In The Magazine

Here is my double-page photo, featured in the Gallery of the Singletrack issue #48 - April 2009

This parting shot was taken during a snowy bike ride in Ahrtal on February 15th using a Canon IXUS 850. The rider on the picture is my long-time bike companion, good friend and avid adventurer Michael Brüggen aka Mr Sunday, who has been one of the pioneers of mountain biking here in Germany.

Singletrack Magazine is one of the most distinctive, respected mountain bike magazines in Europe and one of my personal favorites along with Dirt Rag and Mountain Bike Action. This is and will be an unforgettable moment in my life and a great honor for me to be a part of this community.

I hope, Chipps (the editor) and his mates answer our call and come visit us here in Germany soon, so that we could spend some time together, doing our favorite leisure activity: mountain biking.

Cheers!

Going Down in Ahrtal

Ahrtal, best known as one of Germany's top wine regions, is one great place to ride a mountain bike. The region lies on the northern edge of the world famous low mountain range Eifel, once a site of vast volcanic activity, today one of the outdoor capitals of Europe, where all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts meet.

Ahrtal is clearly overshadowed by the omnipresence of the Eifel, which makes it a genuine insider gem, especially in the winter. There is a huge network of trails, which are shared between hikers and bikers. The climbs are relatively long but will be generously rewarded with awesome singletrack descents. For best results though, try to ride with a local, as many trails are either too tiny or too concealed to find.

My ultimate globetrotter biking pal, Mr Sunday, as local as one might be to any region in Germany, if not Europe, is the guy to ride this region with. Being true to his renown, he showed us some real mountain bike gems on last saturday, as we met 3 other biker mates in Rech, to go for a once-in-a-lifetime rollercoaster ride in the snow.

Oh, and being true to my renown, I happened to carry my helmet camera with me, uhm, on me, which resulted in Going Down in Ahrtal, yet another Mikkael-Video on Vimeo. Enjoy.

Ahrtal in Deep Snow

There are many great rides. Only a few are unforgettable!

Update on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:05PM by Mikkael

This shot was featured on the March issue of the Singletrack Magazine (Issue #48) on double pages (pages 98-99). I can't be prouder!