A long way from home to home – Schwobfeld (Germany) to Edinburgh (Scotland) in less than 3 days, almost zero emissions and one gear

After long days of cycling almost in Edinburgh

It’s difficult to find a start for this post. Maybe start with the numbers first, as they, although still being important, mean the least to me. Read them and try to forget them, or take them as a goal for yourself. I managed to post a new personal best with cycling 502.41km in one go, although not in a single day. Well, the sheer riding time was 22:34:50h, so actually less than a day, most of the time on top was spent with taking photographs, searching for directions and coffee. Adding the 22.2km/h average and the fact that I cycled every bit on a singlespeed bike makes it a rather impressive undertaking. To add some more numbers, the whole journey, which started on Friday morning in a tiny little village called Schwobfeld in Germany and ended Sunday night in Edinburgh, was 697k in total. I guess I won’t get home any quicker than that with almost zero emissions (I take my share of the diesel needed for the ferry to bring me back to Newcastle, kindly arranged by DFDS).

The friendliness of locals – Koos and Markus near Amsterdam

The more important thing though was the journey, again put together spontaneously, the smiling faces around me, the surprised people you bump into when entering a bar at midnight, asking for a coffee in lycra. The ones like Koos, a nice Dutch guy that showed me the best way through Amsterdam, and offered me a place to stay next time I’ll be back. The unbeatable experience cycling in the Netherlands, the 14% climb right at the start, that almost kills you, but in the end makes you stronger. The supporting tweets on the way, the looks you get walking bare feet along the ferry deck with a big smile on your face. The phone call to your parents once I had arrived on the boat, the fabulous Dutch milk with orange and mango flavour, the friendliness of the people on the check out of supermarkets. The comfy ditch next to the main road which is perfectly shaped for a nap, and many other things. The support from sponsors like DFDS making you feel that tiny little bit special, the free sea view cabin and catching up with old friends by accident while having an all you can eat breakfast on the boat.

This will stay in my mind, forever. The numbers though, they will be gone in a few months time. I got one more big trip planned, crossing Scotland in 650k in one go. It will be a spontaneous one again, and you might read about it soon here. I will do the trip whenever I think the time is right, but not expecting the conditions to be perfect, as they never are. For the moment I am happy that everything was as perfect as it could be, and appreciate how lucky I am to be able to do that.

Browse the pictures online at Flickr here

Here a rough indication of the route to Amsterdam, all cycled non-stop

Old trails, old friends, new challenges

Downhill on the Goethewanderweg to Ilmenau

What a week so far, and the big adventure hasn’t even begun. What started a bit dodgy last Saturday with the bike coming of the rack, has turned into a good time catching up with good friends and riding the trails I learnt mountain biking on. Riding them with a singlespeed cross bike now is a new challenge, but also shows the progression I have made since I last rode here in 2007. I will post more detailed stuff soon, as I was spoilt on Monday riding a short loop around the Dieteröder Klippen next to my family’s home in Schwobfeld, and then again on Tuesday with cruising along the Werra to Hörschel and riding the first bit of the Rennsteig, which for me is one of the best kept secrets when it comes to long distance trails suitable for cross and mountain bikes. As much as I love riding in Scotland and New Zealand, I truly believe again that this part of Germany has so much on offer, so if you need a break away from the stuff you would normally choose on the continent, try the Thüringer Wald, it’s worth every moment.

Riding on a singlespeed cross bike with rigid fork and drop bars was challenging, but the pushing uphill bits gave me some more time to enjoy the beauty even more, and prove some solid technical skills riding downhill. Hoping to pack all of those recommendations in a feature as soon as I am back, I’d love to do my bit promoting my home trails, so watch out.

Back in Ilmenau I went out with my old buddy Martin aka Yoda, with whom I crossed the Highlands in 2006. We don’t know how we did it, but we ended up finding a proper bush wracking trail while following a river uphill, not much riding here but a whole lot of fun. Up on the hill there was some sweet forest road waiting for us to the Auerhahn. From there we retraced Goethe’s steps up the Kickelhahn, and were properly surprised to find some new structures up there, things change over the years. Back down to Ilmenau I couldn’t wait to tackle the steep stuff, while remembering all the bits where I had come off years ago, whether walking, biking or sledging down here for the seven years I studied here. It was true magic, and with the sky clearing up it was even more picturesque than usual (see picture). Sealing the day with a visit to the famous Shirtschleuder (which doubled up as my place for coffee and hotel), I am now the proud owner of the first T-Shirt of the new Scottish Swimming Merchandise collection, thanks to Lars. A bier at bc club and good old friends gave me some really positive energy, which I need to cycle back to Scotland, in less than 3 days.

The Lion Rampant, watch out for me on the boat

Thanks to DFDS I am already looking forward to my sea view cabin on the boat to Newcastle, the biggest challenge will be getting there though. The plan is simple: I will set off in the early morning hours of tomorrow (Friday), heading westbound through Germany to the Dutch border towards Amsterdam and to the port in Ijmuiden. If you are interested in the route and have some coffee to cheer me up on the way, click here. The rough plan is to reach the Dutch border before the sun sets, and then ride overnight to arrive in Amsterdam in the early morning hours. It sounds a bit crazy, but I have done this twice now (overnight through Belgium and down from Inverness to Edinburgh), and with the temperatures improving slightly, it should be an enjoyable night. I will board the ferry in the afternoon, and then head off to Newcastle, to make it to the Scottish Capital on Sunday. I will post details on this closer to arriving in Newcastle, as it will depend on my legs which route I will take up there, preferably along the coast this time. If you are interested in the progress, keep following me on Twitter @reizkultur and watch this space for more updates. And a special thnaks to DFDS for booking me on the boat with sea view free of charge, something to look forward to while cycling the long leg to Amsterdam.

Beauty

Doesn’t need any more words to describe it.

We just need to ride more

Thanks to Harald Legner, a fellow cyclist from Germany, I just stumbled over another inspiring clip on Vimeo, and watching it made me instantly happy after a rather average ride today. This (video) is exactly what we need to encourage more people to cycle, not the ever ongoing discussion we have in the UK how unsafe cycling is. I am pretty sure the infrastructure over there in California is not much better than here, and neither is it in New Zealand, where I spent two years commuting before moving to Scotland. Treating every journey like a mini adventure is exactly the trick I use everyday I negotiate a rather long 65k to Stirling, things have not become boring, and I doubt they will. The clip (below) is great, as it points out exactly the benefits of commuting to work on a bike:

• Pretty cheap! Once you have paid the bike off it’s pretty much for free. You might have to eat and drink a bit more, and change parts every now and then (on bike and body). Apart from that, you can poke fun at your colleagues when they complain about the latest fuel price rise and treat yourself to a coffee, because you can!
• You can switch off, or think about things you would really like to think about. Commuting gives you those few and rare moments in a day where you are to preoccupied with cycling, you can’t answer your phone, type emails etc. Just stick fingers to handlebars and feet to pedals, and possibly come up with some great ideas. Or just enjoy the moment, especially if the weather is in your favour (I predict this happens more in California than in Scotland)
• Burn fat, not oil. Cycling makes you more attractive! Guess what this (link for ladies) or this (link for male followers) would look like if it would be driven in a car each day. No words needed for further explanation.
• Cycling is a lifestyle, not just a mode of transport. Have you ever seen any video that explains how cool taking public transport or commuting by car is? No!

Enjoy your commute! RIDE!

We are what we share