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Think of going abroad this year to do up to a weeks mtbiking. A friend has been recommended the Pfaelzerwald Forest in Germany but having looked online I wondered if it was a tame. Has anyone been who can recommend it? Or can anyone recommend alternative (reasonably priced) destinations?
I went to the Pfalzerwald about 8 years ago, no idea what it is like now but when we were there you weren't "allowed" to ride paths under a metre wide.
However I was informed by a German mate with experience of the area that it was that quiet that everyone rode all the trails anyway.
We got a proper OS type map and MTB trail map (marked only with the legal stuff).
My advise would be get the trail map and use it only as a rough guide and go exploring.
I'll see if i can find the maps when i get home.
It's probably not where I would go back to JUST for riding but in general it's a pretty sweet place, lots of interesting rock outcrops, really quiet. Lots of good rock climbing if that's your thing.
The beer is pretty good too, and it's pretty cheap to eat/drink/live there.
Most enduring memory was riding along side a huge wild boar and her piglets charging through the forest. Bit mental.
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/danclairelees/tags/pfalzerwald/ ]Linky for pics of the area.[/url]
I spent a couple of weeks further down in the Black Forest, mainly around Freiburg last year, was some good stuff - contacted a group and went out for a ride with a couple of them - 12km rocky descent we did was amazing! Few specific trails and some pretty hardcore downhill stuff nearby...
Bad WildBad
http://www.bikepark-bad-wildbad.de/
Borderline, just outside Freiburg
Freiburg is ace too!
What type of MTBing?
I expect the kind of routes/trails you'll find online are the 30-100km per day hilly mile munching kind of rides, probably with a mix of gravel track, maybe a bit of single track and a few roads here and there.
Pfälzerwald has been on my to do list for a while, but since it's only an hour or so down the road, I'd prolly just do a day trip there.
Usually do a mix of natural trails and centres in the UK and fancied either a change of scene or terrain. I wondered if Pfalzerwald was nice scenery but a bit boring and possibly not challenging enough.