GOING HOME

// DAY 1

HAMBURG - BREMEN

This is day 1 of our GOING HOME adventure. We have planned to ride 140 km from Hamburg to Bremen, where Jana's father lives.

By the time the alarm rang at 4 a.m., Björn had been up for about an hour. He didn’t sleep too well, because he has been suffering from back pain for the last two days. On top of that, our cat seemed to sense that we were leaving, as she kept coming up to us in bed to claim some attention. So we gave her a few more pats before we had to leave.

The night before we had already packed the bikes and after a delicious breakfast we had to face the first challenge of the day: how do we get the fully loaded bikes down from the 4th floor? Or will we take the bags off again and put them back on downstairs? Nah, we left them on and hauled the bikes down like that. Not ideal, but it worked.

F no, a flat tire! Thankfully not. However, it felt like that when we got on our fully packed bikes and wanted to start riding. It quickly got used to it after a few meters. On the road Jana hardly felt the weight, the comparison to the less packed bike even more when ..they removed the bags later on.

At 5:55 am we took the first ferry of the day to Finkenwerder and crossed the Elbe. While we were waiting for the ferry, we once again adored the beauty of the harbor at night. That interplay of lights on the cranes is absolutely stunning. Oh Hamburg, we will never get tired of this view.

When we left the ferry, the real ride finally started, full of excitement we began to pedal. Not long into the ride we found ourselves soaking wet, not from rain or sweat, no, humidity was a whopping 95%. Björn felt transported back to the rain forest in Costa Rica.

Despite the fact that the air was very humid, it still was very pleasant. We left the daily grind (and our worries) right behind us on the very first kilometers.

Unfortunately, Jana’s brake started screeching….

A few kilometers into the trip, we found ourselves in the middle of a meadow. A path is not to be seen. Ugh, Komoot, are you drunk again? Regardless of that, we roughly rolled in the right direction, using the wind turbines for orientation, at least what we were able to spot of them. It was quite foggy out there.

From the storm of the last night, the trails were partially flooded or washed over with sand. But at least the thunderstorms had passed. We hoped it would stay that way…

And fortunately it did. The fog and humidity accompanied us for quite a while, but the temperatures increased and the sun slowly made an appearance.

Let’s go back to Jana’s brake.

The brake was squeaking. This was not because it was wet everywhere from all the rain, because fortunately it wasn’t raining at all.

Nope, that problem was homemade. It wasn’t such a smart idea of Jana to change the brake pads prior to a 3-day tour AND not to test drive and possibly readjust them. Unfortunately, bad weather and a sinus infection right before our trip threw the plans for it overboard.

To dismount the wheel and check what the problem might be? That would have been possible, but in the middle of nowhere we wanted to avoid that. So we just held out and kept going.

Along the beautiful roads through fields and meadows, our path was very often framed by cornfields. Cornfield on the left, cornfield on the right.

The corn season is in full swing, so corn fields will accompany us not only on our first 140 km, but for quite a while.

“Where did all this blood come from? And more importantly, why am I pedaling in such a strange way?”

Björn had chafed both thighs on his top tube bag. However, it apparently looks worse than it is.

And that damned brake was still screeching. And as if that wasn’t annoying enough, it was getting louder and louder. Luckily, it did brake.

Speaking of nerve-wrecking, we had to take a 2km detour for a 100m construction site, since German traffic planners often don’t take cyclists into consideration.

But we unfortunately had no choice to avoid this detour.

We met a donkey and realized that donkeys are just the better horses.

A little further on we took a break and Jana tried a new bar called Spinatpirat (pineapple spinach) and spit it right back out. Yuck! To calm down, we had another delicious chocolate protein bar.

Not far from our destination for the day, we were approached by a nice road cyclist who asked us curiously what we were up to, so we asked him for a bike store in Bremen that could help us with the squeaky brake: he confirmed our fears, unfortunately: on a Saturday afternoon, all the small local stores were closed.

Once we arrived, we were greeted by a refreshing shower, followed by a non-alcoholic beer and a large baguette.

At Jana’s dad’s place we were welcomed by two little Chihuahua’s, served with baguette and non-alcoholic beer.

We were knackered, tired but very happy and glad to have survived the first day so well. But we still had the problem with the brake …

We still had to solve the squeaking brake issue. We took the front wheel out, put it back in, put the brake pads in and took them out again. After an hour of back and forth, it helped to loosen the brake calliper and screw it tight again. The noise was gone. Luckily, because otherwise we wouldn’t have made the next 130 km the next day.

Björn saw the continuation of the journey already endangered, because in between the front wheel did not move at all. Fortunately, after a long 11 hours on the bike, this problem was solved.

Exhausted, we fell into bed, however, not before planning a french fry break for the next day …

Our learning from this day: plan a break to eat something real. Dry pretzel sticks and bars alone are okay for pulling away, but nothing really close (not that French fries are, but at least they motivated us).

So we planned a fries stop for the next day. Since our way led us past the Dümmer lake it offered itself almost to take this lake as cause for a break. Especially because we planned to be there around noon, about halfway through our route.

