FSM-Tour 2009

Forchheim, Ebermannstadt, Muggendorf, Behringersmühle, Pottenstein, Kirchenbirkig, Leupoldstein, Obertrubach, Eggloffstein, Thuisbrunn, Ortspitz, Dietzhof, Wiesenthau, Sigritzau

I rode this tour after the Franconian Switzerland Marathon had passed on the B470, and the road was still closed to motor vehicle traffic until the evening.

The route leads from Forchheim along the B470 to Pottenstein. There, I took a short break at the forest café in the Püttlach valley and ate a fruit cup. The Püttlach is also excellent for cooling overheated feet. A few hundred meters further into the forest from the café there is a Kneipp facility. The water is at best 15°C even in high summer. The route steadily climbs up to Pottenstein, but you barely notice it. From Pottenstein, we continue along the B470, past the summer toboggan runs and the Schöngrundsee lake, and shortly afterwards also past the Devil's Cave. After the Devil's Cave and the trout farm, we turn right towards Kirchenbirkig. Here, there is a bit of an uphill, but it's easy to ride. In Kirchenbirkig we follow the road further to Leupoldstein, passing through Regenthal and Weidenhüll on the way. In Leupoldstein, we have to ride a section on the B2. So we turn right onto the B2, follow the road briefly, and at the next opportunity turn right towards Obertrubach. From here, the route mainly goes downhill over the distance. After reaching Obertrubach, we continue along the main road. We pass Hackermühle, Schlöttermühle, Ziegelmühle and Reichelsmühle. Then comes the next place, Wolfsberg. After Wolfsberg, continue to Untertrubach, and there is also Haselstauden. Then through Hammerbühl and finally reaching Eggloffstein. Now comes the next bigger climb, we turn left into Schützenberg. We follow the road to the edge of town and continue straight towards Thuisbrunn. At Thuisbrunn, we reach a junction with a stop sign. There, we turn right. We pass Haidhof, heading a bit uphill, until we reach the turnoff to Ortspitz. There, we turn right. In Ortspitz, we must keep left. We ride through a small forest, descending in switchbacks down to the valley. When coming out of the forest at the switchbacks, there is a wonderful view into the Wiesent valley. At the next junction after the switchbacks, we turn right. Immediately to the right is a small memorial chapel. Here we turn left onto the road that eventually takes us to Dietzhof. From there, we continue along the main road to Schlaifhausen and Wiesenthau. Below Wiesenthau, we ride the road along the railway tracks to Gosberg. In Gosberg, we turn right towards the train station and follow the bike path from there until we reach the turnoff to Sigritzau. There we turn right, follow the road, and finally cross the railway tracks. Just after that, turn left and follow the bike path back to Forchheim. Having finally reached Forchheim, we find our way home from there.