A page featuring galleries and links for cycle tours undertaken during September 2023.
I ride regularly, and I do not necessarily post a web page for each tour I do.
I do post to Facebook, Garmin Connect, Strava and occasionally to Komoot and Instagram.
Scouting Gö Gravel Ride of the Falling Leaves – October 28 2023
This was a scouting ride for a celebration of Autumn for an upcoming Gö Gravel informal social tour riding out to the East of Göttingen. Herbst is a glorious time when the trees shed their rusty leaves creating a colorful carpet, often hiding ruts, potholes, and roots.
Sadly many of the trails might be too waterlogged for a group ride.
Bombazine Black – Gö Gravel Social Ride 42 – October 26 2023
The Gö Gravel informal evening social ride took us through villages shrouded in darkness, where ´the houses are blind as moles´ in the Bombazine black (Dylan Thomas).
The end of summertime beckons, and we will time-jump backward by a hour. The long hour of seasonal darkness has been ushered in and like our ancestors I await the Winter Solstice on December 22 (and Christmas), when the sun seemingly stands still, and the shortest day signals the seasons pendulum balancing toward the light.
Currently whilst the daytime wanes I know that the Winter Solstice light will be at first as a hand cupped candle but as the days proceed the light will burn gradually more brightly picking up a pace until the sun moves forward across the celestial equator, marking the coming of Spring in March.
The gravel was muddy but not as bad as it will get when the Schlammsaison sets in.
After ride 42 the informal Thursday evening social tours will become twice monthly at 18.00 the next being on 9/11/2023.
Danke for the company: Josh, Lydia, Chris, Sandra P, Marias, Marcelo, Claudius, Max, and Rostyslav.
Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Milk_Wood
Bombazine – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombazine
On Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10109606987
Gö Feldweg Het Volk – Gö Gravel Social Ride 41 – October 22, 2023
The Gö Gravel informal weekend social ride saw us take on a variation of the Het Volk (People´s Circuit) Feldweg Omloop (Circuit) riding a heady mix of Feldweg featuring gravel, asphalt and Betonweg.
Danke for the company: Andrea, Chris, Andreas, Sandra P, Marias, Jakob, Rostyslav, Alex, Konstantin, Finn, Sergiy, Ekki, Claudius, Lydia, and Max.
Gö Gravel: https://veloklubhaus.com/2023/10/20/go-strade-bianche-rides-communique/
On Strava (With my long-fingered gloves I managed to delete most of my ride and so thanks to Konstantin for tagging me onto his GPS): https://www.strava.com/activities/10085040312
Because the Night… – Gö Gravel Social Ride – October 19 2023
To quote Patti Smith.
“Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us”
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OjW1TDANxk
The 40th Gö Gravel social ride took us once again into the Bible Black and in my head was the Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen song from 1978. My mum bought me the vinyl album for my birthday, and I still have it.
Thanks to all for the company: Chris, Christina, Konstantin, Josh, Max, Sergiy, and Lydia.
Those named are also heroes not only for riding gravel trails in the Crow Black of the night but also it rained and there was mud, the latter a reminder of the coming Schlammsaison.
On Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10068762852
Gö Gravel: https://veloklubhaus.com/2023/10/13/go-strade-bianche-rides-communique/
Foraging in Gö 2 – October 17 2023
Our second forage of the season looking for fallen fruit in the Leine Valley near Göttingen resulted in a good haul of Pears and Apples, but no nuts which seem to have been cleaned out.
Sunshine did much to cheer us as the temperature has fallen to a winter mark in recent days.
On Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10055011847
Road Bike Fun in Gö – October 14 2023
This was only my second ride of the year on my road bike, and it is different in so many ways to my CX/Gravel machine. More nervous and faster not at its best off the asphalt but having ridden the Paris Roubaix Sportive five times on 28mm tyres I know that most road bikes are multidiscipline.
My legs are still heavy after hiking in the Harz Mountains, and it was good to stretch them.
On this ride I rode four short, mild gravel sectors helping to link asphalt Feldweg, Betonweg, Radweg, Kopfsteinpflaster and quiet roads open to motor vehicles.
On Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10037184664
Bible Black – Gö Gravel Social Ride – October 12 2023
A day of heavy cloud cover and rain ushered in the darkness for the 39th Gö Gravel informal social ride.
Our lights formed a halo slicing through the Bible Black night – If Welsh Poet Dylan Thomas had been on our ride, he would have found the words to describe it.
“To begin at the beginning…
…moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters’-and- rabbits’ wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea.”
(From Under Milk Wood)
National Theatre – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAo5w91G53A)
Huge thanks for the company: Andrea, Josh, Chris, Sandra M, Sebastian B, Sergiy, and Max.
On Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10027261701
Gö Gravel – Social ride – Center of Germany – October 8 2023
The Gö Gravel weekend informal social ride excellently designed by Chris took us to the middle of Germany. This ride has its own page.
Gö Gravel Social ride – Südloop 34 – October 5 2023
The 37th informal social ride took us over familiar white roads along the Leine Valley, and with our lights twinkling in the gloom Josh added variations and nice new sectors.
With night coming earlier every day we rode 34 kilometres meaning less gravel in the darkness and allowing time for kuchen at the P-Café at ride end.
Danke for the company: Josh, Sebastain B, Chris, Sergiy, Jonas, Marius, Felix, and Andrea.
On Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9983699356
Gö Gravel: https://veloklubhaus.com/2023/09/22/go-strade-bianche-rides-communique/
Buying Cat Food in Gö – October 4 2023
One of many things I enjoy about living in Central Germany is that I can turn the simple act of buying cat food into a wonderful gravel ride on almost car free roads and trails.
On route near several logistics centres, we are in the near middle of Germany, is an interesting area which has been turned into a flood prevention scheme for the wider city and in turn it is a wildlife haven. There are many such schemes along the Leine River where rewilding has been happening and the river given back some of its bends after years of taming.
On Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9975666709
The First Forage of Herbst in Gö – October 1 2023
At this time of the year the trails we ride are often littered with fallen fruit and this was our first forage of Herbst.
On Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9956172911
Velo Klubhaus 
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