Afterwards, all important devices were charged and we closed our eyes to also charge our batteries for the next day.

// DAY 2

BREMEN - OSNABRÜCK

Today's menu: 136km from Bremen to Osnabrück. Halfway of our route and home of Jana's twin sister.

Tag 2 unserer Going Home Tour war lang. Länger als der erste Tag und hatte ein paar Höhenmeter mehr. Diese waren kurz vor unserer Unterkunft und zögerten unsere Zeit im Sattel unnötig heraus.

Aber beginnen wir am Anfang.

Täglich grüßt das Murmeltier. In unserem Fall bedeutet dies: Wecker klingeln um 4:43 Uhr. Da wir niemanden Wecken wollten und uns in Ruhe im dunkeln davon schleichen wollten, starteten wir ausnahmsweise ohne einen Kaffee. Und ohne Frühstück.

Für Björn gab es eine Runde Yoga um seinen Rücken auf den Tag auf dem Rad vorzubereiten.

Dank Janas Vater hatten wir veganen Brotaufstrich und veganen Käse dabei, Jana hatte schon am ersten Tag vegane Chili-Mayonaise in der Tasche (man weiß ja nie). Nun fehlten uns nur noch die Brötchen für ein Frühstück.

Unser Plan: im Dunkeln losfahren und beim ersten Bäcker anhalten und frühstücken. Da es Sonntag war, hatten als wir losfuhren, um 6:20 Uhr erst einmal ein kleines Stück Weg vor uns, bevor das Frühstück in greifbare Nähe kam…

Wir fuhren im Dunkeln aus Bremen raus, durch nebelige Wälder und Natur, es war kälter als am Vortag, aber wir kamen gut vorwärts.

30 km später. Ein kleiner Ort namens Bassum und der erste Bäcker den wir finden konnten, gab es das langersehnte Frühstück. Ein kleiner “Reisepark” ein Stück ausserhalb von Bassum bot uns eine Bank und wir nutzen die Chance. Learnings: für die nächste Tour ein Multifunktionsmesser einpacken. Aber diesmal hatte es auch ohne geklappt. Mit Frühstück im Magen konnten wir uns gestärkt an die nächsten 100 km machen.

Um in unsere Pausen einen sinnvollen Rhythmus zu bekommen, hatten wir uns überlegt dass eine längere Pause alle 30 km ganz nett sein könnte, also hat Björn sein Wahoo auf Runden eingestellt (sehr schlau von ihm!).

Langsam wurde es immer wärmer, wir kämpften gegen den Wind und freuten uns über die wärme der Sonne. Armlinge und Beinlinge konnten wir ausziehen.

Nach etwa 90 km konnten wir am Vortrag geplante ersehnte Pommes Pause am Dümmer See machen. Der Imbiss hieß „Biker“ (mit und ohne Motor) herzlich willkommen.

Eine Portion Pommes und ein kaltes zuckerhaltiges Getränk war genau das, was wir jetzt brauchten. Als Stärkung und als Motivation.

Ein kleines Stück fuhren wir noch am See vorbei, was, nach 1,5 Tagen fast ohne Menschen ein wenig überfordernd war. Denn an einem Sonnigen Sonntag Mittag verbachten viele ihre Zeit am See. Was wir jedenfalls beim weiterfahren feststellten war, das unsere Pos immer wunder wurden und im Sattel sitzen echt unangenehm wurde.

Weiter ging es mit Gegenwind. Eine der nervigsten Sachen an diesem Tag. Es war jede Menge Gegenwind und für alle die es noch nicht Wissen: Gegenwind ist Janas größter Gegner. Gegenwind kostet viel Energie.

Trotzdem hatten gute Laune, auch wenn wir so langsam bemerkten, wie uns der Po immer mehr schmerzte und unsere Muskeln (und leider Björns Knie) eine längere Pause einforderten.

Unsere Hintern schmerzten. Wir suchten uns auf den Wegen jetzt nicht nur regelmäßig “ruhige” Stellen zum Pinkeln und Wasser aufzufüllen, sondern auch um neue Creme aufzutragen. Schließlich hatten wir noch mindestens zwei Tage auf dem Sattel vor uns.

Irgendwann fing Björn an zu singen. Zu jedem Stichwort fiel ihm ein passendes Lied ein. Schön war das nicht. Aber immerhin hat es unsere Laune oben gehalten. Das traumhafte Spätsommer-Wetter hat dem aber auch geholfen.

Nur noch ein paar Kilometer nach Osnabrück waren trügerische Gedanken. Denn die letzten 30 km auf unserer Route kamen uns unendlich lang vor und die Landschaft vor uns hatte immer mehr Hügel. Björn beschimpfte die hügelige Landschaft, allerdings (Überraschung) änderte das nichts.

Wir kamen nur sehr langsam und zäh vorwärts. Die Hügel und Steigungen kurz vor unserem Ziel zerrten an uns und raubten uns unsere letzten Kräfte.

