BR-Radltour

The BR-Radltour is an annual bicycle tour for recreational bicycle riders that was established in 1990. It is organized by the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation (Bayerischer Rundfunk). The inventor of the BR-Radltour, Thomas Gaitanides retired in 2013 after his 23rd tour.

Normally the BR-Radltour has six leads through the Bavarian countryside. It is no competition but an event for people who prefer healthy sport and the community spirit with fellow bicyclers.

The BR-Radltour is supposed to be the largest bicycling event in Germany. This is only accurate for the number of participants for the whole tour, which is mostly between 1,000 and 1,300. Bicycle tours that also allow one-day participants might have several thousand more.

Registration and participation

The tour is announced in April on the internet pages of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation. Participation is only possible after an application and winning a vacancy in the following draw. Bicyclers who sneak their way into the tour will be expelled. One-day participants are no longer allowed.

The tour can handle some 1,000 to 1,300 bicyclers. The number of participants depends on the number of available overnight quarters.

Start

The BR-Radltour mostly starts on the first Saturday after the beginning of the summer holiday in Bavaria. This is in the last week of July or the first week of August. The tour ends on the following Saturday.

The tour

Sequence of events

The first day of the tour is reserved for the check-in. The German railways provide several special trains for the bicyclers.

The tour itself starts one day later. One lead has a length of 60 to 100 km (40 – 60 miles). There are one or two water breaks and a longer break for lunch. The tour has six or seven leads, so it will arrive at the tour destination on the following Friday. The next morning the bicyclers return home, mostly on special trains.

Every evening an open-air concert with disco takes place on the local fairground, mostly with well-known international bands.

Service and support

The bicyclers stay overnight in sports halls on mattresses that were borrowed from the police or army.

The tour is supported by the "Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club" (ADFC), a German association of hobby bicyclers. The ADFC provide a mobile workshop for fast bicycle repairs. The most important supporter is the "Technisches Hilfswerk" (THW) that transports the luggage and the mattresses for the overnight quarters and prepares the quarters (mostly gym halls). "Adelholzener Alpenquellen", a supplier of mineral water sponsors the drinks for the bicyclers.

BR-Radltour 2015

The 26th BR-Radltour started on 2 August 2015 in Weilheim and ended in Mellrichstadt (Lower Franconia). It covered 483 kilometres (300 mi.)

lead date start 1st water break lunch break 2nd water break destination length
1. 3 August Weilheim Utting am Ammersee Jesenwang Friedberg 80 km / 50 mi.
2. 4 August Friedberg Thierhaupten Donauwörth Wemding 90 km / 56 mi.
3. 5 August Wemding Dittenheim Spalt Heilsbronn 75 km / 47 mi.
4. 6 August Heilsbronn Neuhof a.d. Zenn Veitsbronn Höchstadt a.d. Aisch 80 km / 50 mi.
5. 7 August Höchstadt a.d. Aisch Schlüsselfeld Wiesentheid Sommerach Volkach 78 km / 48 mi.
6. 8 August Volkach Geldersheim Münnerstadt Mellrichstadt 80 km / 50 mi.

BR-Radltour 2016

The BR-Radltour 2016 will start on 30 July, 2016 in Marktredwitz and pass through Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Neunburg vorm Wald, Viechtach and Vilshofen. It ends on 5 August, 2016 in Burghausen, Altötting. In 2016 there will be only 1000 participants, and the tour covers only 430 km (267 mi.)

See also

Literature

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