Along the Olefstuwmeer in Hellenthal

The meeting point is the parking lot of the Oleftalsperre in Hellenthal. If you look closely, you can see the remains of sandblasted deer and fish on the dam wall, which are part of the impressive artwork Wild-Wechsel by Klaus Dauven from 2007. At the time, it was the largest work of art in the world made with pressure washers. Unfortunately, time and weather conditions have already largely ruined the work. If you want to know what it looked like in 2007, you can do so through this link: bit.ly/olefkunst.

You start with your back to the dam wall, cycle over the Olef Bridge and follow the Oleftalstraße in the direction of Hellenthal. You drive past the factory halls of the electronics company Stocko, ignore the side streets on the left, cross the Olef again, leave a street on the right and follow the right at the T-junction of Aachener Straße (L159). At the roundabout, choose the direction of Trier and Malmedy and immediately afterwards the Hohenbergringstraße diagonally to the right, next to a white half-timbered house with an old water pump in front of it. You can follow white signs with a red bike and an arrow. Ignore all secondary roads and where the road ends, go straight into the forest road.

You drive parallel to the B265 and you will see a factory on the left and then a campsite. At the first crossroads, with the right at the back of the Forsthaus Platiss, you cycle left through a lane onto the B265. Cross it, cross the Platissbach and follow the road along the edge of the forest to the right at the T-junction. They lock parallel to the Platissbach and follow the Pretherbach a little further. Leave the road to Hollerath (max. 12 tons) on the right. You will now find that you are following part of the Eifel Heights Route and the Valleys Route. Continue along the Pretherbach stream until you reach the junction with the Prethalhütte. The routes with the red bike on the white sign turn right here, over the Prether Bach. You cycle on the left and keep the Prethalhütte on the right. Ignore the forest road on the right over the bridge and continue cycling through the forest on a gravel road. Ignore all the side paths and continue cycling through the forest along the Kombach. Cross it twice and then cycle out of the forest. You immediately notice a large number of wind turbines.

New Castle

Turn right with the road, ignore a side road on the left and get back on asphalt. Cross the Kombach one last time and turn right onto the first street. Ascent to the hamlet of Giescheid, one of the highest places in the Eifel. Giescheid has no through traffic and just over a hundred people live there. Leave the road and continue cycling between the meadows with a beautiful view with Hollerath in the background. On the left you can see Giescheid Castle. It looks old, but it is not a historic castle, but a modern construction built for a couple as a "dream house". They started construction in 2009 and by February 2016 it was still not finished.

At the fork in the road on the right, take the road for agricultural traffic. Follow the descending asphalt road with beautiful views and a few large curves between the meadows, along and through the forest and then take the first road on the right. Cross the Prether Bach and cycle past the Gasthaus Oberprether Mühle (with camping) to the fork. Turn right in the direction of Hollerath. Cross the Ramsbach and then leave a road diagonally to the right. At the next fork, select Agriculture and Forestry on the right. You will now follow part of the 3-country route and you can let yourself be guided by the green bikes on the white signs with R9. You descend between two meadows with a high seat on the right side, as such a hunter's hut is called here.

Then it's uphill again and you climb along the Bonn ski hut, which is somewhat hidden between the trees. Continue and enjoy a beautiful panorama on the right after the forest. You come to another road, follow it to the left and come directly to the Luxemburger Straße (B265). Follow it to the left and cycle through Hollerath along this wide and fairly busy road without worrying about any side roads. You pass the Hotel Hollerather Hof and the Landhaus Eifelsicht from the village. Just before Luxemburger Straße, turn left into the road for agricultural traffic. You are now exactly halfway and can enjoy the last 15 kilometers traffic-free on comfortable asphalt roads through the forest and along the Olefstuwmeer.

Cherry on the cake

You cycle between the meadows, ignore a road on the right, drive along a high seat, leave a private road on the right and then drive into the forest. At the junction with a dirt road, turn left and straight on a road closed with a barrier, turn right and still follow the green bikes of the R9 and the 3-country route. Leave a forest road on the right and cycle past an (open) barrier. Ignore another side road on the right and continue cycling to the junction with the Daubenscheid refuge, a refuge built here in 2013. Straight. Exit a road on the right and pass a cross with a sign explaining in four languages. Sign number 24 of the "Path of Remembrance" is about three fallen GIs at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge.

Descend with a hairpin bend to the T-junction with boundary stone 550. Not an elegant border post like between Belgium and the Netherlands, but just a sturdy concrete block with a D on it on the side. Turn right and right again at the next fork. You will now cycle along the Olef, which will continue to fill the entire reservoir. At the Y-junction, keep left and cross the Olef. Now the icing on the cake follows and you drive on the northern lakeside path along the north side of the Oleftalsperre.

At first you don't notice much of it, but then suddenly you get a glimpse of the water, which widens quickly. Both the Eifel Heights Route and the 3-Country Route and the Valley Route pass here. You cycle about ten meters above the level of the water surface and can therefore constantly enjoy a panoramic view of the lake. In the triangular hut Jüngelsbach you can stop for a picnic. After 7 kilometres, you will arrive at the dam. Across the road right next to it, there is a big loop to the starting point. But it is worthwhile to cycle to the dam first, enjoy the view of the lake and on the other side to the parking lot in the depths and Hellenthal behind it.