I have a new bike! A MTB 🙂 In fact of that Erik planned a route in the hills of the Rhineland-Palatinate, the other side of the Rhine valley. I already heard that this area is totally beautiful for moutaninbiking. And the locals always drink ‘Schorle’ which is a glass of half a liter filled with wine mostly and a bit of soda. Also in the forests are club houses of hiking clubs where you can get the local food and schorle for a small price. All delicious!
Day one: Neustadt an der Weinstraße – Lindellbrunnen Castle (42k)
We started the morning with the train to Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, directly located at the hills. First we went for breakfast at a small coffee shop. We had sun and could soon drop the longsleeve and ride in short/short. Perfect indian summer! Perfect weekend! Directly in Neustadt we went on the trails. To me it was sometimes not easy, because the first time on a MTB and riding trails… Funny! And different than riding my usual touring bike.
On our way we had every few kilometers a club house like this one. At each of them Erik had to get a schorle 😉 We had some local food, called ‘Pfälzer Teller’ which is a plate of sauerkraut, liver dumpling and pig’s stomach (not directly, sausage, pig meat and potato). It took quite a long time to make some kilometers. Hard (for me) trails and many lovely stops. The scenery in the forest is really amazing, it is autumn and leaves are so colorful. It felt as if we just had only uphill. Up and up. 4 hours after start and we made 15 kilometers… Not that much,  but some serious schorle. We passed different kind of trails and hiking paths. All people we met on the way were super friendly, said hello and hikers made way to let you pass with your bike. Now i understand why MTB people like this area. We passed a small town where the fire fighters had a training and we couldn’t cross the main road. So we had to sneak around.
Then we had some downhill and muddy trails up, finally we made it to Annweiler which was the last possibility to grap some wine for the camp fire. We met at the supermarket a MTB couple which we asked for a place to dine and they got us the advice to join their way because in their village is a fine restaurant. So we rode a few kilometers together and the place really delicious food. We ate again a ‘Pfälzer Teller’.
Then we started our last leg for today till the Lindellbrunnen castle. The way up to there got harder, steeper, it started to get dark. The last meters we pushed the bikes in the dark because it was too steep and you couldn’t really see the way. Finally we arrive at the castle. There was a photographer class and two people with a fire. We were happy that me made it! Next thing was to search a spot at the castle to start the camp fire and sleep. Soon we found our ‚room for the night‘ and Erik went to get wood for the camp fire. We didn’t had the best wood so it was not too easy to light it up. We made it and enjoyed the place. Old stones, a sky which was a blast, i’ve not seen to many stars since a while. After some wine we felt asleep in those old stonewalls.
Day two: Lindellbrunnen Castle – Home (58k)
 BEAUTIFUL! The view when we woke up was like that!
We woke up shortly before sunrise. We made coffee and enjoyed the view! There were also three photographers up here to take pictures of this spectacular scenery. They told us that they are on tour since last night. They took pictures of the sundown and later of the milky way. Now they are here. What a success! We had a few coffees and some first breakfast. We tried to dry out stuff but the humidity was too high. When we packed we decided the next goal: breakfast. We rode through lovely woods, the lower we got, the foggier it got. In Bad Bergzabern it was fresh. We started to miss the castle and the sun. We found a small italian ice shop for tiramisu and coffee. Energy!
Now the way was nearly flat. We passed many vine yards. Meanwhile the sun came back to keep us warm. We started to get hungry and searched at a stop at a gas station for a local restaurant. Close by was a club house with hospilatity of the Naturfreunde (similar to the scouts). Perfecto! We’ve been wrong in the woods but with the help of google maps we found the location. Just in time. Because we were hungry! Another Pfälzer plate as final tribute to that lovely area which hosted us this weekend. After that lunch we got so tired, but we made it the last kilometers way back home. Erik, thanks for guiding this awesome experience! It was a great pleasure!
