Forest.

If you fancy a bit of culture as well as city atmosphere, the historic Roman Spa town of Baden-Baden is only a short downhill-ish ride away. Baden-Baden is also home to the famous House of Fabergé. There are more than 1,500 items by Fabergé designers, including a great selection of the renowned imperial Easter eggs. 

The town is also famous for its Roman heritage. There are two thermal bathhouses in Baden-Baden – Caracalla Spa, complete with a rock grotto and the Friedrichsbad, both worth a visit. And perhaps, after a few days of riding, a bit of pampering wouldn’t do any harm. This fantastic city is also a perfect place to stroll the cobblestone streets and take in the opulent villas that have been transformed into outdoor cafés, antique shops as well as restaurants. This trip is best made individually or in small groups.

The Schwarzwaldhochstrasse section is the most beautiful but also the most elevated section of the fantastic B500. So today’s suggested ride will include the best bit of it. However, we’ll also take a spin on some other, perhaps less famous, but equally exhilarating mountain and forest roads.

The route will take us through many traditional towns and villages, offering endless opportunities to explore and stretch our legs. The pretty medieval town on Nagold sitting snugly between the foot of forested hills on the river banks is a perfect place to stop for a drink as well as stroll around. While walking amongst the meticulously restored half-timbered houses in the medieval town of Schiltach that once belonged to tanners, merchants and raft builders will feel like stepping back in time. 

Cut and paste is a wonderful tool. Therefore, to make the most of our stay in this beautiful corner of Germany, each suggested alternative can be altered, changed, and modified.

On day five of our Black Forest guided motorcycle-tour, we leave the beautiful hills of the Black Forest behind and follow some great biking roads towards the French Alsace region as well as our next destination in the Vosges Mountains. Also, if we choose to, and it would be rude not to, we’ll have the opportunity to take one last spin along the best section of the legendary B500.

If we missed a visit to Titisee for one reason or another during our day rides, we could put that wrong to the right. Titisee is always an excellent place to stop and stretch our legs. And also have another slice or two of that famously delicious Black Forest gateau. After all this fine snacking you might become concerned about your waistline. But you should not be – the holiday calories don’t count.

Next, we continue winding through traditional villages, cultivated fields, perfectly manicured orchards, lush vineyards as well as green woodlands. We’ll notice, the landscapes will gradually change. They’ll become less hilly and more panoramic before once again turning hilly and eventually mountainous.

The second part of our scenic ride will gently guide us across the mighty river Rhine.  Here, we’ll also cross the German/French border. If we start feeling peckish again and wish to stop for another break, snack or lunch, there are many places to do so. We’ll just aim for a café, bakery or boulangerie, and we can’t go wrong. Around these parts, one thing is for sure – we won’t go hungry. The historical city of Colmar is the gateway to the Vosges Mountains. And after Colmar, a beautiful and easy climb up the Col de la Schlucht will take us to our destination.

Our comfortable hotel in Munster will welcome us with a cosy room as well as delicious evening meal. 

Time to have another free day on our Black Forest guided motorcycle-tour. As usual, we can choose to have a day off and put our feet up. Or we can also opt to go for a ride and explore this beautiful part of France. The Vosges Mountains are often overlooked, and a bit underestimated as an attractive motorcycle touring destination. However, once there, you soon realise what a fantastic biking playground it actually is.

Once again, the city lovers, foodies as well as culture vultures will have an easy choice to make. A short descend from the Voges Mountains towards the lower countryside leads to Colmar. One wouldn’t go as far as saying that the medieval centre of this ancient town manages to outdo the great city of York back in the UK. But the perfectly preserved timber-framed buildings and as well as maze of narrow cobbled streets place Colmar very close, if not even on par. Here, we can stroll along the canal through the narrow alleys as well as flowery squares. 

The fishmonger’s district and the little Venice are ideal places to find a pavement café. Relax, take in the atmosphere and admire the architectural beauty of half-timbered houses dotted along the riverbanks. Also if peckish, the Flammekueche or tarte flambée is pizza-but-not-pizza Alsacian version of pizza definitely worth trying.

On the scale of a European motorcycle tour, the Vosges Mountains can be viewed as a “blink, and you’ll miss it” type of destination. However, in terms of a day ride or two, it’s fantastic. The region is split into quite a few nature and reserve parks. During our proposed day trip, we’ll spend most of the time riding almost traffic-free roads.  Also we’ll spend most of the day zig-zagging through the stunning landscapes of the Grand Ballon Nature Park. 

The Vosges Mountains are all about greenery as well as mountain vistas. They are also all about rustic villages, traditional market towns and people living in harmony with the land. We’ll ride road after road, mountain pass after mountain pass and bend after bend of smooth French tarmac. And when we had enough we’ll to return to our hotel, just in time for that well deserved afternoon drink.

Our journey today is not that long, so we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely ride along traffic-free country roads to the Champagne region. Also we’ll be travelling through rolling hills and green pastures. We’ll pass through thick woodlands as well as sleepy villages without setting a wheel on a motorway (unless we choose to). It almost sounds like reading a travel magazine, but it’s true. Also the region we’ll be travelling through is squeezed between the Champagne region as well as the Vosges Mountains. And because it’s also relatively close to the Black Forest, it’s often overlooked. But it is a great biking area.

The initial part of today’s ride provides that one last “hurrah” mountain ride before we descend to the flatter landscapes. As we depart from our hotel, we can also ride the famous Route des Crêtes. Or we can also take a more direct route over the Schlucht pass. There are several cafés as well as restaurants, and they all afford fantastic views as far as we can see.

On most of our guided tours, we usually stop at the top of the pass or the beautiful lakeside town of Gérardmer, or both. It has quite a few cafés as well as boulangeries for a quick drink and a bite to eat. The second/third break is usually in Vittel (where the water comes from).

Both towns have plenty of parking, so it is not an issue. If some of us are interested in military history, we can also stop at the Charles De Gaulle Memorial and Museum in Colombey-Les-Deux-Eglises. The memorial is visible from a great distance due to the staggering 44 metres high Cross of Lorraine.

We’ll ride through the panoramic landscapes of the Forêt d’Orient Nature Park to round up our journey. The nature reserve is a protected area of grasslands, woodlands aa well as lakes. It is also crisscrossed with a maze of traffic-free lanes as well ass backroads. also, on a historic note Hugues de Payens, the co-founder and first Grand Master of the Knights Templar, came from here.

Tonight, we’ll be staying in a comfortable hotel in the capital of the Champagne region. Troyes is one of the most beautiful and visited places in this part of France.

It’s a shame to spoil the party. And we hope it has been a great party indeed. But even a great party at some point must come to an end. So after a delicious French breakfast, it is time to head home. Our route will take us north along some great traffic-free highways and byways before eventually joining the motorway back to the Eurotunnel terminal.

Thank you for joining our Black Forest guided motorcycle-tour and RidingWitUs, and we hope to RideWithYou you again soon.