tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89726168998911681782024-03-13T22:22:28.796+01:00Die Aventüren des fabelhaften [ujb]A mix of strange thoughts and unimportant annotations of the marvellous Ulrich Beckers.
Well, in fact this is mostly about cycling.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-52857669523439152372020-10-07T21:08:00.002+02:002020-10-07T21:38:06.203+02:00A recumbent bike!<p> I got myself a recumbent bike a while ago. It's not a racing machine, but very relaxing. It's even in its name: Batavus Relaxx4all.</p><p>Was a bargain and it's fun to cruise.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://via.i-networx.de/pic/rad/relaxx4all.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="700" src="https://via.i-networx.de/pic/rad/relaxx4all.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-16379158361488801702018-03-31T00:28:00.002+02:002018-03-31T00:28:50.110+02:00A33, linke Spur, immer Vollgas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A33, linke Spur, immer Vollgas ;-)[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-17368194362875812992018-03-28T17:06:00.001+02:002018-03-28T17:06:12.332+02:002017 - Bilanz2017 war ein mittleres Fahrradjahr. Die Gesamtbilanz beläuft sich nur 8238km. Und dabei keine nennenswerte Langstrecke.<br />
<br />
Der November war ein Totalausfall, dieser hat die Gesamtbilanz auch unter die anvisierten 8500km gezogen.<br />
<br />[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-24867946736097575322016-03-22T23:07:00.002+01:002016-03-22T23:08:20.096+01:00Alive Alive. And <strike>kicking</strike> cycling.<br />
Allerdings zur Zeit nicht so viel. Das letzte Jahr unter 8000km, so wenig schon lange nicht mehr.<br />
Mal sehen, was dieses Jahr noch so kommt.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-13608472126732099792014-04-28T23:33:00.001+02:002014-04-28T23:35:11.792+02:00Brevet time again - 300km hooray!It'sa bit longer since I rode the last brevet - in fact it was the 300 ride through the Black Forrest/Jura in the year 2010. That pause was too long. Hence, I took opportunity and ended that too long break: A 300km tour through the well known and pretty hilly Weserbergland with an accumulated height of about 3500 meters was on schedule last Saturday.
And while 4 years went by since my last brevet, the key features are still the same. It's long, it's hard, it's kind of fun.
But actually it was a rather hard bread to eat - my general fitness state may be quite okay but I literally don't remember when I rode more than 100km in a row (probably it was last year midsummer). Anyway, all in all it was fine, took a bit longer than expected, made the same mistakes as always (too fast in the beginning, suboptimal eating and drinking - nothing desasterous though).
Weather was rather okay - mild with a bit of sun and a little rain in the evening, but thunder and lightning passed me by. Was happy to have returned after the 300km and felt happy asleep later. Next day was required for recovery.
This brevet will probably be my only one for this year (don't have time at the other dates), but I shouldn't wait another 4 years to do the next brevet.
Bonne route![ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-62527255274078167412014-01-19T01:15:00.001+01:002014-01-19T01:15:31.179+01:002013 - die BilanzAlljährlich hier die radfahrerische Bilanz des vergangenen Jahres. In diesem Fall die Bilanz für 2013. Mit einem Wort: wenig. In Zahlen ausgedrückt 7827km. Lange Strecken: keine. Die längste Tour war eine RTF mit ca. 150km. Das Highlight des Jahres: <a href="http://zylesea.blogspot.de/2013/06/midsummer-midnight-tour.html">die Mittsommernachtsfahrt</a>.
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<center> <i>
Kilometerleistung 2013 aufgelistet nach Monaten. Blau bezeichnet mit dem Specialized gefahrene Kilometer, grün mit dem Bergamont gefahrene. Der Abfall der Kilometerleistung ab September springt deutlich ins Auge.
</i></center>
<br>
Warum so wenige Kilometer? Das Frühjahr war kalt, trübe und schneereich. Da kamen trotz guten Willens die Kilometer nur langsam auf's Konto. Der Frühling und Frühsommer waren ganz ordentlich. Ab Juli/August machte ich aber keine längeren Touren mehr, um in maximal 1 Stunde wieder nach hause zurückkehren zu können - falls eine Fahrt zum Kreißsaal anstünde. Nachdem im September der Kreißsaal erfolgreich besucht wurde, wurden die Runden noch kleiner und seltener. Ab Dezember verbesserte sich das langsam wieder.
Alles in allem sind 7827km so wenige Kilometer wie schon seit langem nicht mehr, aber ein langer, schneereicher Winter und ein Baby wirken sich halt aus. Mal sehen was 2014 kommt, weniger sollte es nicht werden.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-92083824112395183932013-12-06T00:19:00.004+01:002013-12-06T00:19:54.970+01:00Me against the storm "Xaver"Today I was fighting with my bike against the storm "Xaver". Oh dear, that was massive! Had to go only 20km, but it was actually a good piece of work. The risk was rather low as the storm was blowing pretty constant, not at its maximum strength (but really strong already) and straight from the front. But 20km can feel like quite a distance. Anyway, was a cool ride. [ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-33019584713352050952013-11-26T13:53:00.000+01:002013-11-26T13:54:33.438+01:00Making jam of wild berries - part IIOne cannot deny it - summer's over and also the harvesting time is at its final stage. But I collected quite some fruit and berries this year and a few may still come. From most of the fruit I cooked jam in particular this was:<br>
<li> gooseberry </li>
<li> blueberry</li>
<li> black cherry </li>
<li> cornel cherry </li>
<li> sallow thorn </li>
<li> mountain ash</li>
It's the first time in years I haven't made blackberry jam. But there's still some left from last years and I ran out of glasses, hence I skipped blackberry in favour of new recipes.
[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-31639617027708953172013-06-30T02:13:00.001+02:002013-07-16T01:03:57.152+02:00Midsummer - the midnight tourDays became long recently. And eventually midsummer came. And I liked to do a tour. A rather small one, but a little mystic one.
