Grossglockner Gateway Overnight · short arc

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Starnberg

   On the evening of 13 June 1886, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the builder of Neuschwanstein, drowned in the shallow waters of the Starnberger See, together with his psychiatrist, a day after being deposed and declared insane. The circumstances have never been fully explained, and theories of murder or suicide still circulate. A cross in the water off Berg, on the eastern shore, marks the spot, and a votive chapel stands on the hill above. Across the lake, at Possenhofen, his cousin Elisabeth, the future Empress Sisi of Austria, spent her childhood summers.

   Read the complete Fuel stop near Starnberg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Grossglockner Gateway Overnight is where the day begins. Next is High point near Herrsching am Ammersee.

2. 2. High point near Herrsching am Ammersee

   On a hill above the Ammersee, the onion-domed church of Andechs Monastery has drawn pilgrims for centuries, but many modern visitors come for something else: the beer. The Benedictine monks of Andechs brew some of the most celebrated beers in Bavaria, and the beer garden next to the monastery, with its view over the countryside, is famous. The climb from Herrsching through the Kiental, a narrow wooded valley, is a pleasant walk for those who want to earn their beer; riders, of course, take the road and leave the beer for later.

   Read the complete High point near Herrsching am Ammersee write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Grossglockner Gateway Overnight checkpoint 8.

3. 3. Near Germering

   West of Munich, the city fades into a belt of comfortable suburbs, Germering, Planegg, Gräfelfing, set among fields and patches of forest on the flat gravel plain that stretches towards the Alps. The ride ends among them, near the forest of the Kreuzlinger Forst, and it is a convenient finish for rides that have gone south to the Grossglockner and the Allgäu.

   Read the complete Near Germering write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 271 km. Next is Scenic stretch near Petershausen.

4. 4. Scenic stretch near Petershausen

   North of Munich, the land rolls gently through the valleys of the Glonn and the Ilm, a quiet country of fields, forests and villages known as the Dachauer Hinterland. Petershausen is one of its towns, with a railway station linking it to the city, and a church and old farmhouses. It is a practical place, and the surrounding countryside is pleasant, with meadows, woods and onion-domed churches.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch near Petershausen write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Petershausen, about halfway. Next is Photo stop near Au in der Hallertau.

5. 5. Photo stop near Au in der Hallertau

   Tall green walls of hops line the roads around Au in der Hallertau in late summer. The Hallertau is the largest continuous hop-growing region in the world, and its vines climb wires strung between poles about seven metres high, giving the landscape a strange, almost theatrical look. Au, a small market town with a castle and a church, is one of its centres, and the smell of hops at harvest time, from late August into September, is unforgettable.

   Read the complete Photo stop near Au in der Hallertau write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Au in der Hallertau sits at 195 km, about halfway. Next is Munich / Bavarian Alps return.

6. 6. Halfing, on the way back

   After a weekend on the Grossglockner, with its glaciers, hairpins and thin, cold air, there is something deeply satisfying about stopping in the soft green hills of the Chiemgau and lowering yourself into a lake. The point lies near Halfing, a village between Rosenheim and the Chiemsee, and within a few kilometres there are several lakes that make ideal swimming stops on the way back to Munich.

   Read the complete Halfing, on the way back write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Munich / Bavarian Alps return comes up about 237 km into the recorded legs. Next is Food stop near Bad Feilnbach.

7. 7. Food stop near Bad Feilnbach

   Bad Feilnbach is a spa town at the foot of the Wendelstein, the striking rocky peak that rises above the Inn valley south of Rosenheim. Its speciality is moor baths, using peat from the surrounding bogs, and visitors have come for its healing treatments for over a century. The town is quiet and green, with meadows, orchards and farmhouses, and the mountain looms over everything.

   Read the complete Food stop near Bad Feilnbach write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Food stop near Bad Feilnbach closes the day.