Around Hattingen

Even at first glance you have a scenically varied 50-kilometer round ahead of you. But that's not all, because it's worth taking a look at the details: Despite the brevity, there's a lot of altitude difference here. If you are planning the tour as an after-work lap, you should still have a few reserves of energy. On rapid descents, it is also important to watch out for potholes and the like.

Your tour starts right at Hattingen train station. The city in the southern Ruhr area is not only worth a visit because of its historic half-timbered houses, but - as you will notice today - also because of its top location as the gateway to Elfringhauser Schweiz. You leave the city to the south via the Glückauf route. This section is not paved. If you are traveling on very thin tyres, you can alternatively drive on the parallel Bredenscheider Straße and turn onto Elfringhauser Straße from there.

From now on, the hilly landscape takes on the leading role. As you steadily gain altitude, fields, farms, meadows and wooded areas pass you by - sometimes faster, sometimes less quickly. In the southernmost part of your tour you touch the foothills of Wuppertal. A section of the Panoramaradweg Niederbergbahn takes you in the direction of Velbert, only to leave the urban area very quickly. From Donnenberger Straße, which boasts a perfect path surface, you can enjoy the green surroundings and prepare yourself mentally for the final climbing test. A road peppered with curves leads up to the Langenberg transmitter, which is enthroned on the Hordtberg. After you have mastered the most demanding ascent of this tour, you jet back to the starting point in a relaxed manner.

At the beginning of the tour there is Hattingen train station and a park and ride facility. On the way you will also pass the train stations Velbert-Rosen Hügel and Velbert-Neviges. You can also take a coffee break in the place of pilgrimage known for its brutalist Mariendom.