It's not like the famous St. Petersburg's white nights or Scandinavian Midsommar, but if skies are clear light lasts really long on midsummer in Westphalia. Well, skies were not really clear, but I wanted to cycle anyway. Midsummer has some magic and there are some mystic places here. I thought of giving them a visit this night.
I started at about a bit after 20:00 and passed the Senne. A lovely heath yard. Met a shepard there who was preparing her herd for the night, nodded my head for greetings and rode on.
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<i> View down to the Senne from the way up the Teutoburger Wald at 21:45</i>
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Then I reached the Teutoburger Wald and rode up to my first destination the Velmerstot twin peak (P&L). It was lightly raining, I passed a firebrigade's party at the village of Veldrom and was steering my bike then into the wilderness up the hills. Up at the slightly higher peak (P) there's an observation tower. A few younger folks were there, drinking, smoking, talking. They offered me a beer and we had a bit of a talk. Nice.
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<i>View from the Velmerstot (P) to the Barnaken and Hermansdenkmal - about 22:15</i>
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At about 22:20 I left that place, rain was gone again, but clouds remained and made it pretty dark already. I switched on my lights and drove across the forrest to the other peak which is one of the rather mystic places. Sandstone rocks on the peak, heath around it, lovely views and silence. Nobody's there. In early times that place is said to have been probably a site of an "Irminsul" (a holy column that carries the world). It's also likely that it was a "Thingplatz" - a kind of a tribal court. The place has atmosphere at least and the idea (sic!) it has been an important an mystic place is pretty obvious.
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<i>about 22:30 on the Velmerstot (L) peak, pretty dark already</i>
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<i>22:40, still at Velmerstot (L) peak, but more in the forrests it was really dark already, light rain started again, too</i>
<br>
Since it became darker and hence quite difficult to find the right way through the hilly, wet forrest I decided to return to the village of Veldrom. From there I took direction to the Externsteine. A great ride through the deep forrest, luckily the rain had stopped again. The Externsteine are really famous and a mystic place. On dates like midsummer many folks come there. Cyclists are rather a minority among them. It's more people who see themselves as witches or druids and have a faible for spiritualism. And a passion for mystic music - percussion, guitars, flutes and singing and candles (and probably some magic mushrooms or smokeable herbs). But I must admit that while this rather not my usual style it was pretty atmospheric (especially when coming out of the lonely, hilly, dark forrests) and I stayed there for probably a good half hour and listened to their singing and drumming.
<br>
Having a few kilometers done I thought a midnight meal would be nice, hence I steered back to civilization, in particular to the city of Detmold. Unfortunately I din'd find a food source there (too late, all closed already) and had to go on - hungry with another crossing of the hills and a few kilometers to go. Meanwhile it was about midnight and really dark. But skies cleared now and at the north west the sky was still not entirely dark. Plus, the moon came out. The full moon, pretty bright. I took direction back home. About 20km before home I crossed Schloss Holte where a markmen's fair was going on. I got myself some chips and enjoyed watching the very different scene than before - loud, crowded, many drinks, party chit-chat going on, boys approaching girls (and vice versa) and me coming out of the dark from mystic places not belonging there, eating chips. What a contrast and a gorgeous final for that tour.
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<i> At 1:30 I came aross a markmen's fair and enjoyed some chips and the very different scene than before</i>
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When I returned home at 2:45 I had a kilometer count of about 140 and dawn was progressing already.
What a brilliant midsummer![ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-81804856795880146762013-01-17T01:08:00.001+01:002013-01-17T01:27:20.208+01:002012 - die BilanzNun ist 2012 vorbei und der Kilometersack wurde zugezogen. Das Ziel war, 10.000km zu erreichen. Dieses Ziel wurde letztendlich doch ganz knapp verfehlt. Auf dem Zähler für 2012 stehen verbriefte 9962km. <br>
Dabei sah für das Erreichen der Marke alles ganz gut aus, der Dezember aber lief etwas anders als geplant, klar die Feiertage zeichnen sich immer durch geringe Fahraktivität aus, aber die starke Kälte zu Beginn des Monats und zweimaliges Erkranken waren nicht unbedingt einkalkuliert. Am 31. Dezember drehte ich ein Ründchen und überlegte noch da die fehlenden 38km dranzuhängen, entschied mich aber dagegen. Es wäre doch arg gekünstelt, nur um der Zahl willen. Natürlich klingt 10.000 gut und die Zahl ist auch nicht völlig aussagelos, aber man sollte den Inhalt der Zahl auch nicht überbewerten.
Ein gefahrerner Kilometer gleicht nicht immer einem anderen gefahrenen Kilometer wie ein sprichwörtliches Ei dem anderen. Da gibt es das Offensichtliche wie unterschiedliche Höhenprofile (2012 war ein vergleichsweise flacheres Jahr) oder aber die Wahl des Fahrrades oder der Kleidung (schnittig im Trikot oder mit Wintermantel) oder auch ob mit Anhänger oder ohne (2012 zählte einige Hundert km mit Anhänger).
Die Größenordnung 10.000km als Jahresziel bleibt. Die exakten Werte sind nur Spielerei - zugegeben eine ganz netter Spielerei.<br>
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<i>Kilometerleistung 2012 aufgelistet nach Monaten. Blau bezeichnet mit dem Specialized gefahrene Kilometer, grün mit dem Bergamont gefahrene.</i>
<br><br>
Insgesamt bin ich mit dem Ergebnis zufrieden, einzig der Juni war etwas schwach, das lag zu einem großen Teil am Wetter (Regen!, kühl!) und am Urlaub (ohne Rad).
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Lange Touren waren selten, die "heiße 220km-Runde" zum kahlen Asten war die längste Tour des Jahres, ein paar weitere Runden in der Größenordnung 150-180km waren aber immerhin noch dabei. Eine große Sommerradreise fand nicht statt. Auch wenn ich keine Durchschnittsgeschwindigkeit gemessen habe, so war 2012 ein eher schnelles Jahr.
