Mountain biking at the Rappbodetalsperre

I still have a few days left before Jessie and I go on our biking vacation. I’ve used the time at home for some road bike trips but I also had on my list to check out some mountain bike trails in the Harz. Yesterday, it was finally time to try out one of the tours that I found on komoot. It was supposed to be a scenic trip around the Rappbodetalsperre with a few hills along the way. You can find the tour information below:

The tour began near the dam and one of the first sights was a hydro plant with its massive pipes.

The first part was mainly flat and led me through the forest along a small river.

After the first big incline, I was rewarded with this amazing view across the lake.

In the background (to the right) you can even see the Brocken.

From now on, the path staid at a constant and high level for a while and lead through forests and meadows.

One of the forests was quite annoying since at least 20 trees had fallen across the path. Therefore, I got some good exercise from lifting my bike over or around them.

The main dam has some “pre-dams” with much smaller lakes. This photo here was taken from one of those dams in the outlet direction.

Right before the end of the trip, I found this bear which - as the sign says - was designed with a bee hotel in its belly. There were many hotel guests in the lobby and thankfully I didn’t get stung.

The trip ended at the main dam where I also took a few pictures of the larger lake.

There also is a large suspension bridge that tourists can take to cross the river - something I had no intention of stepping on.

I had a blast on the trip and liked the turn-by-turn navigation that the komoot app offered. Since there are plenty of other tours through the Harz as well, I’m definitely going to come back soon.