Alsace & Black Forest Biking

Day 1

Meet your Backroads Trip Leaders (the folks wearing Backroads T-shirts) at 11:45 a.m. in front of the Mulhouse train station in France. Please arrive dressed in your biking clothes with your rain gear handy, or have all of your gear packed in a small separate bag so you can change before the ride.

Shuttle to Kirchhausen, Germany 30 Minutes
Schwarzwaldhaus 20 Miles with Shuttle (2,000-foot elevation gain)
Longer Option: Badenweiler Loop 37 Miles (3,000-foot elevation gain)

Bienvenue! Willkommen! Welcome to Alsace and the Black Forest, regions close in proximity, but each with their own language and distinct culture. After meeting in Mulhouse, we shuttle across the border into Germany, arriving in time for a lunch in Kirchhausen, a small village set at the western edge of the Black Forest. We get better acquainted over a light meal before your Trip Leaders fit your bike and give a brief talk on biking techniques and safety. Before leaving Kirchhausen, we visit the Bauerhausmuseum, also known as the Schneiderhof, an authentic Black Forest abode built in 1696. It has been preserved to show the way people lived and worked here more than a century ago. After you’ve looked around, set out on today’s warm-up route through the verdant rolling hills of the German countryside, past vineyards and typical hamlets of the region. The views are beautiful!

The first ride of the trip under your belt, settle in at Hotel Römerbad in Badenweiler, a town known for its warm mineral springs. Take a dip in the hotel swimming pool, sit in the sauna or indulge in a spa treatment (see ―During Your Trip‖ for booking details). You may want to venture farther to experience the local hot spring (not included in trip price). This evening we gather at the hotel for a wine reception, followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Lodging: Hotel Römerbad

Day 2

Rouffach Route 47 Miles (770-foot elevation gain)
Shorter Option: Staufen 39 Miles with Shuttle (520-foot elevation gain)
Longer Option: Blauen 58 Miles (3,140-foot elevation gain)

Today’s striking route leads through gorgeous thick woods and along soothing streams of the Black Forest before crossing into Alsace. Leaving Badenweiler, you can opt for an early challenge—push to the top of 3,820-foot Blauen and relish in the tremendous panorama of tree-covered mountains. If you’re not feeling quite awake enough for that, stick with the Rouffach Route, which still offers plenty of hills. Pedal through the Markgräflerland wine region past pretty vineyards and picturesque German villages.

Just before reaching the Rhine (and the border) stop in Breisach for lunch at the eatery of your choice and perhaps check out the hilltop cathedral, which looks out across the Vosges Mountains, the Rhine and nearby vineyards. Despite its fortifications, Breisach has been razed by war and then rebuilt numerous times. Eighty-five percent of it was destroyed by Allied forces crossing the Rhine during World War II.

After eating and exploring town, bid auf wiedersehen to Germany and take the bridge across the river into France. While you no longer have to present a passport, it’s clear from road signs that you’ve entered a new country. Still, you’ll see the German influence in France for the rest of the trip: Alsace has been passed between French and German hands for centuries.

The first French town you’ll reach is fortified Neuf-Brisach, which from the sky looks like a perfect octagon. This was no mistake. Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, one of King Louis XIV’s military engineers, designed it this way to protect the French border after the 1697 Peace of Ryswick ceded Breisach (the town just across the river where we just had lunch) to the Holy Roman Empire. After exploring this fascinating World Heritage site, pedal west on a level—and sometimes windy!—route toward the Vosges mountains and the town of Rouffach.

Our home for the next two nights is Château d’Isenbourg, nestled amid undulating hills and vineyards, overlooking the town of Rouffach, the Vosges foothills and across the Rhine into Germany. Take in the seemingly endless views from the elegantly manicured grounds before we dine on sophisticated Alsace-inspired fare in the château’s 14th-century vaulted dining room.

Lodging: Château d’Isenbourg

Day 3

Château d’Isenbourg Loop 33 Miles (1,100-foot elevation gain)
Shorter Option: Murbach 22 Miles with Shuttle (770-foot elevation gain)
Longer Option: Col du Firstplan 54 Miles (2,730-foot elevation gain)

After breakfast ease into today’s ride on a relatively flat stretch past cornfields, small villages and streams toward the agricultural Rhine River Valley. Just when you’re craving more challenge, the route turns toward the mountains. Bike through the ancient towns of Soultz-Haut-Rhin and Guebwiller, set in the forested province of Haut-Rhin. Then tackle the mile-and-a-half climb to Murbach Abbey, the site of our gourmet picnic. After lunch check out the Benedictine abbey, founded in 727. By the mid-800s, it had become an important intellectual center with a plentiful library. Its doors were finally closed by rioting peasants of the French Revolution.

The slopes of the Vosges Mountains await you this afternoon. If you’d rather not meet them, call it a day and shuttle to the hotel for some R&R—maybe even a body treatment at the Isenbourg Spa. (Spa treatments are not included in the trip price; see ―During Your Trip‖ for more information.) Otherwise, shift down and ride through glorious scenery of rich green meadows tended by grazing cows, and woods of maple, pine and beech trees.