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Für 2013 habe ich mir vorgenommen wieder ein paar Brevets (vielleicht keinen 600er aber wenigstens einmal wieder mehr als 200) zu fahren und evtl. auch ein paar RTFs. Wie aber schon letzes Jahr gilt: nichts muss, alles kann.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-20958066347517640342012-09-11T00:13:00.002+02:002012-09-11T00:30:13.008+02:00The temperature peak on the peak of NRWSummer became really hot recently. Temperatures went well above 30C with additional clear sun. While the newspaper warned to better avoid physical activity I decided to take one of these real hot summer days to cycle up the roof of Northrhinewestphalia - the Roothaargebirge with it's famous almost highest (it's only 3rd highest actually) hill the Kahler Asten with 842m. I hoped to get a fresh breeze up there.
<br>
Since it was pretty hot already when I started at about 10:00 I decided to ride a real slow pace. The way was straightly to the south where an additional reasonable wind was constantly blowing from. Unfortunately the wind was also very hot and offered no big refreshment.
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<center><i>A railroad crossing where you have to call to pass the tracks</i></center><br>
After about 2 hrs I reached Rüthen which was the first town on the way that can be considered to be within the Sauerland. I took a break there at a bakery where I had lunch and had a little conversation with some locals. They suggested me another route than I had planned. I should go via Brilon. Said, done. The route to Brilon was following a major part of way an old railroad track and was conveniently to ride.
A little bit behind Brilon I passed a big, forrest surrounded open air bath - it looked so freshening I really considered to stop the ride and go bathing instead, but I had no swim wear with me and I wanted to reach the Kahler Asten, hence I rode on. But the wrong way. Consulting the map, turning back and looking for the right way - I love that game!<br>
Eventually I was on track to Willingen, which is famous for winter sports and rather high. Unfortunately the initially good looking bike track became worse and was no fun for a road bike. I even had to shoulder it up once when a lumber truck blocked the way. Well, I must say balancing over tree trunks with a bike on the shoulder is quite demanding. The good thing was that this track was going through the forrests and hence a little bit fresher. <br>
When I reached Willingen Upland I again considered to stop there and instead ride the summer bobsleigh run I surpassed on my way and that looked like serious fun. But again I rode on. It was brutally hot now. I really don't know why it seemed that hot. In other years when I cycled the mediterranian coast it was definitly not colder, but this heat was really massive! <br>
A bit after Willingen I lost track again. The map looked promising for a good way to the Kahler Asten, but it was not easy to find it. My gps was of little help only, because I was now in Hessen for which I had no detailed maps on the gps. Eventually I found a way that had the right direction, but instead of a nice little road it was a graveled way for hikers and forrest workers. Anyway I took that way. I wasn't able to ride that way up, too bad underground, serious climb and massive heat. I had to push the bike. When I reached the heights of the Ettelsberg (838m) I really felt close to collapsing, but when I sat in the saddle again (the way was still pretty bad, but at least it was rather flat now) it soon became a bit better. But all in all that hill was a little too much (albeit I tried to go on slowly) which was a pity since it was rather nice up there.
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<center><i>On top of Ettelsberg</i></center><br>
The landscape is a heathland and the views are spectacular.
But I valued that not too much instead was more than happy when I reached an asphalt road again. From there I passed the Ruhr spring and quickly went on to Winterberg which I reached much later than originally anticipated. I bought something cold to drink, recovered a moment and went on to the Kahler Asten. The way up there was not too difficult, the climb rather mild.<br>
After 115km I reached the peak and was happy to buy another cold drink. I recovered a while and had a brief chat with another biker who was also pretty much done and wondered why the temperature was that much impacting today.
Generally it seemed to be nice up there. Of course it's not the Alps nor the Black Forrest, but today the 842m felt rather like the Mount Everest.
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<center><i>On top of the Kahler Asten</i></center><br>
I soon went down to Winterberg again where I had a gorgeous ice cream and then too the way back that I initially had planed. The way back was nice to ride, the way was mildly loosing its heightmeters. Unfortunately the traffic was not too little, but all in al okay.<br>
I reached Bestwig where I decided not to go to Brilon, but directly to Rüthen which included passing another mountain. But before going up again I needed to fill at least one of my water bottles again, strangely it was difficult to find people on the road or in te garden, but eventually I found a lady who gave me fresh water but also remarks that today sporting is dangerous and I would be a fool to do so. Well, I think
she was not too wrong, it was indeed too hot, but I kept my slow pace so it was okay.
The way up was surprising, because in the middle of the forrest suddenly there are big cranes and huge columns. They are building a new bridge for the Autobahn to Brilon. Very impressing construction site!
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<center><i>The Autobahn construction site</i></center><br>
Anyway, I reached Rüthen and it became evening already, which was welcome since the temperature lowered a bit. The last 50km were comparatively refreshening and when I reached home after 220 km it was dark already.
