Taunus Bikepacking

Taunus Bikepacking is a self-supported loop through the whole Taunus, the hills north of Frankfurt, reaching both its edges and its heart along unbeaten paths and well and lesser known sights. The route changes every year and is almost never flat: short, steep climbs, constantly changing surfaces and roughly half the distance on gravel and dirt, a ride that riders have compared to a rollercoaster.

It is deliberately not a race and not a commercial event: there is no mechanical or medical support, no set stages or sleep spots, and each rider makes of it what they want, whether a journey of discovery or a step out of their comfort zone. Its founder Jesko von Werthern grew up in the Taunus and has finished the Transcontinental Race five times; he created the event as a local long-distance adventure, and it has since been followed in DotWatcher features, rider reports and the documentary film Taunus Tales.