The temperature had been a nice 25 all day which wasn’t much use to me as I was busy. Thus, I ventured out at 6.30pm thinking it will of course be cooler only that’s not how Central European weather works. It was instead 28 to over 30. I covered pretty much now well-known roads, gravel… Continue Reading
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It had been hot, over 40 at times and nor did the heat relent that much in the evenings. For a cool ride it was best to get up early and I mean early and too early for me, and head for the forests. Prudence said in my ear not to ride too much, so… Continue Reading
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The letter from the Zoll said that on pain of fees, taxes and fines we must collect a parcel they had held from us for over a week. We had ordered an item from a German company, via a German website and paid in Euros, but the vendor had sent it straight from the USA… Continue Reading
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Once more Gunnar Fehlau and I went out like ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen in the mid-day sun’ for a quick lunchtime ride (30 plus being the temperature). We zipped along although Gunnar had to be patient with me on the climbs and the gravel descents as my battered ribs still do make me go ‘oooh’.… Continue Reading
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Or following in Grandma’s footsteps and German Castles are just not ‘hard arse’ enough. My image of castles was formed by visiting Wales where large and imposing castles were built to express power, deliver military dominance over and the subjugation of the Welsh by the English. Also ‘hard as nails’ castles built by the Norman… Continue Reading
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A week off the bike after bashing my ribs after a very slow and silly fall from my road bike, I set off to redeem myself with a Sunday gravel run. I must have had my mind elsewhere when getting dressed….. oh yes, and thankfully I was told before I would be outed on social… Continue Reading
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I went for a road ride with just a few metres of gravel and I did it simply so I could wear my favourite shoes. These road shoes are only for sunny days and ‘clean’ riding. They are white and they glow silver in the sunshine. I have been thinking that for most of my… Continue Reading
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Apart from the Baltic Coast few Central Europeans have access to the sea, therefore being from the UK it is a very odd feeling not to be within even a 100 kilometres of a beach or sea in a landlocked Goettingen. So what to do? Central Europeans visit the lakes and there are many to… Continue Reading
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Only mad dogs and Englishmen, plus Gunnar Fehlau go out in the mid-day sun Noel Coward wrote a song in the 1930’s satirising the English – “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun.” Previous to this Rudyard Kipling had written about the English in Empire India: “Only fools and Englishmen go… Continue Reading
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The sun is strong and the temperature is high and there is no better place to ride than the forest in such conditions. Oddly, there is something about a German forest that is slightly disturbing even on such a nice day because you do get the feeling that the trees are watching and twitching behind… Continue Reading
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This was super solo ride taking in some new gravel sections on a well known route and a wee bit of mixing up the order of climbs and descents. It was great to find new way to one of the old watchtowers that circle Goettingen. It was also great to ditch the leg warmers after… Continue Reading
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We think we might pedal far and heroically but history tells us what suffering, travel and hardship really is and which at times can be beyond understanding. A visit to the Museum Friedland as part of my June 15 ride to Friedland. Personally, I am an (Cycling) Immigrant. In Transit Migration and immigration are part… Continue Reading
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A short ride from my new home town is a place that played an amazing part in post-World War Two life – it was at the Friedland Transit Camp that millions of displaced people, POW’s and refugees travelled through. It was near the small village of Friedland that the US, British and Soviet Zones of… Continue Reading
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The rains had lashed us from above for a few days which saw the temperature fall. What is interesting is that unlike my experience of the UK it remains pretty warm here in Germany despite the deluge and now it is getting quite toasty again. I rode a pretty tough 50 kilometre this day with… Continue Reading
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Another Bank Holiday snuck up on us and so we went for a ride… I also got to pick up a new chainset and gear ratios to replace my Carbon Campag Record. Super-tough engineering from Chemnitz! In Germany I have noticed that so many of the fields are bordered by wild flora and fauna, with… Continue Reading
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Sunday it was hot at over 30, on Monday a massive storm hit central Europe and Tuesday we all kept under cover, but on Wednesday the sun shone and once again it hit over 30. I have noticed that many Germans have hydrometers and barometers (we have both) and watch the rise and full of… Continue Reading
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I began May with a bike ride and ended it with another; in fact I rode quite a lot in this spring month. On Wednesday I went road riding but went off script and ended up on gravel, Wednesday I did the same ride on my cross bike and it was so much easier. This… Continue Reading
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Despite my best intentions to go for a road ride I ended up including gravel, concrete Panzer Weg and cobbles. A quick post tummy bug spin taking in lots of quiet tarmac close to home was my thinking, but like many best laid plans I went off script. I knew that I would be crossing… Continue Reading
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There is ‘London tight’ and there is ‘Roubaix tight’; this passed through my mind when after much bike preparation I hit the first stretch of pave at Troisville the first section of cobbles on the route used by the Paris Roubaix pro road race held in April. In the race the riders take in a… Continue Reading
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With my favourite Jimi Hendrix song in my head I got a little carried away. I had intended a simple spin down to the Bahn, but I became adventurous and rode some great and new to me gravel roads. On route I managed to include two old watchtowers (hence the song) that once guarded the… Continue Reading
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