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kk7ncqL1Zoc/UE5j0GkS0jI/AAAAAAAAAFk/BBP1y0JufdA/s1600/kahler%2BAsten%2B18-08-12_22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kk7ncqL1Zoc/UE5j0GkS0jI/AAAAAAAAAFk/BBP1y0JufdA/s400/kahler%2BAsten%2B18-08-12_22.jpg" /></a></div>
<center><i>Evenving came with warm light and eventually the temprature lowered</i></center><br>
All in all it was a nice tour, but a little too hot. It's difficult to keep the pace low enough. The gravel ways in the heathland behind Willingen were a bit too much. Probably it would have been best, if I had decided for the bath in the forrest a little behind Brilon. [ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-77087662863933595902012-03-19T22:06:00.004+01:002012-03-19T22:47:38.248+01:00Rescue mission for toadsI randomly came across a web page that was seeking for people who may join the "toad taxi" service, i.e. help to collect toads at streets that they want to cross. I joined that initiate.<br />During the last few evenings I collected quite some toads at a little road. If you go their on about 20:00 - 21:00 you will find about 50 toads sitting on the asphalt. Usually about all 5 minutes a car crosses that place. A road sign calls for attention, but many drivers just ignore that. If people wouldn't collect the toads, most would die because of the cars. It is said that 10 cars per hour is sufficient to eleminate a toad population within a few years if nothing is done to help the toads.<br />Many people don't like or just don't care about toads and indeed they aren't exactly what most people would call cute on first sight, but eventually they are nice and funny. And if you collect them, bring and set them free at the watersite it gives you a good feeling to actually have helped those little animals, that just don't know about cars and streets (and the danger of that), but find the asphalt quite attractive, because it is a bit warmer in the evenning. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5TwibJKyQRQ/T2ejSDwmdcI/AAAAAAAAAEw/UiA3kmmk3-0/s1600/bufo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 371px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5TwibJKyQRQ/T2ejSDwmdcI/AAAAAAAAAEw/UiA3kmmk3-0/s400/bufo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721721382239630786" /></a><br /><br />A few toads and a frog waiting to get released to safe waters.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-21992524065542351262012-01-01T16:24:00.005+01:002012-01-01T16:55:38.610+01:002011 - Radfahrbilanz<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hPUz5-C0Sf8/TwB9uYjHDvI/AAAAAAAAAEY/bcSjnuwlln4/s1600/Kilometerleistung%2B2011.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hPUz5-C0Sf8/TwB9uYjHDvI/AAAAAAAAAEY/bcSjnuwlln4/s400/Kilometerleistung%2B2011.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692688164813475570" /></a><br /><br />2011 wurden 9034km pedaliert. Das ist seit 2008 die geringste Kilometersumme. Dabei hat das Jahr aus radfahrererscher Sicht sehr ordentlich begonnen. Bis Ende Februar waren die ersten 1000km schon beinahe zusammen und der März war mit 1172km der insgesamt kiometerreichste Monat des gesamten Jahres. Der Sommer war radfahrerisch schwach - doch gab es dafür einen guten Grund. Und dieser gute Grund ist nun einige Monate alt, beschert die ein oder andere schlaflose Nacht, volle Windeln aber vor allem sehr, sehr viel Freude.<br />Im Herbst begann sich das Leben dann auch wieder zu normalisieren und ich fuhr viele kürzere Runden (so sehr lang weg sein mochte ich noch nicht), das gute Wetter war dabei sehr hilfreich.<br /><br />Dieses Jahr nahm ich an keinem Brevet teil, auch gab es keinen Fahrradsommerurlab. Als radfahrerischer Höhepunkt ist somit ganz eindeutig die Tour nach London gegen Ende März auszumachen. In zwei Tagen von Bielefeld nach Rotterdam/Hook van Holland, dann mit der Fähre nach Harwich und von dort an einem halben Tag nach London. Das ganze bei milden Temperaturen, ordentlich Sonne und auch mehr Wind als unbedingt immer gewünscht. Das war eine sehr schöne Tour.<br />Der 200er und 300er Brevet im Weserbergland lagen zeitlich dieses Jahr unpassend, andere Startorte waren mir zu aufwändig zu erreichen und ohne einen 200er oder 300er gefahren zu sein, wollte ich auch keinen 400er oder 600er angehen. Paris-Brest-Paris stand dieses Mal ebenfalls nicht zur Debatte.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3TXgi6-FZAw/TwB9ulw9oEI/AAAAAAAAAEg/xAHj_GJDDjg/s1600/verteilung%2B2011.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3TXgi6-FZAw/TwB9ulw9oEI/AAAAAAAAAEg/xAHj_GJDDjg/s400/verteilung%2B2011.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692688168361238594" /></a><br /><br />Die Kilometerverteilung zwichen beiden Rädern war dieses Mal recht ausgeglichen. Die vielen kurzen Runden im 2. Halbjahr fuhr ich überwiegend mit dem Specialized Rad. Lange Touren gab es tatsächlich nur recht wenige. Die 100km Distanz wurde nur einige wenige Male überschritten.<br />Als Neuerung kamen in den letzten Wochen noch Fahrten mit Anhänger (Croozer Kid 1) hinzu. Ein ganz spezielles Training. Vor einer Weile sah ich ein Rennradpaar (insgesamt also 3 Personen) mit Croozeranhänger. Sie fuhren aber in die Gegenrichtung, so kann ich nicht sagen wie schnell sie unterwegs waren. Croozer sagt 25km/h wären die zulässige Höchstgeschwindigkeit. <br />Mal sehen was 2012 so kommt. Ein Brevet und irgendeine hübsche Spezialtour sollten in jedem Fall wieder auf dem Plan stehen - aber wohl ohne Anhänger.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-67616108617837372612011-11-06T22:39:00.012+01:002011-11-06T23:44:49.347+01:00An alphorn doesn't make a hill the Swiss alpsAutumn is not summer. Even if the weather pretends to be summer, the late October just isn't. Unfortunately. <br />Doing a cycling trip in late October is still nice though, but it is a pity that some summeresque behaviours are void now. So for my ice cream break in Hiddesen. The ice café Daniele offers a world class cappucino ice cream and is in fact one of the real reasons I quite frequently chose to cycle to the Hermannsdenkmal. What a disappointment that this ice café is in its winter break already! All the way out to the Hermannsdenkmal I was happily anticipating a sunny summer like break with this gorgeous cappucino ice cream (with crispy white chocolate and a strong, but balanced taste of coffee) and then - nothing. No ice cream at all, the ice café gone and disappeared - bugger!<br />Anyway, I decided to go on to Bielefeld for an alternative ice café where they offer rhubarb and sweet chestnut icecream which both are pretty nice. Arriving there sun was almost gone and no rhubarb, no chestnut flavour - bugger again! Only the limited winter standard flavours. And the cognition a sunny and mild late October day just isn't summer. It's the details not fitting and betraying the issue. Just like the alphorn blower I met recently at the Stromberg hill (155m) dosen't make that hill the Swiss alps. <br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RqVAMcmGngs/TrcKFp9NX7I/AAAAAAAAAD0/Msw59g8nFhg/s1600/alphorn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RqVAMcmGngs/TrcKFp9NX7I/AAAAAAAAAD0/Msw59g8nFhg/s400/alphorn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672013347974635442" /></a><br />Nevertheless it was atmospheric and funny. The straciatella ice cream was delicious, too. And I got a nice partial reminder about summer and serious mountains and am anticipating the real thing again - and I really hope the ice café Daniele will open its doors again next summer. Would be a loss if it didn't.