Discovering the Black Forest as a mountain bike region was one of my goals for the 2022 season: to work on tours for the ride database and expand the route network of the Singletrail Map between Hochrhein and Karlsruhe. That's why I was out and about in the Black Forest several times this season and for longer periods of time. And at first I was dreading it. Until then, I had only seen the Black Forest in the media, and there was only one topic at the forefront: the two-metre rule. This means that riding a bike on paths less than two meters wide is prohibited throughout Baden-Württemberg. This effectively means a blanket ban on single trails.

All alone here!

With this impression, I set off for Freiburg in spring. To the Upper Black Forest. Later to Baiersbronn and Bad-Wildbad. To the Kiental. To the Karlsruhe conurbation. I braced myself for the lion's den and expected daily gossip on the trail. It turned out quite differently. I didn't meet a soul for days on the long rides through the woods. There was no one around, even in high season, at weekends and on supposedly busy trails. The trails in the Black Forest are among the least frequented routes I have ever ridden. It seemed to me that there weren't even a few mountain bikers (illegally) on the trails and that nobody used them at all. When you're rolling through the woods on your own, the question soon arises: what problem is the two-metre rule supposed to solve exactly? Without exception, they were pleasant and friendly contacts. No snarling hikers, no bossy foresters, no uninhibited landowners. In my experience, the Black Forest is a place where people live side by side without any problems and pragmatically. The two-metre rule somehow didn't bother anyone.

On the other hand, I didn't come across any mountain bikers on the Black Forest trip lasting several weeks (except on the bike trails close to the city of Freiburg). However, tire tracks on the narrow trails showed that there are plenty of them out and about. Here, too, it is obvious that nobody cares about the two-meter rule. They ride anyway and seem to do so smoothly. And again the question: Where exactly is the problem?

A paper tiger that makes the headlines

After the trips to the Black Forest and thanks to the network of contacts that has been created, the route network of the Singletrail Map in the Black Forest now covers a length of over 8750 kilometers. In addition, there are forty routes in the tour database, which are constantly being expanded. And I have a completely revised picture of the Black Forest. For mountain bikers, the region between the High Rhine and the Black Forest is not the lion's den, but rather the perceived haven of togetherness.

For years, I gave the Black Forest a wide berth, fearing that I would primarily get hit on the head here. Because of this two-meter rule. Here, quarrels and bad faith are the order of the day. In my experience, everyday life is completely different and this tiresome regulation is actually completely out of date.
 
 

Black Forest routes in the tour database

• Southern Black Forest: https://www.ride-mtb.com/touren/südschwarzwald
• Middle Black Forest: https://www.ride-mtb.com/touren/mittelschwarzwald
• Northern Black Forest: https://www.ride-mtb.com/touren/nordschwarzwald

Singletrail Map

• map.ride-mtb.com (for Ride subscribers)
• ride-mtb.com/ridetrailmap (for non-Ride subscribers)