Berlin-Usedom-Berlin:
From the metropolis to the sea and back.
According to current plans, there will be two tracks in 2022: A technically more demanding wild track over 650-700 km and a more direct short track over 450-500 km.
The exact track will be sent to the starters a few days before the Steppenwolf.
Wildtrack
The Wildtrack is a demanding ride: root trails on countless Brandenburg lakes, a selection of the most beautiful pavé in the Uckermark and some small challenges that await you on the picturesque path to the Baltic Sea and back. It is based on the premiere route from 2021, when mainly MTB riders felt comfortable on the track, but a handful of gravel bikers were also able to finish the Steppenwolf. We want to keep the character of the track the same.
From the start in Bernau (near Berlin) there is no warm up, after five kilometers the first trail is waiting. Around Wandlitz and Biesenthal it becomes immediately demanding at small ice age lakes. In the direction of Joachimsthal, you will share the path with the starters of the short track at Lake Werbellin before heading west to the Feldberg, Templin and Lychen lake districts. Last year they were at the end of the track and only 11 of 30 starters had arrived here. After the first checkpoint the landscape changes, from Neubrandenburg the route goes on new paths through the Tollensetal. In Wolgast the island is reached, a cooling in the sea is near. At the second checkpoint, you are already more than halfway there.
Behind Anklam you fly along the nature reserve Stettiner Haff, before the Brohmer Berge bring some variety. Before you get your third stamp at the checkpoint close to Prenzlau, the popular Strasburg cobblestones await you. Behind Unteruckersee, you'll follow freshly scouted routes to Angermünde. From Parstein, the finale is announced: the Oderbruchkante near Bad Freienwalde demands everything again. From there it is not far to the finish back in Bernau.
Shorttrack
The short track is a nice balance between the shortest way and the most exciting landscapes between Berlin and Usedom. You can expect a varied mix of the finest gravel, long forest trails, small plate road and asphalt sections, short challenges on pavé and a few kilometers of flow trail on about 500 km. From the Steintor in Bernau, the first meters will take you out of the city together with the starters of the Wildtrack. The Barnim forest quickly swallows you up and spits you out again at Werbellinsee. After a few kilometers of flow trail, you enter the hilly Schorfheide, where the surface changes constantly. After the first checkpoint near Woldegk, it goes over the Brohmer Berge, then in the flatlands before Usedom only the wind can become a problem. The ferry takes you to the island, where the former Berlin-Swinemünde railroad embankment awaits before you finally reach the Baltic Sea. Before the second checkpoint in the island's hinterland, the route winds along the Achterwasser. The third section starts wildly before the ferry takes you back down from the island. Via Torgelow, the Steppenwolf leads through new terrain to the third checkpoint near Prenzlau. The last stretch leads a little east again, behind Angermünde we could not deny ourselves a little treat of the Chorin cobblestone forest. From the ship's hoist it is then only once up the Barnimschwelle, until you fly along countless small lakes directly back to Bernau.