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-28004352667245306372011-10-19T00:19:00.005+02:002011-10-19T00:32:56.620+02:00Promotion video for Bielefeld sports my experimental setupI just discoverd that the promotion video for Bielefeld sports my experimental setup from my doctoral work. It's a while back, but once I did a pseudo experiment for filming purpose which made it to a promo video of the university. And as I just discovered also to a promotion video for the city of Bielefeld at about 1:30.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c5QlPnQNsMA/Tp39UcBcPsI/AAAAAAAAADQ/JcsRDoN3Q9E/s1600/Bielefeld_Trailer.wmv.0003.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c5QlPnQNsMA/Tp39UcBcPsI/AAAAAAAAADQ/JcsRDoN3Q9E/s400/Bielefeld_Trailer.wmv.0003.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664962433863401154" /></a><br />Looks of course nice. But I will find it even nicer if more folks will read my findings and cite it in their work. Especially the DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.02.045 <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T0F-4VRP2B2-4&_user=2459438&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000057302&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=2459438&md5=6968a5abc56a4e8aafd9e3578004f515">Precise timing in fly motion vision is mediated by fast components of combined graded and spike signals</a></span> is worth a read. It was a rather good article, nice general coverage of the issues and pretty neat findings. Unfortunately not wide spread.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-7100965510503603912011-10-07T00:40:00.008+02:002011-10-17T00:31:22.041+02:00A summer farewell at the KöterbergSummer 2011 was kind of strange. Spring started brilliantly. But the summer was wet and rather cold to a far extend - all in all pretty disappointing. But on time with the starting autumn the weather became great again. Since time for cycling is currently rather short, I took opportunity for a few hours ride to enjoy this warm and sunny autumn and went to the highest peak of OWL - the Köterberg (actually parts of it don't belong to OWL, but to Lower Saxony). The precise hight differs according to various sources. Up on the peak there is the Köterberghaus and at its wall there is a plate stating it would be 500m above sea level (other sources claim heights between 496m and 502m). Anyway, it is the highest hill around, has a serious ramp up to the peak (average ascent from the Köterberg village to the peak is 14%, maximum is about 20%) and offers brilliant views. Hence, good for a cycling tour. The views from the peak are reaching over the Werserbergland, to the Teutoburger Wald/Eggegebirge, Solling and the Habichtswald. It is said, that on some days even the Brocken is to see, too. But I haven't spotted it yet on any of my visits there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-07AjClkUJv8/To9sraLVw1I/AAAAAAAAADI/DVdPeMHSdAM/s1600/Koeterberg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-07AjClkUJv8/To9sraLVw1I/AAAAAAAAADI/DVdPeMHSdAM/s400/Koeterberg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660862749645062994" /></a><br /><br />As almost every hill, river or village in the Weserbergland the Köterberg is also known from a Grimm's fairytale, "Die drei Vögelchen" which seems rather confused to me. But the hill is not playing aparticular role within that fairytale anyway.t<br />The Köterberg is also a famous meeting point for motor cyclists (I guess there were about 200 motor cycles on the parking lot). They just drive up there, drink a coffee, enjoy the views and have a chat with other motor cyclists. Sometimes even a chat with non motor cyclists...<br />The hour I kept being there I just enjoyed the sun, the views and the last impression of how summer actually feels. It was a nice tour to say the summer a friendly farewell. Come back soon.[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-29085138309070040352011-09-27T23:19:00.010+02:002011-10-04T00:03:43.760+02:00Making jam of wild berriesWell, the wild berries harvest for this year is rather complete. I collected quite a few blueberries and many blackberries, but also a fair share of raspberries. It was a good year for berries.<div>All in all my efforts to collect berries yielded to about 50 glasses of jam.<br /><p><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YUiQf1MaTpc/ToJFuCut0yI/AAAAAAAAACc/TcZQkP2tcXg/s1600/Marmelade.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YUiQf1MaTpc/ToJFuCut0yI/AAAAAAAAACc/TcZQkP2tcXg/s400/Marmelade.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657160739239875362" /></a><br /></div><div>The very first blueberries I found on the 30th of May at the Lippischer Velmerstot's peak, the last time I collected blueberries this year was on August the 1st on a lower hillside. There were still plenty of berries, but collecting them was much harder already compared to end of June/early July. Hence I didn't collect more blueberries later again. While I combined the first blueberries with some raspberries, the last harvest I combined with blackberries. Those blackberries were the first of this year and I collected them until September the 15th. There are still many blackberries to find, but the later the year, the more difficult it is to get a good quality of blackberries.</div><div>I traded a few glasses of my jam for some self made strawberry jam that was pretty delicious, too. But all in all I like blueberry and blackberry jam more. And these jams are even more healthy, too. Blackberries and Blueberries both contain Vitamin C, some Flavonoids and minerals, blueberries are famous for their health supporting abilities since ages, Hildegard von Bingen praised them particularly </div><div>I am still considering to collect a few fruits of the mountain ash and try to make jam of that, too. Never tried that before, but it is said to be delicious, too</div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-16533897441640329032011-07-05T02:26:00.006+02:002011-10-04T00:07:21.753+02:00BlueberriesOn May the 30th I collected my first blueberries of this year. That was pretty early and done ona nice trip up the Velmerstot, which definitely is one of my very favorite locations. Up on the peak there is heathland with a few nice sandstone rocks. That place is just lovely and the highest peak around here (at least about 400m above the surrounding flatlands in western direction). Unfortunately the way up to that peak is not too easy with the bike and quite a distance (out and return about 100km), too. Hence I don't go there too often. <div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1hGcNXRegE/ToJJLv4I1PI/AAAAAAAAACk/K3BLxs_1ENA/s1600/velmerstot.