Schwammenauel Dam (Eifel, Germany)

Beautiful double loop around Urftsee and Rursee (between Düren and Monschau; not far from Aachen and the Belgian border) Starting from Heimbach; over Hasenfeld towards Schmidt and further towards Weidenbroich; descent via Steckenborn to Woffelsbach, and then ascent over Rurberg to Kesternich; from there descent towards Einrur, ascent to the nature reserve (formerly military zone) Vogelsang and again descending over Herhahn to Gemünd. From Gemünd ascent to Wolfgarten, descent to Schwammenaueltalsperre, over Hasenfeld back to Heimbach and from there back up towards Abbey Mariawald. Descend to Gemünd and take the rest of the road in the opposite direction (Herhahn - Vogelsang - Einrur - Kesternich - Rurberg - Woffelsbach - Weidenbroich - Schmidt - Hasenfeld).

8 climbs over approximately 110 km; together more than 2000 meters of elevation gain. Good, wide roads, beautiful nature, nowhere extremely steep (the most difficult part is the ascent from Heimbach to Abbey Mariawald).