Discover Northern Germany's finest riding

Duration: 9-12 days • Distance: 1810-2320 miles • Average daily ride: ±5.75hrs

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Germany has some stunning roads. It also has some busy ones – so this tour took a lot of planning, sidestepping the big cities and avoiding autobahns, keeping to quiet country roads that are great for bikes. Heading through the Sauerland to the Harz mountains and on to Saxony, the focus of the tour is a trip to Colditz Castle, but there's so much to see along the way – from traditional half-timbered towns to towering schlosses.The basic tour is nine days, but the Tour Pack version comes with three additional daytrips to let you add even more riding.   

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What are the highlights? Clearly there's the visit to Colditz, but there are other sights to see along the way from the castles of the Moselle valley to the dams of the Ruhr… not to mention miles of amazing riding in the Eifel mountains, the Harz Mountains and Thuringia. It's definitely a rider's trip, but the nature of Germany makes every stop a treat as well.  

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What’s included on the routes? Each day’s route has recommended places to stop for coffee in the morning and afternoon, a suggested lunch stop and planned fuel stops. Hotel recommendations are included, too.

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How long is each day’s ride? Each leg of the tour is planned to be a full day in the saddle: check-out of the hotel and get on the road at 9am, getting to the next location around 5:30pm. That's with coffee stops and lunch - it's not a test of posterior fortitude but a relaxed riding holiday. Saddle-time rating: six out of 10.

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Why nine days? The basic nine-day version of the trip fits in with one week off work: leave on a Saturday morning; return the following Sunday afternoon. However, there's so much to see in Germany that the Tour Pack comes with extra riding days to let you expand the trip to 12 days. 

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How is it supplied? Each individual download consists of an interactive eBook of notes and the GPX file for that day's ride. The complete tour and tour pack downloads have an eBook covering the complete trip plus individual GPX files for each day, suitable for any sat nav system.

The Tour Pack also comes with tankbag notes and marked-up paper maps (can't beat a good map) though these are prepared to order, so there may be a slight delay before posting if I'm on the road.