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1hGcNXRegE/ToJJLv4I1PI/AAAAAAAAACk/K3BLxs_1ENA/s400/velmerstot.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657164548110079218" /></a><br /><div>The nearer heights are a good place for blueberries, too. There is a very good place to collect blueberries rather close and much lower (about 200m lower than the Velmerstot). This year blueberries are really plenty and rather big, but harvesting is still pretty time consuming (this is Vaccinium myrtillus, not some cultivated form or V. corymbosum). Also there are many ticks waiting to secretly crawl on you. While getting biten isn't too amusing itself, the threat of deseases is really a serious issue. But the delicious blueberry jam is worth the effort. I made 11 glasses already (blueberry with a minor part of (wild) raspberry) and am considering to do a few more glasses.</div><div>Next month I hope for a good blackberry time. Need a few more empty jam glasses.<br /><div><br /></div><div><div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-52689872887346842492011-06-09T01:51:00.007+02:002011-06-09T02:19:42.798+02:00Faith hope and charity<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:100%;">Within my last post I wrote about a piece I was watching at the theatre in London. It was great - and probably a fair share of the success of that piecs was due to the resident director. Now she's conducting a new piece: "Faith hope and charity" by <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px; ">Ödön von Horváth - a piece about a kind of female Woyczeck.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;font-size:100%;" >I think theatre plays like that are pretty important, especially these days. Unfortunately funding in the UK is weak. So if you have a spare coin or note to spend you may consider to help funding that piece by donating that via <a href="http://www.wefund.co.uk/project/faith-hope-charity-southwark-playhouse">http://www.wefund.co.uk/project/faith-hope-charity-southwark-playhouse</a>. And if you are in the London region betwen June the 22nd and July the 16th, don't miss the opportunity to watch this piece. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px; font-size:100%;" >For more information visit <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.leapproductions.co.uk">www.leapproductions.co.uk</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXxJmUS9YXM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXxJmUS9YXM</a>.</span></span></div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-49211377197456747692011-04-05T10:03:00.009+02:002011-04-12T11:00:10.131+02:00An evening at the theatre by bikeMarch was a pretty kilometer intensive month that accounted a total of 1175 km. Well, that's mostly due to a trip to London at the end of that month. The weather was rather good and I took the opportunity to just go to London to visit a good friend's big west end theatre production "The Children Hour" starring some famous actors. Since I was so impressed that my friend got that success I thought my way of bowing to her is to go all the way to the theatre by bike. <div>The way out to London took me two and a half days. On first I was thinking of going the distance from Bielefeld to Rotterdam/Hoek von Holland in one day, but eventually decided to split it into two parts. That was a good decision, March is still early in year (daylight, temperature, my physical condition), the luggage had some weight, too. </div><div>When I reached Kleve after 10 hours of pedaling on the first day I felt I had enough kilometers for that day (a bit more than 200km). The pension Röhrhoff/Kleve provided me a nice room and a good breakfast for 38 EUR. On next morning I started again at 8:30. The weather was misty and rather cold and the mist cleared not completely before noon. </div><div>A bit after Nijmegen I lost track and had to use my gps phone for the first time intensively. It worked well.</div><div>Twice I rode a few kilometers with some Dutch cyclists who hada nice pace and on late afternoon I reached Hook van Holland. I got my ferry tickets, bought a bit Dutch food at an Albert Heijn (the city of Hook van Holland is rather boring) and entered the ferry. </div><div>I was pretty surprised to regognize that this ferry would not go to Ramsgate as I thought, but to Harwich. Well, I needed to consult google maps to make a new route. </div><div>The ferry was a very nice one, my cabin pretty neat and silent. For out and return the fare was 168 EUR (bike and cabin) - I'd say not a bargain literally, but a fair price though.</div><div>On next morning I repeated my mantra of the day (drive left! drive left!) rode a few kilometers on a rather big road (A120) and then switched to smaller roads and crossed the beautiful sceneries of East Anglia. On early afternoon I eventually reached the city of London and directly drove to the Comedy Theatre where I locked my bike and entered the theatre backstage and was warmly welcomed.</div><div>I saw the piece the next day - it was really brilliant, my seat pretty good and I was pretty impressed. Hats (helmet) off for that!</div><div>Of course I enjoyed London, too: Buckingham palace, national gallery, sandwiches, Indian food and stuff like that. The protests against social cuts were interesting to see (it seemed a bit different to protesting in Germany).</div><div>For the way back I took a train to the ferry, cycled from Hoek van Holland to Emmerich (200 km against a steady wind) where I eventually took a train to Ostwestfalen. All in all that trip was good 750 km in one week (4 days of cycling). Nice one!</div><div>A bonus is that the 12 months kilometer count reached 10507 km now. Impressive number, but I guess April will yield to way less kilometers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Visit the Children's hour at the Comedy theatre while it is still running and check out <a href="http://www.leapproductions.co.uk/">leap productions</a> for coming productions by my friend Leonie.</div><div><a href="http://www.leapproductions.co.uk/"><br /></a></div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-69589276339844993182011-02-28T19:41:00.004+01:002011-10-07T01:30:07.908+02:00Finally: 10.000 km within the last 12 monthsJanuary and February have been almost w/o any snow. Hence, I was able to collect a few kilometers (1003km). And while I was a bit disappointed that I failed to reach the 10.000km mark last calendaric year, I am now in the lucky position to have caught it up eventually. Within the last 12 month I rode 10.126 km. I think that is the fist time since ages that I got this mark, but I don't have precise data from the time before 2007.