Mountain Biking Nandlrunde - La Doyenne. A round through Luis' office. - Touren-Impression #1 | © Südsteiermark Mountain Biking Nandlrunde - La Doyenne. A round through Luis' office. - Touren-Impression #1 | © Südsteiermark

Nandlrunde - La Doyenne. A round through Luis' office.

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The Nandlrunde is La Doyenne, the oldest of the Eibiswald mountain bike tours. It leads along Slovenian Macedan roads with fantastic views over the Drau Valley.
The Nandlrunde is La Doyenne, i.e. the oldest among the boundless Eibiswald mountain bike tours. It shares this title with the cycling classic Liège - Bastogne - Liège (LBL). LBL is the oldest of the professional one-day races still held today and is counted among the five so-called monuments of cycling. Admittedly: It may be that LBL was called La Doyenne even before the Nandlrunde. Especially since there were no mountain bikes when it was first held in 1882. But one thing is certain: the Nandlrunde deserves this designation at least as much. Because: It is the first mountain bike loop that connected Austria and Slovenia. And this at a time when Slovenia belonged to Yugoslavia and the Eibiswald mountain bike pioneer Luis Veronik "invented" this loop and biked across the green border when it was not yet allowed.

 

It is not surprising that Luis Veronik took the risk of crossing the border without permission when enjoying biking on the trails of the Nandlrunde. The route on the Slovenian Makedan roads with dreamlike views over the Drau valley is too casual. The sight of the Sveti Jernej church is too picturesque. The power spot at Nandl is too energetic.

 

With such unique trails in front of us, it is not surprising that Luis Veronik had his "office" right on the route, directly at the turn-off from the St. Lorenzen road above the Maritschi farm. This was in the form of a small disused hut of the road maintenance department. He and his friends called it Luis' office. He spent a lot of his free time there. He invited his friends there. From there he undertook many of his tours and at the weekends he lived, as it were, in the middle of his cycling territory. Thus, the Nandlrunde is, as it were, a tour through Luis' office.

 

 

The "Nandlrunde - La Doyenne. Or: a tour through Luis' office" is the bike tour of your choice if you want to

 

  • are looking for a really cool gravel bike or mountain bike tour and want to really get the most out of your bike on the super casual gravel roads on the Slovenian part of the Nandlrunde,
  • want to experience a staccatissimo of unforgettable views of the Drau Valley and over to the Petzen and the Steiner Alps,
  • are looking for a place like the church of Sveti Primoz, where a dreamlike view with some time and leisure should inspire you to strength-giving inner dialogues and new insights,
  • want to climb into the hollowed-out 1000-year-old lime tree on the way to the Nandl,
  • are looking for a very special place of strength near the Nandl and the church of St. Bartholomä (Sv. Jernej),
  • want to enjoy a mountain bike tour that climbs almost 1,500 metres in altitude, but these metres in altitude are hardly noticeable due to the route and the distractions "on the road",
  • want to ride the oldest of Eibiswald's boundless mountain bike tours, following in Luis Veronik's footsteps and making it unforgettable.

Characteristics

Skill
Fitness
Experience
Scenery

Best season

January
February
November
December

The tour in numbers

medium
Level of difficulty
50,8 km
Route
3:30 h
Time
1080 hm
Uphill
1105 hm
Downhill
1030 m
Highest point
1030 m
Lowest point

Map & downloads

More information

Plan your journey via Google Maps to the starting point of the tour: www.google.at/maps

 

Directions from Graz / Vienna to Lieboch:

Take the motorway towards Graz (A2) to the Lieboch exit. Continue on the B76 in the direction of Eibiswald.

 

Directions from Carinthia:

On the motorway in the direction of Klagenfurt (A2) as far as the Lieboch exit. Continue on the B76 in the direction of Eibiswald.

 

Directions from Leibnitz:

Drive via Arnfels, Oberhaag to Eibiswald.

 

Directions from Slovenia/Eibiswald:

Drive over the Radlpass on the B76 towards Eibiswald.

  • Start from the starting point at the church in Eibiswald in a westerly direction, cross the market square and take an espresso in one of the cafés along the way.
  • The route leads via Aibl and the Auenberg mountain where you should take some time to enjoy the view back down towards Eibiswald, the Remschnigg, the Greith and the Eichberg.
  • Always follow the signs and turn into the hiking trail directly at Luis' office and cross over to Slovenia.
  • On the Slovenian side, follow the Makedan road and the signs for the Nandlrunde, enjoy the views, take water at the Sveti Primoz church (small fountain) and do some soul-searching, admire the 1,000-year-old lime tree and feel the power spot at the Nandl.
  • From Nandl, the trail leads across a small meadow and a rooty single trail back to Austria.
  • The tour continues via Rothwein to Mauthnereck and from there briefly on the B69 down to Gasthof Schindler and from there via a small alternative route away from the B69 to St. Oswald.
  • From St. Oswald, pass Cafe Eckhansl and the small Buchenberg lookout until you reach the Höchwirt chapel, turn sharp left there and cross over to the Buchenberg and there glide down to the Buschenschank Garber following the signs.
  • From Garber, the last few kilometres are well signposted past Gasthof Filatsch and down to Eibiswald.
Enjoy the view of the beautiful south-west Styrian hill country from the panorama tower of the Garber Wine & Pleasure World.
With ÖBB to Wies, then by bus or guest taxi to Eibiswald.

ÖBB www.oebb.at  or Verbundlinie Steiermark www.busbahnbim.at

With the BusBahnBim app of the Verbundlinie, timetable information has never been easier: all connections by bus, train and tram in Austria can be queried by entering places and / or addresses, stops or important points. The app is available as a free app for smartphones (Android, iOS) - on Google Play and in the App Store.

There is ample free parking near the church square.

Plan your route via Google Maps to a nearby car park

Car park starting point of the tour

Map with all mountain bike tours available at the businesses and at the tourist office Schilcherland Eibiswald-Wies or can be ordered at Schilcherland.at!

 

Tip: the Styria Tours App, available free of charge on Google Play and in the App Store (Android, iOS) offers detailed first-hand information: short facts (length, duration, difficulty, ascent and descent in metres of altitude, ratings), map, route descriptions, altimeter, compass, summit finder, navigation along the tour. In addition, you can create your personal list of favourite tours and points, save tours and excursion destinations offline, play on social media channels and more.

Gallery

What the weather will be like

Eibiswald (382m)

Morning
slightly cloudy
8°C
5%
10 km/h
Noon
weather.icon.04
14°C
20%
20 km/h
Night
weather.icon.66
10°C
85%
10 km/h
Fair in the morning, then increasingly cloudy. Rain will set in towards evening.
Morning
sunny
6°C
5%
5 km/h
Noon
slightly cloudy
17°C
5%
15 km/h
Night
slightly cloudy
16°C
5%
10 km/h
Dry and partly sunny throughout the day, with cloudy periods from time to time.
30.03.2024
very sunny
6°C 23°C
31.03.2024
sunny
7°C 22°C
01.04.2024
cloudy
9°C 22°C

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