Road bike - Around the Willingen mountain massif

From the train station in Willingen, we roll down to the town center, past the Linnenkerl monument, in the direction of Usseln. Behind the viaduct (one of Willingen's most famous landmarks), we turn right onto a side road and follow the Itterbach stream into the village of Stryck. At the forester's lodge, we turn left to finally reach Usseln on a cycle path parallel to the main road.At the end of the village, a rapid 15 km descent towards Korbach awaits us at an altitude of 640 m, reaching the lowest point of the tour (370 m altitude) behind Alleringhausen after Neerdar and Bömighausen. In view of the expected wind, you should put on a windproof vest and goggles before the long downhill section. A glance to the left and right shows us the Osterkopf/Sähre massif and the Upland, which merges into the Korbach basin behind Bömighausen.In the direction of Medebach, a narrow winding road takes us to the lake pond behind Alleringhausen, where we turn off in the direction of Winterberg. After Nieder-Schleidern and Oberschledorn, after leaving the village, the Hochsauerland-Höhenstraße begins at a crossroads before Düdinghausen, which we follow to Küstelberg.With the Schloßberg always in sight, we experience how the terrain slowly rises and the road meanders via Referinghausen, Deifeld and Wissinghausen, reaching an altitude of 664 m in Küstelberg over a distance of 8 km. You feel like you've been transported to Provence, except that the mighty Mont Ventoux is waiting there.Time seems to stand still on the mountain route to Küstelberg. The Willingen mountain massif to the right and the Land of 1000 Mountains to the left are surrounded by farmland. In Küstelberg, we turn right. Now it's time to put on our windproof vests and goggles again before we enjoy a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains on the quiet road. Via Grönebach and Niedersfeld, we reach Assinghausen in the Ruhrtal valley, 15 km away. Before we get there, we see a cross on the summit of the mighty Clemensberg on the right, which was erected in 1946 by a local in fulfillment of a vow. Behind it is Germany's largest contiguous Hochheide, an ideal cross-country skiing area in winter, which extends over the Ettelsberg to the Pön group near Usseln.The descent to Assinghausen seems never-ending. We turn into the village and see buildings (including the church) in the typical "graywacke Sauerland building style" in front of us. But the "high-altitude tour" is not over yet. We only reach Bruchhausen after two hairpin bends in a 2 km long and 12% steep ascent. On the crest, our efforts are rewarded with a magnificent view of the Bruchhauser Steine and the elongated Langenberg. Thanks to Kyrill in 2007, you can see that the porphyry rocks (used as a refuge in early history) tower up to 90 m high.It is another 12 km from Bruchhausen to Willingen. Keeping our eyes fixed on the stone monuments, we reach the Rhine-Weser watershed, where a so-called "fire oak" is a reminder of an early Germanic cult site.After a short, steep descent towards Brilon-Wald, we return to Willingen, 5 km away, via the main road, taking advantage of the hard shoulder. Before reaching the village, the Hochheideturm tower congratulates us on a successful tour.