<div> </div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-63494549860220332452011-01-02T17:56:00.006+01:002011-01-03T00:42:43.483+01:00Jahresbilanz 2010<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Es ist Zeit für eine kurze Bilanz des Jahres 2010 - aus radfahrerischer Sicht. Die Gesamtkilometerleistung 2010 beträgt 9519 km.</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zTMlOCE5gGU/TSCwc1c6hXI/AAAAAAAAAB0/-WHw-R992cQ/s320/radbilanz_2010A.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557635949606372722" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Das Jahr war sehr schneereich, dadurch wurden in den ersten 10 Wochen des Jahres recht wenig Kilometer gesammelt. Der Sommer entsprach etwa den letztjährigen Kilometerleistungen. Der Herbst mit dem Oktober und November brachte ordentliche Leistungen: im Oktober wurde nicht nur die 1000km-Marke übersprungen, dieser Monat war auch von den zahlreichen Höhenmetern des Schwarzwaldes geprägt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Der Dezember mit den größeren Schneemengen vermasselte letztendlich das Erreichen der 10.000km-Marke für das Gesamtjahr. 2011 vielleicht...</div><br /><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zTMlOCE5gGU/TSC1A72mL3I/AAAAAAAAAB8/T4Opllgkl8A/s320/radbilanz_2010B.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557640967846506354" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Vor allem durch die Aufenthalte in Freiburg war 2010 erneut das Jahr des <a href="http://via.i-networx.de/rad/radtech.html#Beluga"> Bergamont Beluga</a>. Der Gesamtanteil der Kilometerleistung betrug 72,6% für das Bergamont-Rad, das <a href="http://via.i-networx.de/rad/radtech.html#Sirrus">Specialized Sirrus</a> wurde im Oktober (Freiburg) und Dezember (Schnee!) sogar überhaupt nicht genutzt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Als besonders herauszustellende Höhepunkte des Jahres sind vor allem die Tour von Freiburg nach Köln, die Pyrenäenüberquerung und ebenso der 300km-Brevet durch den Schwarzwald und das Jura anzusehen. Den Schwarzwald und das Breisgau habe ich im Frühling und Spätsommer sehr zu schätzen gelernt - eine wunderbare Gegend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-75856885662631496212010-11-20T00:52:00.000+01:002011-01-03T01:57:27.263+01:00Black Forrest III<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zTMlOCE5gGU/TSEY6iVetQI/AAAAAAAAACE/Sg31jS8PhkE/s1600/sn850484.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zTMlOCE5gGU/TSEY6iVetQI/AAAAAAAAACE/Sg31jS8PhkE/s400/sn850484.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557750809080280322" /></a><br />And then I had my 3rd time in Freiburg within a good year. The entire October was Freiburg-time. Luckily my work still let me time to do some cycling tours as well as to join the dance exercise at next-step Freiburg - a really nice ballett/dance school.<div>Anyway, the summer was really in its last days and autumn present everywhere already. Hence the rides had to be done quickly, daylight was a rare resource already. But I tried to collect as many peaks as possible and I guess, did a rather good job given the little time I had. On 1st day after arrival I climbed up to Sankt Peter (716m) via the Ibental and down through the Glottertal. On 2nd day I rode through the forrests up to the Roßkopf (737m) and collected many Maroni/sweet chestnuts on my way down. On 3rd day I rode up the Belchen (1414m), the 50km way up to the Belchen-Haus I did in 2:30h and enjoyed an icecream and the pretty impressive panorama view of the snowy Alps. </div><div>But since time was rather rare I mostly did some minor rides (30-60 km distances) through the Glottertal, Dreisamtal and the Roßkopf area or to direction Münstertal. One of the bit longer rides (103km) took me across the Kaiserstuhl including a brief stop in France and a longer visit at the Cafe Ihringer in Breisach. But of course I also rode up to the already snowy Kandel (1242m). Because of the snow already fallen I decided to skip the Feldberg this time. But on last day I once again climbed up the Schauinsland(1284m)/Notschrei which just took me 1 1/4h starting from the city centre. With about 20°C on the peak (warmer than down in Freiburg) it was pretty warm again and the view to the Alps was imressive again. A bit sad though, that I couldn't take a longer rest on the height, since daylight was vanishing soon. But it was a nice way to say good bye. One month with little time, but all in all 1066km. What a nice autumn!</div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-75147616161500508332010-09-18T00:49:00.006+02:002011-11-06T23:52:23.374+01:00Catalunya!<div style="text-align: justify;">This summer another bike tour was on schedule. The idea was to travel to Catalunya. From Barcelona to Barcelona with mountains and the sea. The highlight of the tour was the attempt to cross the mountains in the Canigou region from Mariailles to La Preste via the Collada Roques Blanques. There's a picture report about that adventure available on <a href="http://www.via-altera.de/travel/transpyr/transpyr.html">www.via-altera.de/travel/transpyr/transpyr.html</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also the Cap Creus was a great experience. The Cap is really of particular beauty and the pathes circling the Cap are lonesome and okay to cycle. The impressions of nature are just overwhelming there.</div><div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zTMlOCE5gGU/TQwFt2BcqnI/AAAAAAAAABo/PHlMM2gOLQ4/s320/sn850122.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551818725794818674" /><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zTMlOCE5gGU/TQwE-DAEpNI/AAAAAAAAABg/zaIF1F9A3G4/s320/sn850128.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 194px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551817904644990162" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bathing and relaxing time took a major part of this year's tour, hence the kilometer count just reached about 900km for the three weeks time. A little infection while visiting a friend in Banyuls for a few days was a bit annoying though. Nevertheless the time in Banyuls was a great one and pretty worth repeating .</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all this tour was a brilliant balance of being on the road and relaxing on the beaches/having an easy time. Even the rain this year wasn't a show stopper. Careful inspections of the sky helped avoiding to get cought by too many showers. And luckily the tent kept dry. </div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972616899891168178.post-43691190387558077552010-07-16T17:02:00.002+02:002013-01-20T00:24:32.459+01:00Freiburg-Cologne: Rheinradweg nonstopMy time in Freiburg came to another end and I had to go back home. The weekend of my return I had an invitation for a barbecue in Cologne. Sounded good to me. I thought it would be nice to take the bike instead of a train to get there. I got myself a map, read a bit about the route and decided to just follow the Rhine and ride the <a href="http://www.rheinradweg.eu/en/">"Rheinradweg"</a> which I had seen quite some times while looking out of the window sitting in a train. The weather forecast was good, hence nothing should stop me.