From Ittertal to Diemeltal

The tour starts at the railroad station at an altitude of 585 m and continues to the town center, where the Linnenkerl monument is located. A little caution is advised on the descent for the first kilometer due to the usually numerous passers-by and guests.From the Linnenkerl monument onwards, there is little sign of tourist traffic after turning into Schwalefelder Straße towards Diemelsee. Along the Itterbach stream, the road runs steadily downhill towards Diemelsee, with an average gradient of 1.5% over a length of 13.5 km to the lowest point at 383 m above sea level at the dam wall. Nestled between the Upland mountain ranges, you can easily achieve a gear ratio of 53/15 or 53/14 and an average speed of over 40 km/h on this route, which is a dream for "rouleurs". It is almost unimaginable that top racers can maintain such an average speed over distances of more than 200 km.Back to our tour: After Bontkirchen, the Upland mountain ranges become lower until they finally merge into the Diemelsee basin. On the map, the Diemelsee gives us the impression of a "Y" shape: One letter branch is formed by the Itterbach, the other by the Diemel; both letter branches lead to the dam wall, where the annual lake festival is held in summer. Several hotels and restaurants around the lake offer snacks and refreshments.After crossing the imposing dam wall, we cycle along the mountainous side of the lake, comparable to the topography along the Upper Italian lakes, in the direction of Giebringhausen, Deisfeld and Eimelrod. We pass Hemmighausen, Willingen's smallest district. This time we see other Upland mountains ahead of us, which have to be crossed in the direction of Willingen. Behind the junction in Eimelrod, after passing the "Zur Zweere" inn, a 2 km long and approx. 12% uphill section over the "Sähre" mountain range begins after a meadow valley bottom. It is recommended that you enjoy this ascent slowly and take another look back at the Diemelsee valley basin. After a hairpin bend, the route plunges into the forest until finally, on the open hilltop at an altitude of 658 m, a bench with a magnificent view of the Hochheideturm tower 6 km away invites you to take a short break. The view there is unobstructed as a result of hurricane Kyrill in 2007.