Presenting no obstacle to our free movement this gravel and road tour saw us cross several active and defunct borders. In my head recently has been Peter Gabriel’s song ´Games Without Frontiers´ (1980) where he talks about a subject that resonated strongly with me on this ride. He refers to several political themes kindled by… Continue Reading
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I ride regularly through village after village in the Leine Valley near Göttingen. Each has a story to tell spanning for some a thousand-year history and like so many in Central Europe they have been caught up in events beyond their control. In the 17th century the Leine Valley was ravaged by conflict during the… Continue Reading
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The Kopfsteinpflaster Carousel tour in reverse. It feels special to ride the roads of the Low Countries made famous by such races as the Tour of Flanders, Fleche Wallonne, Liege Bastogne Liege, Amstel Gold and Gent Wevelgem. But almost wherever you live you can find cool roads and this ride sees the Kopfsteinpflaster Carousel stand… Continue Reading
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March 2019 saw me in my new home city in Central Germany and two years on I am living in a time of a pandemic. I began writing these letters at the start of the pandemic in an attempt to understand Germany better and to get to grips with my relationship with the United Kingdom.… Continue Reading
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This ride was one of the first we did when we moved to Göttingen and it features the Wendebachstausee (lake), plus the concrete cycle weg from Reinhausen to the climb up to Appenrode. Appenrode was once the home of the Knights of the Gleichen a powerful family who ruled the roost and who built not… Continue Reading
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DEBrot und Wilhelm Busch feierten auf dieser Fahrt. ENGBrot and Wilhelm Busch celebrated on this ride. The RideWe started with the cobbled climb of Zieten Terrace, onto Panzerweg to the high ground of Kesterlingrodefeld and then we dropped down a great gravel trail to Mackenrode where we rode a silky-smooth asphalt road to Waake (the… Continue Reading
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Can I replicate the cycle road race routes of Flanders in Göttingen? Although the short answer is ´not easily´, I can nonetheless pay my respects to the Flemish (or Wallonia) theatres of cycle sport even if there are so few substantive stretches of cobbles to ride in the Göttingen region. One notable race is the Gent Wevelgem semi-classic which actually starts… Continue Reading
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March 2019 saw me in my new home city in Central Germany and two years on I am living in a time of a pandemic. I began writing these letters at the start of the pandemic in an attempt to understand Germany better and to get to grips with my relationship with the United Kingdom.… Continue Reading
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DEZwei versehentliche Treffen mit Gunnar Fehlau und Josh Schenk auf einem Dransfeld Ramp Omloop (mit sozialer Distanzierung). ENGTwo accidental meet ups with Gunnar Fehlau and Josh Schenk on a Dransfeld Ramp Omloop (with social distancing). 38km – 11 Gravel Sectors The RideGarmin Connect: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/6484213698Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/5002463260
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DE Ich besuchte oder passierte in der Nähe von: 7 mittelalterlichen Warte, Schlachtfeldern, einer Militärbasis und 11 Flugzeugabsturzstellen im 2. Weltkrieg in Göttingen. Ich bin dankbar, in der friedlichsten Zeit zu leben, die Europa je erlebt hat. Wachtürme befinden sich oft auf einer Anhöhe, was bedeutet, dass es auf dieser Fahrt viele Anstiege gab! Ich… Continue Reading
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DEFeier der Frühlingsklassiker – Schotter und Asphalttour auf 28 Pflasterreifen: Gö Velodrom – Dransfeld Rampe – Radweg bei Rischenkrug (B3) nach Dransfeld – L559 und dann der Asphaltaufstieg auf die Hoher Hagen – Dransfeld – Gö Velodrom. ENGCelebrating the Spring Classics and all races that forsake the asphalt I started at Göttingen Velodrome and rode… Continue Reading
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March 2019 saw me in my new home city in Central Germany and two years on I am living in a time of a pandemic. I began writing these letters at the start of the pandemic in an attempt to understand Germany better and to get to grips with my relationship with the United Kingdom.… Continue Reading
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DE ´Guerilla Gardening´, die weißen Straßen des Leine-damit sie toskanisch aussehen? Ein kalter Wind wehte und kein Schlamm! 56km und 23 gravel sektors. ENG I played Strade Bianche on Göttingen´s currently off-white roads – in my head I was MvdP or Chantal Van Den Broek-Blaak. It also occurred to me that guerrilla gardening could see… Continue Reading
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A road ride on a mix of public roads and cycle paths to the Gauß Turm atop the Hoher Hagen overlooking Göttingen. The tower is named after Göttingen based Carl Friedrich Gauß (1777-1855) and it commemorates his work with mathematics to calculate the size of the Kingdom of Hannover. He used three high datum points… Continue Reading
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Inspired by Josh Schenk´s coffee making trip in a minus 11 temperature we cycled along the Dransfelder Ramp a lost railway in Göttingen where we enjoyed sunshine and warm temperatures. The development of a ´national´ railway system in Germany was originally stymied when rail builders had to negotiate with a myriad of mini states which… Continue Reading
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Stone, concrete, brick, glass, and asphalt denote the ´Built Environment´ and it is the latter we mostly played upon on this day. The intention was to hit the asphalt only, but when it became apparent that the glorious spring like weather had melted away almost all of the recent snow we eventually rode nine (benign)… Continue Reading
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After over a week of stupidly cold days during Schneemageddon the big melt is on and with it the whitewashed landscape is replaced by mud and flowing water caused by thawing snow. I prefer mud to snow and dry trails above all else. As I have previously remarked, I find little texture in a Robert… Continue Reading
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During eight days of Schneemageddon 2021 when at times the temperature fell to minus 23, I opted to enjoy the winter wonderland by walking and tobogganing in the snow. Finally, with the winter wonderland warming up, we set out on our bikes in the Leine Valley riding a mix of gravel, farm roads, and asphalt.… Continue Reading
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Several aircraft crashed near to Göttingen during World War Two and on this ride we visit the site where a B17 Flying Fortress of the USAF was shot down on returning from an attack on an aircraft factory at Halberstadt in the Harz Mountains in 1944. Air WarA massive technological leap occurred between World War… Continue Reading
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DE Eine 34 km lange Fahrt mit 13 Gravel Sektors auf halbem Weg zwischen der Wintersonnenwende und dem Frühlingsäquinoktium. ENG Today marked the midway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Christians celebrate the day as Candlemas and for many communities it marks the end of the Christmas period and the time to… Continue Reading
