The last time I had met anyone on a ´front line´ was in Brixton, London and today I met five riders at what was the Iron Curtain front line at Besenhausen just outside of Göttingen in Central Germany. Where once barbed wire and a death strip split the countryside along ideological lines, now Sunflowers and… Continue Reading
Latest in: Gravel – Gravel, green lanes and forest Weg
-
-
DE Home – ENG Home – DE Route – ENG Route Manifest – Galerie – Jimi Hendrix – Links – Air War – WW2 – Gutingi Rides “Two riders were approaching And the wind began to howl” (Bob Dylan) Mein Lieblingssong von Jimi Hendrix ist All Along the Watchtower von Bob Dylan – dieser Song geht… Continue Reading
-
Cycle rides in and around the German city of Göttingen. Gutingi is the ancient name for Göttingen a university city set in the heart of Germany, Central Europe. There are three Gutingi Tours at present each of different lengths: The Gutingi Strade Bianche, Gutingi STEIN PRBX and Gutingi All Along the Watchtower – Die Warten. These… Continue Reading
-
A ride from medieval watchtower to watchtower. These old military sites once protected and controlled the approaches to Göttingen. They are now romantic ruins and peaceful, but in the past, they were often the difference between life or death. Personally, I am grateful to live in a period of peace of which Europe has never… Continue Reading
-
For sure we could have gone faster, especially Josh, but that wasn´t the point. We set a pace at which we could talk, be chilled and all rode our bikes as a form of recovery. We began at the velodrome rode across the gravel farm trails into the forest and raced down the available descents.… Continue Reading
-
Eine Hainberg-Radtour mit Göttingenpanorama auf Gravel, Waldwegen, Panzerwegen, Kopfsteinpflaster, teils auf öffentlichen Straßen, aber hauptsächlich auf holperigen, befestigten Waldwegen. Eine Rundtour von ca. 15 km Länge, so gut, dass ich sie gleich mehrmals gemacht habe!! DE German – ENG Home – Route – Gallery – Gutingi Rides Mobilität Straßen, Pfade und Trails sind für unser… Continue Reading
-
Riding a circuit is cool, you can stay close to home, you can step off when your body says so and you can go home should a monsoon attack. What it doesn´t have to be is boring! This tough 15km circuit ridden on a 28m front and 26m rear tyre featured asphalt, stein roads, Kopfsteinpflaster… Continue Reading
-
We talked about Yorkshire tea (*mysteriously it came up) and swapped stories about tea and tea drinking habits in ´Gods chosen county´, but didn´t drink any. Instead we concentrated upon drinking German beer, ate German cakes, and rode cool German gravel. A day of good Anglo-Deutsche relations or should I say Bristol-Göttingen relations – Thanks… Continue Reading
-
My first ride in August having taken an enforced rest from the bike because of illness. I was under instructions to take it easy and so I limited myself to 20 kilometres of playing in the Hainberg Forest and at Kesterlingroder Feld. I am grateful to be back on the bike and my heart goes… Continue Reading
-
There are simply not enough cobbles (Kopfsteinpflaster) in the area to replicate the Paris Roubaix cycle race. What we do have are kilometres of Strade Bianche, then there is Befestigter Waldweg, and in addition there are concrete farm roads all of which criss-cross the area in abundance. On this ride I went scouting for cool… Continue Reading
-
I thought I had finished scouting All Along the Watchtower but during the Covid-19 lockdown I rethought the ride. The ride will now be spilt into three, one will feature the warte (watchtowers), another three castles and a long ride that will include both warte and castles. Watchtowers and castles tend to be on top… Continue Reading
-
A lovely day riding with John Beggs and Andrea where all my recent post-crash demons were able to drain away in a gentle exorcism by bike. John has been riding in the super wet and muddy environs of the Harz Mountains lately and so we took him on roads with great views, dry gravel, except… Continue Reading
-
When I lived in London, I spent a great deal of time within the built environment and I often found myself in the shade. One of the aspects of my new life in Göttingen is that the sky is open to me and the countryside is accessible being just a few minutes from my front… Continue Reading
-
My first ride with Gunnar Fehlau since February because of the Covid pandemic which has kept so many apart. We reprised our usual lunch time spin and we rode in warm sunshine. It would be easy to see this ride and meeting with people such as Gunnar as being ordinary – how wrong you would… Continue Reading
-
A relaxed gravel ride for cake! 32km, with a few hills including the Tillyberg at over 28% also known on Strava as UP Zum Kirschberg. The Historic Spinnerei Cafe is open each Sunday from May 1 (and public holidays) into the Summer between 1pm and 6pm. The Ride Garmin Connect: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/5123820210 Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/3649574164
-
Josh Schenk is the first person outside of my immediate bubble that I have met and gone out to play with since February when we began the Covid-19 lock down. We talked and talked. My lack of gravel hill climbing saw me struggle on one long ascent, but and I say this with glee –… Continue Reading
-
We rode a mix of gravel and road to Bisenhausen which was once pushed up against the now defunct Internal Grenze that split Germany down the centre. The farming complex of buildings that make up Bisenhausen are typical for the area and it was owned by the Hanstein nobility. After World War Two it was… Continue Reading
-
Cycling is the perfect excuse to eat cake. Another relaxed ride putting as little pressure on Andrea´s knee as possible following sections of the Gutingi Strade Bianche. To eat cake here you must fill in a form to aid contact tracing, you must also socially distance and there are hand wash facilities. Sadly I lost… Continue Reading
-
Monday was a bank holiday for Whitsun/Pentecost and finally we rode to eat cake! Hooray! This time we added a hill to test Andrea´s knee which is giving her trouble. The wild spring flowers are really brightening everything up and I have been told they are planted especially for the benefit of bees and other… Continue Reading
-
The theory is if we stick to the flat gravel trails of the Leine Valley and miss out hills etc. plus keep to a cool pace it will allow Andrea´s knee to heal. It seems to be working. Hooray! We also bought strawberries and cake. Hooray! The Ride Garmin Connect: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/5007678021 Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/3530946813 Cycle Fahrrad… Continue Reading