<div>The last day in Freiburg work was only little, most preparation for the tour was done the days before already, most of my stuff packed into a huge box that was handed over to DHL to be delivered to Bielefeld. I had my usual bike bags filled with lots of stuff (mostly clothes) my bottles were filled, video camera's battery charged. I officially finished the course, said good bye to everyone and loaded my bike at about noon on Friday. The Barbecue was scheduled for Saturday afternon/evening. I left Freiburg at 13:00 and headed to the north. The first kilometers I followed routes I knew, I quickly noticed a steep wind from the north. But I felt good.</div><div>Then I hit the Rheinradweg and I noticed issues: That track is not intended for speedy cruising. Much of the way is not covered by asphalt, but loose gravel - or closer at the Rhine - with sands or mud. Also the route is not everywhere too well covered with signs. Several times I lost track and eventually stucked in dead ends that bluntly ended at the Rhine coast (IIRC in the Region around Ifitzheim and Rastatt, but I don't remember precisely). So, speed was lousy and I alreday lost a lot of time when I reached Karlsruhe at dusk after 22:00. I decided to do little cheating and took a train to Mannheim. At Mannheim main station I was about midnight or so. I had a meal at McDonald's and then I started off into the night. I was thinking to take a break to sleep somewhere, but once I passed Worms I followed a Bundesstraße (B9), the wind was little now, the asphalt good and the kilometers just went by. So I decided not to take a break but instead to go on. Then in the middle of nowhere I had to leave the big road (the notorious red circle sign with a bicycle and a pedestrian) and had to follow little streets across whine yards or apple fields. Surprisingly those streets were no dead ends. My Ixon IQ and my cheap helmet lamp did a good service and I didn't lost track. On earliest morning I reached Mainz. I was driving to the city center, looking for some food. Disappointingly McDonalds was closed. I asked a few party returners where to get food at this time (dunno exactly, something about 4 a.m.), but nobody had a hint for me. At the station I found a bakery that sold me two pretzels and a Coke. </div><div>It was quite strange, sitting there on a tram waiting stand with my fully loaded bike, tired, wearing my reflector vest and bike clothes, eating and drinking and all in all not looking particularly fresh. Around me mostly drunken party ppl waiting for their trams or busses to bring them home, smoking, drinking, chatting. I had the feeling that I didn't belonged into that scenery, felt like an alien...</div><div>Leaving Mainz with the early dawn I was awaiting the most beautiful part of the tour where the mountains come closer to the rhine and one castle follows the next. The early morning was just gorgeous. The sunrise beautiful and soon the sun was warming me again (the night was a bit fresh, but okay). A little fog over the meadows, a fox crouching beside the way, a crow with a big red cherry in its beak and the steady fellow: the Rhine. Overwhelming impressions!</div><div>The morning went on, I felt a bit tired, traffic and winds increased again. I passed Bingen. The Rheinradweg was now in an okay condition, often a bit narrow though. Most parts were covered with asphalt or paved. In some small town I bought my first breakfast (an expensive juice and some some bakery wares). Then I got pretty tired. At about 8 a.m. I was extremly tired. I had been up for 24 hrs now. I nearly fell asleep on the bike. But the road was not offering many good options to take a break. Evenually I discovered a bench. I put my bike aside, set up my alarm clock, used my jacked as pillow and tried to sleep.</div><div>I fell asleep quickly, but woke up half an hour later again. To my big surprise I felt really fresh and awake now. So I ended my break (my alarm clock schedule was allowing me 2 hrs) and rode on. </div><div>The way took me further to the Loreley - but she wasn't singing and I managed not to fall into the water but went on. I passed Spay. I hoped to get a better view to the mysterious chimneys in the forrest up on the hills right sided to the Rhine there which I saw from the train quite often already. But I didn't got much more information when I passed them. </div><div>The morning became later and the way got somehow crowded - it was a Saturday and the weather brilliant. As the Rheinradweg is very popular and often rather narrow this frequently lead to getting slowed down by other cyclists.</div><div>I reached Koblenz and went on to Andernach. There I ate two ices for early lunch, phoned with "my barbecue" and went on. The wind turned and I got wind from the back now. Many ppl crowded the coast enjoing the sun, setting up barbecue grills. And I rode a slalom track through many cyclists. For about 10km I kind of teamed up with a recumbent cyclist who was the only guy during the overall 450km that didn't rode slow. </div><div>I passed the Drachenfels and reached Bonn. It seemed to me that in Bonn there are nice places to live near the Rhine. But now I wasn't slowing down, but tried to reach the finish: I was hungry for a barbecue and a chilled drink. At Wesseling I left the Rhine after 420 km and turned left. I passed Meschenich and was wondering about urban development decisions of the 70ies. A few kilometers and I reached Weiden about 16:00 where I reached my finish.</div><div>I had a warm welcome by the hosts, took a little time to recover and shower and was wondering myself that I still was not tired. The barbecue was pretty nice, some surprise guests were visting, too. It lasted long and at about 2 or 3 a.m. I eventually went to bed after more than 42 hours with only half an hour of sleep and quite some kilometers.</div><div>All in all it was about 450km in 28 hours. Not high speed though, but okay given the luggage load, the wind, the insects before Karlsruhe, the often bad and/or crowded cycling path. It was a gorgeous ride! The dawn was particularly impressing - the fox and thecrow were pretty cool. The night was another great experience - both on the Bundesstraße and crossing the vine yards. The sceneries I traveled across were always beautiful and I sometimes wished to reduce the speed and just take myself the time to stay. But that wasn't the approach of this tour - that's approach was doing Freiburg-Cologne nonstop. And it was just great! But doing the same route in 4-5 days would also be nice. Too many great cities, too impressing landscapes, probably lots of great food that I only touched slightliest on my way. But that's the fate of a long distance ride. You're always kind of rushed, always on the run. You come across a lot of locations, but you never stay, you don't belong, you're the lonesome cowboy... But I don't complain, it is self chosen and it is great.</div><div><br /></div>[ujb]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12476843019884158953noreply@blogger.com0