Elb-Weser-Runde

Hamburger Langstrecken Radtouren (Regeln)

Angeregt durch den HaLaRa Bericht Nr.62 wollte auch ich der Fähre Brunsbüttel Cuxhaven einmal einen Besuch abstatten. Da wir ja um diese Jahreszeit in normalen Jahren in Schleswig Holstein bereits das 300er Brevet fahren würden habe ich noch einen Schlenker über Bremerhaven und die Weserdeiche mit dazugenommen und bin die Runde im Gegenuhrzeigersinn gefahren um die nicht so häufige Elbfähre Brunsbüttel-Cuxhaven planbar zu erreichen.

Elbfähre Brunsbüttel-Cuxhaven.

Bei der Abfahrt hatte ich noch schöne Morgensonne in den heimischen Alleen im Rücken, die aber bald einem grauen Himmel und stetig stärker werdendem Wind aus erst südwestlichen, später west-süd-westlicher Richtung Platz machte. Von einer kleinen Umfahrung durch die Windpark Erschlieschliessungsswege hinter Uetersen, die ich zum ersten Mal getestet habe würde ich eher abraten, die Orstdurchfahrt Elmshorn bleibt nervig, insbesondere die Baustelle Richtung Raa-Besenbek. Danach wird es schön und ruhig, Glückstadt umfahre ich weiträumig und habe die Welt bis auf das Stör Sperrwerk auf kleinen Strassen fast für mich allein. Auf die Kanalfähre in Brunsbüttel muss ich nur kurz warten und komme mit Luft bei der Elbferry Richtung Cuxhaven an.

Bremerhaven.

In Cuxhaven braucht es ein wenig bis ich mich aus den Docks und der Stadt gefädelt habe, ab Berentsch folge ich bis Bremerhaven dem Deichverteidigungsweg  der sich hier bis auf den Gegenwind gut fahren lässt, es gibt nur wenige Schafsgatter. Etwas Regen war angesagt, beschränkt sich aber auf leichtes Nieseln das nichtmal nass macht. Bremerhaven fängt nicht an, zieht sich, und hört nicht auf: Ortsschild habe ich keines gesehen, dafür passiere ich zweimal den Zoll und geniesse den heute verkehrsarmen Industriecharme der riesigen Hafenanlagen. Ab dann folge ich zunächst der Weser, wieder hauptsächlich am Deich, um dann bei Ritterhude Kurs auf die nördlichen Ausleger Bremens zu nehmen. Die rauschende Kurvenfahrt entlang der Wümme bis Lilienthal ist ein absolutes Highlight mit dem mittlerweile konsequenten Rückenwind.

Elb-Weser Runde. 314 km, Start 7h08, Ankunft 22h47,

Dauer 15h39.

Jetzt steht nur noch der Klassiker Bremen-Hamburg zwischen mir und dem Abendbrot. Dass es auch hier Regnen würde hatte ich in der Planung geflissentlich ignoriert, ebenso, dass es spät werden könnte. Dafür läuft es jetzt wieder und ich geniesse Abschnitte in kohl-pech-rabenschwarzer Nacht auf absolut einsamen Kleinststrassen im Lichtkegel meiner Lampe. Es kommt Brevet feeling auf. Dennoch ist es noch lang bis nach Finkenwerder, mittlerweile macht der Regen auch nass, und die letzte Fähre nach Teufelsbrück verpasse ich um fast eine Stunde. Also setze ich nach Övelgönne über mit der anschliessenden nervigen Schiebepassage längs der Elbterassen. Die letzten Kilometer auf der Elbchausse und längs des Klövensteen sind ein Detail.

Virtuelle Kontrollkarte.

Mit Öffnung der Sperrwerke im Sommer (und Runde im Uhrzeigersinn...?) , und etwas Feinarbeit hätte die Strecke das Potential zu einem quasi komplett Verkehrsfreien, schnellen, flachen 300er.

A visit to the Kiel Canal

An entry to HaLaRa: Hamburger Langstrecken Radtouren (rules)

For today (27.02.21) the Audax Club SH/HaLaRa had again prosed a route - unfortunately hard to reach for me, both, by car, and on-axis by bike. But with a rather optimistic weather forecast I went riding nevertheless on a route of my own which I would then submit as a free entrant. The idea was to scout a route to the Breiholz Ferry at the Kiel Canal including a number of promising fast rolling sections on deserted back roads. For me, this somehow bridged a gap in the terrain covered from home and the Brevets starting form Kiel which frequently coast along and cross the Kiel Canal.

