Welcome!!!
Thanks for visiting MTBTOPOS! What are MTBTOPOS? Each MTBTOPO is a guide to mountain biking in a particular forest of Germany. For each MTBTOPO you can download a ride description and trail map, in PDF format, and GPS data including a basemap, track of the route, and waypoints for each ride.
MTBTOPOS is launched with guides for three rides in and around Potsdam - Wildpark, Forst Potsdam, and Berliner Forst. The list will slowly continue to grow, as it takes quite a bit of time and effort to produce a new guide. In progress already is the Grunewald. Soon the area of coverage will expand beyond the Berlin area, and in fact I’ve already made some significant progress on a ride near Dresden. To check out and download what we have to offer, click on the Rides link to your right, or click right here.
Want to help?
Want to help? The best way is to try a ride and tell me what you think. Could you follow the directions? Are there mistakes in the cue or parts that could use improvement? Did you enjoy the ride? How could I make the ride better? Please post your comments right here on the site, or send me an e-mail. With your input I can make improvements to the rides that are already posted, and I can take your suggestions into account for future rides as well. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Want to do more? You can contribute a ride from your favorite place! But, it’s quite a bit of work. What you need to give me are GPS tracks which cover all of the trails in the place that you’re making the ride for, and a track of the ride itself. It takes a lot of time to ride all of the trails in a forest. And, you need to ride them all at least twice to be sure you have covered everything. For the Berliner Forst ride, which is about 20 km long, it took more more than 300 km on the bike to finish the chapter. Once you have the tracks, the next step is to come up with the route. Then I should be able to take it from there and turn it into a ride for this site. Please let me know if you’re thinking working on a ride for MTBTOPOS.
Why Should I Calibrate My Bike computer?
Navigating these rides might be a bit challenging. There are simply a lot of turns. I originally hoped that I could reduce the amount of navigating involved in a ride, but this turned out to be difficult. I’ve tried to be as careful as possible in calibrating my bike computer to make the navigation as easy as possible. If our computers are calibrated within 1% of each other, then after 10 km they’ll be off by 100 m. That’s not too bad. But, if our computers are off by 10%, that works out to 1km after 10 km of riding, and this will make it difficult for you to follow the cue. So, I would encourage you to spend a little bit of time to get it right.
Sheldon Brown has some info about calibrating your computer. Don’t just fill in the number off a chart, though, check out the “Roll Out Test” towards the bottom of the page. Chris’Z has a nice page about calibration as well. You can also check the instructions that came with your computer if you still have them. Don’t forget to set and note your tire pressure to what you normally ride with when you calibrate, and make sure it’s the same before you try one of the MTBTOPOS. Tread wear can also make a difference, so it’s worth to write this down, too.
a few notes about the Rides…
Before you attempt any of the routes described below, please see the FAQ about why you should calibrate your bike computer!
Please also consider making a map holder for your bike before you head out. It will make your ride much more enjoyable.
Below is a brief description of each ride, and a link to the download area. Each guide is available individually in PDF format. Included is a trail map of the area, with the route clearly marked, and a cue describing the ride including the distance to each turn. A GPS track of the route (.gpx and .crs) and waypoints (.gpx) are available for each ride. The waypoints are marked on the map and the cue. Also available is a GPS basemap (.img) for each ride, which can be uploaded to your Garmin gps unit if it has mapping capability. Maps can be uploaded using the sendMap utility from cGPSmapper, which can be downloaded for free here. You can also try img2gps.
Wildpark More…
Click here for a Google Map preview of the ride
The Wildpark in Potsdam is a great place to ride for those living in Potsdam, and definitely worth the trip for those living farther away. The trail is generally flat, but the two climbs that lead to the top of Kletterberg and Schalereiberg will get your lungs pumping and your legs burning. They can be easily repeated if youre looking for more climbing. Wildlife in the Wildpark is somewhat scarce, but if youre lucky you might see deer, wild boar, and maybe even a fox. While working out the details of this ride in the spring, I also unfortunately observed countless mosquitoes. If you are planning to ride here in the spring, glasses are not recommended but required, and bug spray is also a good idea. There are generally not many people here in the Wildpark, especially east of the train tracks. Some sections of trail are quite beautiful, especially the few kilometers in the Pirschheide, which you enter just after crossing over Zeppelinstrasse at 12.2 km. Have fun!
Click here to download the ride and gps data
Forst Potsdam More…
Click here for a Google Map preview of the ride
Forst Potsdam is one of the nicer places to ride in the area. The scenery is generally pretty nice, and the trails are well maintained. There are two bigger climbs of around 50 vertical meters that take you to the top of Grosser and Kleiner Ravensberg, and there are nice views from both summits. One interesting thing to note: Kleiner Ravensberg is actually a few meters taller than Grosser Ravensberg! Generally you wont see too many people in Forst Potsdam, unless youre near the numerous apartments bordering the northeastern side of the park. Its not uncommon to meet joggers in this area, as well as the occasional bike commuter or recreational rider, but in more than 500 km of riding in Forst Potsdam I can count the number of encounters with other mountain bikers on one hand.
Click here to download the ride and gps data
Berliner Forst More…
Click here for a Google Map preview of the ride
The Berliner Forst is a really nice place to ride. The terrain is varied and the scenery is a step up from the other two rides in Potsdam. There is more single track here than the other Potsdam rides, including one section towards the end of the ride that lasts for nearly 2 km! The trail that parallels the Havel on the north side of the forest is very scenic and enjoyable. The trail on the south side of the island which follows the shoreline of the Griebnitzsee also deserves your tire tracks, but is not included in this ride. Wildlife in the Berliner Forst is also relatively abundant. If you ride in the morning the odds to see wild boar are pretty good, and there are at least two species of goats that inhabit the Berliner Forst, quite a sight to see so close to Berlin. There are relatively few people to been seen here, especially mountain bikers, as with the other Potsdam rides. Compared to the Grunewald, just up the road, this place is empty, most likely because its just a little bit farther from Berlin.
Click here to download the ride and gps data
A few words about the site…
This little project was conceived shortly after I moved to Potsdam in October 2005. I’ve been mountain biking for a long time, and so I started to explore the off-road riding oportunites in the area. There seemed to be plenty of forrested area and trails for riding, but navigating through these places proved to be pretty difficult. I was always lost, and never knew where to go. As far as I could tell, there was no mountain biking specific guidebook for the Berlin area. So, I decided to start working on one.
How are the maps made? Basically, I spend alot of time riding in each area, with a GPS. I record all the tracks, and try to ride every trail at least twice. It will typically take something like 300 km of riding to make a map for a 20 km ride! Once I’m done with the mapping, I know the place well enough to come up with a nice loop. I mark my favorite sections of trail with waypoints, so I can try to incorporate them into the ride. Since this is mountain biking, and Berlin is flat, I try to incorporate as much climbing as possible into each ride. I also attempt to keep the navigation simple, but this has so far turned out to be impossible. If you want a ride that is easy to navigate, you’ll be on the main paths/roads, which is fine, but tends to be a bit boring. If you have a GPS you’ll hopefully be able to upload my data, which should make navigating a ride pretty straightforward.
Why should I make a map holder?
If you try to follow one of these routes without a map holder, you’ll quickly discover that it’s a big pain to take the directions out of your pocket or Camelback each time you need to read them. The solution is simple: make a map holder. Here is a link on how to do it from the Oklahoma Bicycle Society, and another from felixwong.com. You can also find them in your local bike shop or favorite on-line store.