These hills of granite and red sandstone offer stunning views of the Rhine Valley, Black Forest and, on a clear day, Swiss peaks. If you’re after additional miles—and climbs—take on the route over Col du Firstplan.

Dinner tonight is on Château d’Isenbourg’s expansive terrace (weather permitting).

Lodging: Château d’Isenbourg

Day 4

Illhaeusern Route 27 Miles (830-foot elevation gain)
Shorter Option: Eguisheim 19 Miles with Shuttle (220-foot elevation gain)
Longer Option: Fôret des Vosges 50 Miles (2,680-foot elevation gain)

Today’s ride follows the Route des Vins (or ―Wine Route‖), world renowned for its fine vintages. Travel along the edge of the Vosges Mountains, past quaint hamlets, manicured vineyards and lovely farmhouses. Picturesque viticulture villages—boasting half-timbered buildings, gardens filled with colorful geraniums and plenty of wine-tasting opportunities—beckon a visit. The mountain range shields these foothills from ocean weather patterns, creating a sunny, warm and dry microclimate—wonderfully suited to cultivating wine grapes. As you pedal across the rolling terrain, notice the high wires used by growers to offer maximum sun exposure to their vines. Feel free to stop at one of the tempting wineries for a taste of the local lifeblood or in one of the peaceful villages for un café. You’ll encounter several uphills along the way, but they don’t last long—unless you take the 50-mile option, which features challenging winding climbs into the heights of the Vosges.

Try out one of the cozy eateries in Eguisheim for lunch on your own, and consider pairing your Alsatian meal with a Grand Cru vintage produced at a local vineyard—the perfect complement! Farther down the wine route you’ll get to visit other enchanting communities such as Riquewihr, a beautifully preserved Middle Age town. Take time to soak it all in and perhaps sip a riesling at a winstub (Alsatian for ―wine tavern‖) along the way. Later you’ll pass through Ribeauvillé, with stunning Gothic churches, medieval buildings and antique walls. Catch sight of castle ruins, including Château Saint Ulrich (or Ulrichsburg), which overlooks town.

We retire our bikes for the day in charming Illhaeusern, set along the Ill River by the eastern foothills of the Vosges Mountains. Originally a 15th-century fishing village, Illhaeusern has a long history as a wine and grain producer along the trade routes with Strasbourg. Our hotel for the next two nights is Hôtel des Berges, whose friendly staff and architecture exude Alsatian tradition and charm.

Tonight we shuttle to nearby Colmar, where you’re free to discover the well-preserved historic center, dating from the Middle Ages. It’s known for its pretty canals, churches, half-timbered houses, and façades with ornate wood sculptures. When you’re ready to eat, grab a table at whichever restaurant strikes your fancy.

Lodging: Hôtel des Berges

Day 5

Hôtel des Berges Loop 30 Miles (1,000-foot elevation gain)
Shorter Option: Vins Spitz et Fils 20 Miles with Shuttle (700-foot elevation gain)
Longer Option: Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle 40 Miles (2,000-foot elevation gain)

Grab your bike at the hotel this morning and set off north along the Ill River. Find your rhythm on a relatively flat stretch past cornfields, small villages and streams toward the agricultural Rhine River Valley. Rejoin the scenic Route des Vins and pedal to Vins Spitz et Fils, a small family-run winery with a gorgeous setting. Here we pull over for a tasting—rieslings, pinot gris, gewürztraminers, cremants and sylvaners are produced here—followed by a picnic lunch.

This afternoon, pedal into the hills, swapping a landscape of cultivated fields for rugged forested terrain. Be prepared for a few good climbs, but the downhills make the effort worthwhile. And remember, you can always take a break at one of the tempting wineries or in a peaceful café. If you’re craving a challenge, make your way up the winding climb to the splendidly restored Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg, a 12th-century fortress strategically set overlooking the valley. If not, continue along the edge of the Vosges, taking in quiet towns where geranium boxes adorn every façade.

This evening we compare notes on the day’s highlights and celebrate our week in Alsace and the Black Forest over Michelin-starred cuisine at the hotel.

Lodging: Hôtel des Berges

Day 6

La Côte des Vosges Route 18 Miles (230-foot elevation gain)
Longer Option: 25 Miles (550-foot elevation gain)
Shuttle to Strasbourg Train Station 45 Minutes

If you’re not quite ready to part with your bike, rise early for one last spin through the verdant countryside, where rolling wine land meets rural plain. Pedal through a sea of neatly tended vineyards and quintessential Alsatian villages as they come to life—perhaps you’ll meet some locals over coffee and croissants at a café along the way. But if a leisurely morning is more up your alley, your bike will understand. Sleep in, take your time over breakfast and put your feet up with a book. We regroup for lunch before boarding a private coach bound for Strasbourg, Alsace’s capital and largest city, where we say our farewells.