Rhön-Radmarathon

The Rhön-Radmarathon is a Whitsun-weekend cycling event organised by RSC Bimbach, starting and finishing in Bimbach, part of Großenlüder in Hesse, Germany, on the edge of the Rhön hills. The next edition’s date has not been announced yet. The most recent edition on the organiser’s website was held over the Whitsun weekend, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May 2026, with the long tours ridden on the Sunday. The organiser states that the event is not timed and “not a race”: it is a ride through the Rhön.

Routes and distances

The figures below are from the 2026 edition; the organiser’s routes for the next edition have not been published yet.

Tour E (Extreme) covered 258 km with about 4,700 m of climbing in 2026. Its named climbs included the Milseburg, the Ellenbogen, the Weidberg, two ascents to the Hochrhön, the Totnansberg and the Große Nickus at about km 198. According to the organiser, Tour E avoids the hardest part of the Kreuzberg climb because it does not go as far as the monastery.

Tour C covered 214 km with about 3,600 m of climbing in 2026, over the Milseburg, the Ellenbogen, the Weidberg, the Hochrhön ascent from Hausen, the Schwedenwall from Bischofsheim and the Große Nickus.

Tour B (Basic) covered 183 km with about 2,800 m of climbing in 2026, over the Milseburg, the Schwarze Moor climb from Seiferts, the Schwedenwall from Bischofsheim and the Große Nickus. It ends with a gentle climb to Buchenrod and a mostly downhill run along the Jossa and Lüder rivers into Bimbach.

The Rhön is low mountain country, and this event is a reminder that low does not mean easy. The three long tours all started and finished in Bimbach and shared a cast of named climbs rather than a single mountain pass.

The shorter tours in 2026 were Tour 4 (159 km, about 2,200 m, ridden on the Saturday), Tour 3 (116 km), Tour 2 (86 km), Tour 1 (52 km), a family tour (20 km) and gravel/MTB tours of 49 km and 81 km.

Explore the route on Cycling Friendly: Rhön-Radmarathon – Tour E

Explore the route on Cycling Friendly: Rhön-Radmarathon – Tour C

Explore the route on Cycling Friendly: Rhön-Radmarathon – Tour B

In 2026 the organiser listed course closure in Bimbach at 19:00 for Tours E, C and B and 18:00 for the shorter Rhön-Rundfahrt tours, with checkpoints closing earlier at set times. A warm meal is offered in Bischofsheim. A helmet and the back number are mandatory, and riders must follow road traffic rules strictly; police monitor the course. The organiser does not describe the roads as closed. Leaving the road is prohibited in marked nature reserves, notably the Streufelskopf reserve on the Ellenbogen ascent. Official GPX files for Tours E, C and B were published on the organiser’s site, with the note that on-site signage is authoritative because routes can change at short notice.

Registration

Entries for Tours E, C and B are made online through the organiser’s website, paying by direct debit (German bank account required) or PayPal. The organiser’s fee page (it does not state the year) lists €55 (Tour E), €50 (Tour C) and €45 (Tour B), each plus a €10 pre-sale fee, with a €5 reduction for holders of a German Cycling Breitensport licence. Tour 4 cost €15 and the shorter tours €6.

The organiser’s site showed Tours E, C and B as sold out for 2026. The organiser advises printing the registration confirmation and keeping it; start cards for the other tours are collected on site. No registration date has been published for the next edition.

Full details are on the official website.

Why ride it

The organiser’s 2026 route pages name a different set of hills for each long tour, from the Milseburg to the Große Nickus. The weekend is more than one ride: the organiser’s programme includes Saturday and Sunday tours from 20 km to 258 km, plus gravel and MTB options. Free showers and a camping meadow next to the start area are provided, on marked pitches only.

Where to stay

The organiser’s accommodation page suggests camping on a marked meadow next to the start area, with free showers, and points riders to the tourist offices of Großenlüder, Bad Salzschlirf, Fulda, the Rhön and the Vogelsberg for hotels, B&Bs and apartments, plus the youth hostel in Fulda. Browse more cycling-friendly accommodation.