Virtual control card. 222 km Start 10h42, Arrival 18h55, 8h13

on the road.

After a somewhat moist morning I was treated to a sunny arrival at the Canal Ferry in Breiholz (which is part of the traditional 400 km Brevet from Kiel), beautiful weather along the river Stör, the gentle warm glow of the winter evening light around Elmshorn, sunset in the marshlands close to home, and a giant moon on the last meters.

The track. 222 km.

A route I am certainly going to re-visit after weeding out some (rather short) concrete slab two-track farm roads.

Operation daylight: Rund um das Dorf Berlin

HaLaR - Hamburger Langstrecken Radtouren - Hamburg long

distance cycling tours. 13.02.21: "Around the village of Berlin."

HaLaRa (Hamburger Langstrecken Radtouren = Hamburg long-distance rides) provides an alternative offer of informal long distance rides in addition to the ACP-sanctioned Brevet calendar.

Pessimistic forecast of glazed roads - it turned out

the road conditions were actually perfect.

I was happy to find out about this, as it offered the possibility to get some exercise in times of home-office, to commit to a long ride on a given date - whatever the conditions, and still -even though only later- share the experience and adventures of the day with others who did the same. All while staying within the strict rules of the lockdown. 

I started 3 minutes after sunrise from the village Lentföhrden.

This ride was based on a specific route proposal "Around the village of Berlin", to be ridden as an individual time trial and everybody with his own starting-point and -time on the round-trip track. This is probably as close as we can get to a Brevet-style ride in these times. 

Morning light on the Stör bridge.

Speaking of conditions, they were simply exceptional: a perfect sunny winter day with snow across entire northern Germany, without wind, but also very cold. In anticipation of difficult road conditions and a warning of glazed roads, I had shod with the Challenge Baby Limus which already provided good service during a wintery ACP ride starting from Kiel in 2018.

Winter landscape.

This precaution turned out entirely unnecessary - the roads were in perfect condition and with the exception of two tiny stretches entirely free of snow and ice.

Ice sailing in Eutin.

I started out from Lentföhrden- which I reached by car. When handling my luggage, there was this distinct noise and feel to the fabric which I only know from mountaineering and polar trips. Only some time later I dicsovered that the themometer of my GPS read -13.9 C! No surprise. The actual surprise was that I managed to keep my feet warm during the entire ride, thanks to the Pearl Izumi 'Amfib' overboots  I had ordered last minute and which arrived just in time for this ride.

Eutin castle.

I had started at 7h47 three minutes after sunrise, and enjoyed the winter landscape in the orange glow of the morning sun. The bushes and trees around  Wulfsmoor were spectacular cladded in a translucent layer of hoarfrost.

On the lakes behind Preetz ice-skaters enjoy the perfect winter day. I reached Eutin - for me about the halfway point and took a short break. On the lake below the Eutin castle I contemplate the rare sight of ice yachting.

Wind park at a standstill - with temperatures plummeting
close to -15 centigrades I am happy its a calm day.

Todays highlight is the passage through the village of Berlin (Wikipedia), a curiosity complete with 'Potsdamer Platz' and 'Kuhdamm' I ought to research its history some day.

Bakery Michely in Hartenholm - apparently famous for its 'Berliners'
and a pilgrimage site for some.

I continue towards Hartenholm as the next Landmark of interest in my discovery of the 'real north'. For many Hartenholm is famous for its races, where the Werner comic universe met reality at several occasions. ... and for some personalities from the Velomobilforum its apparently a pilgrimage site providing an excuse for Berliner runs to a certain bakery.

Arrival at Lentföhrden with 15 minutes to spare until sunset.

On the final stretch, the daylight rapidly turned back to orange, and after 193 kms and 9h24 on the road, I finally arrive at Lentföhrden at 17h11 with only 15 minutes to spare until sunset. 'Operation dayligh': mission complete.

Virtual 'brevet card' as proof of participation.

Some say: 'if its not on Strava, it didn't happen'. I disagree. And the HaLaRa-rules are a little different. While a track is fine, a ride-report and a few pictures are even better. Thats more to my liking: 'If there are no pictures, the ride was probably too difficult'.

Thanks to Gerald for the route, and for Morten to make me aware of HaLaRa!

Tandem restoration tidbits: constructeur front rack and decaleur

A french cyclotouring bike would not be complete without a custom front rack / porte-paquet and decaleur. After contemplating solutions by famous builders as Rene Herse, Alex Singer, Jo Routens, J.-P. Weigle and B. Chapman, I ultimately decided to attempt building my own for our tandem, and borrowed design elements from the latter two.

