highlights and delights along the way
out of graz
after you have left the city in a styleful and gentle manner - no race, you remember! - the stiftingtalstrasse is the perfect warm up with a first little climb up to schaftalberg/prellerberg.
the following descent right down to volkersdorf may be a little chilly in the morning and ends directly at a crossing with the local main street. take care!
as the name bergstrasse suggests the next little climb up to königgraben starts almost immediately. at the end of panoramastrasse with its hopefully great panoramic views towards the "grazer hausberg" called schöckl and surrounding.
at the end of panoramastrasse turn left! prepare mentally to share the road for about 900m with some cars before leaving the local main street via a sharp right turn direction gschwendt. and after a few hundred meters turn left to kumberg.
coffee is ready!
after having riden about 28km and nearly 500m of elevation with a nice little final ramp up to the top of picturesque kumberg your legs will be warm enough to let them cool down a little bit, while you are enjoying a wonderful cappuccino, a latte, an espresso or what else. but keep in mind! the home made cakes are even better.
schöckl/angerkreuz is calling for climb No. 1 of the day - a 9 km long section with about 500m of elevation. after an easy entry passing schloss kainberg two steeper parts (10-12%) are challenging your legs. the first at 2.5k beyond kumberg, and the second at about 6.5k.
pace yourself and take the whole uphill stuff the easy way! calculate around 45 minutes to reach the summit in relax mode... and don’t forget to enjoy e.g. the views, the moment, nice breathless talks... (just kiddin!)
for all KOM/QOM hunters out there: you have to beat 22:54/34:44!
going down
on top of angerkreuz all 209ers please turn right direction arzberg via burgstall.
enjoy the stunning views.
don't forget to brake!
direction semriach
arrived down in arzberg turn left, left and left direction unterneudorf.
there a smooth 10k uphill segment for cycling connaisseurs begins. or in other
words: climb No.2 with approx. 400 metres of elevation.
after passing the unfamous small village of anger prepare for a short high speed descent that leads you directly into the heart of the more famous semriach.
enjoy the view! and congratulation! you have reached the most northern point of the ride!
break!
next coffee please!
and cake!
or pizza?
and after that: another fast downhill section!
after a total of 10k down the hill, turn right and please take care while pedaling a short passage on the B67 (Grazer Strasse) near friesach. some cars expected.
things are getting tougher...
after having crossed the mur river (hello again!)
the next 20k are 99% uphill.
barely noticable in the beginning, but don’t panic,
the steepest part of the day is not too far away.
meandering the stübinggraben inbound from kleinstübing to großstübing, the gradient rises up to the former gasthaus abraham and then again up to gschnait .
... and steeper
although not very long, the toughest section of the day – and the 5 remaining k's to the top – is, let's say, demanding!
but plesch with its great views and an altitude a few meters above the 1.000m mark is near! and so is the famous pleschwirt!
time for some delicious calories.
and for all non vegans with appetite: schweinsbraten!
or why not sterz! (vegan, isn't it?)
take kehr!
definitley not our best joke, but we hopefully got your attention at this point.
halfway down the road from plesch you have to turn sharp right. and this should happen namely in – kehr!
after having mastered this hairpin, enjoy the narrow roads down to schirning!
and do still take care! ;)
up again...
from mittlere schirning the road goes up for two km to st. oswald. connaisseur riders like to choose the small rumplerweg/moarjörglweg
route!
but you may also ride up the main road. and share it with some cars.
in st. oswald follow the way left to schloss plankenwarth which you should have in sight almost all the time until you pass the castle. with its tavern!
... and a little bit nasty too.
after having passed the castle, prepare for the most tricky right/left combination of the day (on a downward leading road)!
first leave the intuitive direction and turn sharp right into the smaller street hofpirkaweg! follow the steep downhill section with care, but only for 200m till you see a side road on the left side!!! (hidden directly behind the building on the picture)
if your brakes are fine and you stay focused we are confident you will catch the even sharper left turn which will lead you to offenbachweg!
congrats!
it's worth the effort
by the way, effort...! the nasty ramps are challenging your legs at this point after a total of 108k in the long version of RAG.
sorry for that!
but this tiny street is so beautiful! and the views! some say, this is the most unexpected spectacular part of the ride.
so take your time! take a deep breath or two and look back - after you have stopped! you will not regret it! and neither will your legs.
this is does not apply for the KOM/QOM hunters!
only a few more kilometres and you will be rewarded with the most relaxing part of the ride which will lead you from steinberg/oberberg down to hitzendorf.
and then 87% flat to söding and mooskirchen.
have we mentioned the small hill up to stein shortly before söding?
after mooskirchen with culinaric opportunities (e.g. a delicious icecream) kniezenberg is waiting. a small and cosy hill which will lead you to st. stefan ob
stainz! including a nice little coffee and cake location! the more aristocratic riders will ride for another 10 minutes untill schloß stainz!
the stainz castle
towards stainz you have two options!
if you are in a hurry, share the main street with some cars and ride straight down to stainz!
or enjoy the short elevation to lemsitz/grünbaumgarten and ride the only nice &easy gravel part of the day!
which ends directly at schloss stainz with its memorable kitschy schlosscafé with delicious cakes!
from stainz the route leads you to ettendorf, then cosy up to kairegg. then down and up to nice little st. joe(sef)
from there its only two more short but steep ups and towns to wuschan.
rhythm is it!
the secret village
there turn right into schloßstraße. what sounds so lovely ist contrasted by a spooky little village called mühlried.
the schloß itself is hidden behind the trees. you will not find this place on any official map, nor will you meet any inhabitants there. why? find the answer while passing it (entering is prohibited) on the way up to pöls an der wieserbahn.
there turn left heading via lamberg, kühberg, which represents the most southern part of the ride.
heading on towards weitendorf and werndorf/mellach is mainly a cruising experience. with a little bit of famous R2, the first real radweg of the day towards the north!
once you have reached kalsdorf cross old friend mur again! or should we say sad old river at this point? form your own opinion! the
way to fernitz is short and straight but for a few hundred metres unusual heavy car traffic may occur.
icy hotspot
fernitz offers itself for a last break before graz.
the icecream hear is famous!
if everything went the way we suggested so far, you have (without shortcuts) mastered about 170k until this point and with exception of a few more metres of altitude almost all of todays elevation gain!
from heaven back to graz
the rest is a beautiful and gentle ride first to hausmannstätten and than after a left turn (caution!) in wagersbach up to himmelreich. no stairway to heaven in our case but a smooth uphill one!
another höhenstrasse, another steinbergstrasse and another steinberg are leading you to lassnitzhöhe (a luftkurort with a little bit too much car traffic).
this last section offers you beautiful if not spectacular views towards the schöckl area. you remember?
this is, where an eternity of a few hours ago the ride and you were still fresh on this beautiful early spring morning! (a free extraservice for all poetic minded riders)
to keep things short at the end of a long day:
from hönigtal directly down via ragnitztal or via schillingsdorf and then down to stiftingtal (caution: either way not the best roads downwards in the beginning!)
inbound to graz!
please: slow down as soon as you reach the city again.
you may be a little tired and you will find way more people and cars on the streets than in the morning.
make your finish a safe and relaxed one!
and don't forget to enjoy the last kilometres.
you have about 200 reasons for doing so!
done it! great! epyc!prost!
