フロイデンシュタットの峠・トップ11

The Besenfelder Steige is an extremely challenging descent. When you're hurtling down into the Murg Valley at 70-80 km/h, you need a high level of concentration and bike control. The surface damage, combined with the steep gradient and the curves, is incredibly demanding. Plus, you're exposed to the wind. I ride down it quite often, but I still have to mentally prepare myself for the stress beforehand. Uphill? Absolutely not. There are far too many trucks on the road, and overtaking is extremely difficult due to the poor visibility around the curves. Unfortunately, not everyone has the patience for it. With a regular bike, I would definitely recommend sticking to gravel. With a road bike, you can either go via Heselbach to Igelsberg (a short gravel section) or via Klosterreichenbach.

Not all that steep, if you expect the promised 20%. Coming from Reinerzau, the 12% average over approximately 1.6km is still decent. The gradient definitely remains in the double digits throughout, reaching approximately 15%. For the lower 800m near Reinerzau, the surface is immaculate, having been resurfaced, but unfortunately, the rest is quite bumpy – so be careful on the descent! There might also be the occasional car on the road. Although the section after Alpirsbach is a bit flatter, you should still brake regularly to avoid speeding at 60-70 km/h into a 30 km/h zone.

The surface is impeccable on the Tonbach side – which unfortunately ends abruptly at the Überzwerchberg Hut. From there, the trail to Zwickgabel leads over gravel: medium-coarse and somewhat loose. With a little caution, it's the ideal playground for a gravel bike; however, you should think twice about it with a road bike. The gravel section from Zwickgabel is definitely more recommendable uphill than downhill. After the hard work, you'll be rewarded with the descent to Tonbach on a perfect surface. You shouldn't just blast down the narrow, somewhat confusing forest road without guardrails – but 50+ km/h is perfectly acceptable as long as no one is coming the other way.

I agree with Albrecht. Downhill, from about the bus stop to the first bend, it's briefly two-lane, but then it's no longer there. Despite the poor visibility, overtaking is impossible here, so the climb can sometimes be stressful even by car. The numerous trucks during the week are replaced by amateur racers on weekends and holidays. The descent is sometimes challenging, extremely fast, and not the best surface. Especially on the tight hairpin bend, you can't brake too hard and you have to stay fully focused. After that, it's a steep descent.

Despite the gravel in places, the ascent from Zwickgabel is definitely doable in dry conditions with 25 or 28 inch tires, and is definitely worth it because of the beautiful descent to Tonbach.

If you want to ride the Griesbacher Steige, I recommend doing it as early as possible on the weekend. Sometimes there is heavy motorcycle and car traffic!! Your guide Werner

I have already driven this route Oppenau - Allerheiligen, Ruhestein in both directions this year 2024. If you want to drive this section of the route in a relaxed manner and without heavy traffic, I do not recommend planning it on public holidays such as Easter, Pentecost, Ascension Day or Corpus Christi. Your guide Werner🚵🌲🌄 PS: ALONG THE WAY, stop at viewpoints every now and then and enjoy the views and take photos!!

Busy road, even with heavy goods traffic, therefore only recommended as a descent.