Constructeur style front rack for the Peugeot TM8 tandem.

Lacking supply of proper tubing, I went with 6mm x 1mm steel tubing of surprising quality which accidentally appeared at the local home improvement store between batches of awful material. 

The rack and decaleur back from Nickel plating.

Without a proper bender, the somewhat weak diameter turns out to be an advantage with all the tight bends. And without a proper torch - I silver brazed the carefully mitered (and pinned!) tubes together with a MAPP gas canister. 

Detail: tab for cantilever boss attachment.

Three compromises. But destructive testing involving a hammer at full swing showed, that tubes will bend before a joint fails, and a summer of loaded cyclotouring didn't bring out any weak points. Yet only time will tell whether it can withstand the worst of all: a life full of load-cycles well below any threshold.

Detail: silver brazed, mitered connection of the stay to the plateau.

The attempt to build this seemingly simple accessory myself made me really appreciate the number of details the constructeurs have to find solutions for, and use as an expression of their style: The shape of the plateau, how to accommodate different heights of the attachment points to fork and fender, the width of the 'tombstone' bag attachement, its transition to the plateau, shape and attachment of the stays, and on and on.

Detail: attachment points.

The result of a perfectly fitting front-rack with coherent style and without the clutter of the attachments from aftermarket solutions is immensely gratifying. And after going through the process, it becomes evident that the seemingly steep prices of constructeur racks by professional builders are actually very likely a bargain.

Decaleur for quill stem of my own design.

While I copied many design elements for the rack, the thing I didn't really find inspiration for was the decaleur for a classic quill stem. The Rene Herse (current production) and Routens (historic) solutions aesthetically do not work that well as long as the back of the stem is kept threaded (would require modification of the stem or  a nut in front - has been done, I know, but I was reluctant...). 

Decaleur of my own design.

I thus went with a design of my own, that I am quite happy with. A custom bolt places the decaleur a bit back in time to blend into the overall look of our tandem.

Decaleur bottom view.

After a whole summer of test riding, the rack started to collect rust and even get pitted in places. Time to commit and hand it to the plater. I am happy the job was accepted, including rust removal and polishing. 

The decaleur integrates nicely with the quill stem.

For price, environmental concern, the possibility of repair and the somewhat more subdued and understated look I decided in favour of Nickel rather than Chrome.

Front end. Custom rack, custom headlight mount, custom decals.

The overall result looks amazing, and I simply hope it will stand the test of time. After finding out about so many details of rack-building, I can see many places where it could possibly go wrong - and I imagine there is a lot of knowledge and a few tricks of the trade I am entirely unaware of!

Haute baggerie. Handlebar bag GB2586, complemented by

stoker bag GB288, and tool-bag GB116 by Gilles Berthoud.

The rack is build to fit a Gilles Berthoud GB 2586, which we chose for its leather reinforced bottom and classic looking elastic closures which allow some overstuffing. As the handlebars 'Guidons Philippe Atax Professionnel' are rather narrow it is a version without side pockets.

Haute baggerie. Handlebar bag GB2586, complemented by

stoker bag GB288, and tool-bag GB116 by Gilles Berthoud.

Together with the other modifications (cable guide, headlight mount) this makes for a very neat cockpit which I enjoy on every ride!

Neat cockpit, a brilliant perspective.

An autumnal tandem jaunt to Plön

 

Cloudy, but not overcast. Just what it takes for a dramatic sky.

Alley.

Beautiful autumn light.

Perfect symmetry. The park behind the hotel offered phantastic

views on the lake in the evening light.

Lake house Plön.

Plön.

Plön.

Plön.

Giant trees line the alley to Perdoel. For reference:
the wheelbase of our Peugeot TM8 tandem is 167.5 cm!

Manor Perdoel.

Ombres et lumières. Wet roads but not a single drop of rain during

the ride itself.

By the roadside. The rain during the night gave

way to a beautiful sunny autumn day.

Cafe Mühlenholz Heidmühlen.

Cafe Mühlenholz Heidmühlen.

Cafe Mühlenholz Heidmühlen.

Low autumn light filtering through the forest.

Nearly back home - Rellingen. Baroque church by Cai Dose.

Schenefeld-Plön-Schenefeld: Out (red) 97 km and back (blue)
103 km.

Corona - on our return we learn that the numbers are again
exploding and are grateful for the untroubled moments of freedom
during this ride.