Rain was falling and I set off regardless. I wore my ‘Love of Mud’ cap in homage to what I expected to be a dirty ride. It wasn’t the rain abated; I took off my rain jacket and I found most trails were already drying. This ride was the ‘Low’ section from my ‘High and… Continue Reading
Latest in: Kerstlingeröderfeld
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We took a steady road spin out to the Hanstein Castle this day and we rode out of Goettingen along the A38 cycle path (the place to catch so many local riders) past Friedland, across the old East German border and then onto rolling country roads to Rimbach. The cobbled climb up to the castle… Continue Reading
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To paraphrase the great Jens Voight and I use almost his complete words and sentiment in an imaginary conversation I had after my September 1 gravel ride. “SHUT UP BODY, it isn’t on Strava”. “But I ache” and “we hit the dirt” says my body. “But it isn’t on Strava” repeats my mixed up head.… Continue Reading
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Two 430 metre hills dominate the approach to Goettingen from the south east and upon each a castle was built. We spun out along a mix of gravel, cycle paths and road, which included my favourite the Kopfsteinpflaster Carrousel to seek out the Burg Alte Gleichen (castle). Just after the carousel we approached the Alte… Continue Reading
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The day after I had proclaimed on Miriam Schattner‘s (a Hamburg crosser and gravelist) FB timeline that “I am addicted to gravel”, I went for a road ride instead. In mitigation I would say that I want to build up some endurance and I thought a road ride would do the job especially as it’s… Continue Reading
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The first house in Kirchgandern out from Goettingen and once situated in the DDR has this great garden gate and a wonderful sculpture denoting the distance to Hanoi and Moscow to name two places. We wondered if the occupant had ridden to them? Just before Kirchgandern and the old DDR border is a sort of… Continue Reading
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Training camp? I think not – a day for a cool gravel ride with Gunnar Fehlau and we almost reprised the route we rode for the first time with him in March. I can’t quite believe that I have been here five months! This time and although we followed similar sections we pedalled over a… Continue Reading
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RideWe asked Tom our visitor from the Netherlands where he wanted to ride this day and he opted for a mixed surface spin out to Duderstadt and then the old East German Border (60km round trip). I meanwhile began to wonder if I am on some sort of never ending training camp simply because I… Continue Reading
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I note that it has been raining a lot and it is pretty cold in Britain. Tales of punctures and soakings are plentiful on my social media timeline. Meanwhile here we welcome rain as everything is dry and somewhat wonderfully when it does rain and although it can be really, really hard stair-rod style, it… Continue Reading
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It was intended to be a rest day at the training camp, but the sun was shining, the birds were tweeting and we wanted to wear our best white road shoes. So we did and I enjoyed a 62kmh plus descent although otherwise it was more about enjoying being alive and enjoying the views, plus… Continue Reading
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Having ridden for three days straight from the Netherlands to us in Germany we of course took Tom out on a bike ride next day. We joined Gunnar Fehlau for our regular lunchtime spin taking in a mixed surface route with a twist – we got a puncture! All fixed with the quick hands of Gunnar… Continue Reading
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Determined to chill out this ride and not push on we stopped (on a long climb) to look at something we had spotted during the spring from the road when the lack of foliage had revealed a stone urn at the village of Appenrode. It looked like the type of stone urn that you often… Continue Reading
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I was trying to think when was the last time I pinned a number on? It must be 2006 when I raced at the lost Eastway Cycle Circuit (bulldozed under the 2012 Olympic Velodrome in 2006). Looking back it was the process of putting a number on your back pocket or doing it for another… Continue Reading
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We followed the line-of-march of the US First Army through Göttingen and we rode adjacent to the Leine River to Bovenden where the 3rd Armour fought off a Nazi Panzer counter-attack in 1945. Just a few kilometres from Bovenden is Lenglern, this is a rather generic German village where old farm houses and a sombre… Continue Reading
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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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