Als das Ende in Sicht war, schoben wir unsere Räder den letzten Hügel hoch, denn wir waren nach über 11 Stunden im Sattel nicht mehr bereit, diese letzte Herausforderung anzunehmen.

Vor der Haustür von Janas Schwester entfernten wir noch grob den Dreck von unseren Rädern, damit die Nacht mit uns in der Wohnung verbringen durften, schleppten die Fahrräder hoch und wurden mit einer Waldmeister-Schorle versorgt.

Wir duschten, bestellten Pizza und Björn kühlte sein Knie. Er überlegte, wie das schmerzende Knie den dritten Tag überstehen könnte. Wir hatten noch einen 120 km Tag vor uns.

Währenddessen schnitt Jana ihrer Schwester die Haare bis die Müdigkeit uns einholte.

Ab auf die Schlafcouch.

Ob wir am dritten Tag noch unsere geplanten Kilometer machen können war weiterhin unklar.

// DAY 3

OSNABRÜCK - WERNE

0 of 500km

“Piep, Piep, Piep.” 4:43 Uhr, der Wecker klingelt. Hallo Tag 3.

An dritten Tag gab es frischen Kaffee aus der French Press, Janas Schwester war mit uns aufgestanden und so machten wir zusammen Frühstück und saßen mit einer Tasse Kaffee zusammen am Tisch. Und wir mussten uns entscheiden.

Würde Björns Knie die geplanten 120 km schaffen? Welche Alternativen haben wir? Wir wollten auch in Werne noch ein bisschen auf den Rändern unterwegs sein, was natürlich nicht klappen würde, wenn das Knie komplett hinüber wäre. Was war unsere beste Option?

Eine Runde Yoga und eine Entscheidung später, schleppen wir unsere Fahrräder vollbepackt die Treppe wieder runter. Es war schon hell, denn wir hatten uns mehr Zeit gelassen. Und es war kälter.

Nach 3 km erreichten wir den Bahnhof in Osnabrück. Wir nahmen den Zug nach Münster, so konnten wir 80 km einsparen und die restlichen Kilometer nach Werne mit dem Rad zurücklegen. Wir erhofften uns, das Björn Knie so geschont wird und wir trotzdem nicht komplett auf das Fahren verzichten mussten.

Natürlich ließen sich unsere Fahrräder im Zug nicht richtig befestigen und so musste Jana bei jedem Stop aufstehen und ihr Rad festhalten. Was waren wir froh, als wir in Münster ankamen und wieder auf unsere Räder springen konnten.

Ein paar Kilometer später meldeten sich unsere Mägen. Hunger. Zum Glück hatten wir vom Vortag noch ein bisschen Pizza übrig und kredenzten uns diese auf eine Bank, neben, naja, Maisfeldern, was sonst?

An dutzenden weiteren Maisfeldern vorbei führte uns unser Weg in den Schlossgarten einer Wasserburg. Dies war das Schloss Westerwinkel, welches wir geplant hatten, ein paar Tage später zu besuchen. Beim erstellen der neuen Route führte uns aber der Weg schon vorher daran vorbei. Wir genossen den Anblick und machten uns auf die letzten Kilometer.

Angekommen in Werne. Hier statteten wie der Innenstadt und einer Apotheke einen Besuch ab. Danach ging es zum Obst-und Gemüsestand des Vertrauens. Wir kaufen Bananen und Zwetschgen aus der Region.

„Ihr seid jetzt aber nicht mit dem Fahrrad aus Hamburg gekommen?“ ein alter Freund von Björn arbeitet im Bio-laden am Obst- und Gemüsestand. Wir bekamen Karotten geschenkt, für die längste Radtour des Tages.

  • Bei Björns Mutter ankommen und vom Hund etwas zu überschwänglich begrüßt werden
  • Spontan Badesachen kaufen, für den nächsten Off-day im Sole Bad
  • Drei Tage, knapp 320km, ko, wund, aber glücklich
  • Nächstes mal vllt die Etappen auf 80km pro Tag setzen

This will be the first time for us to take on the Festive 500 challenge and with the cold, dark and rainy winter days ahead, it can be hard to find the motivation to get outside and ride. This is where the fact that we are both tackling the challenge together, rather than one person having to struggle to get outside alone, is a huge advantage for us. 

We’ve spent the last few days preparing and thinking, because as the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” 

by Jana Streich

Festive 500 – How to prepare for this?

For the past 11 years, Rapha’s Festive 500 has been part of the holiday season for many cyclists. Riding 500 km in eight days and battling the elements on a bike, or like many others, sitting in the warm in front of the TV and stuffing their bellies? Sounds like an easy decision, right? 

We decided to tackle the Festive 500 this year instead of spending time at home with our families. For us, it feels like the right thing to do this year, to keep to ourselves and not put ourselves or others at risk of catching the virus. 

This will be the first time for us to take on the Festive 500 challenge and with the cold, dark and rainy winter days ahead, it can be hard to find the motivation to get outside and ride. This is where the fact that we are both tackling the challenge together, rather than one person having to struggle to get outside alone, is a huge advantage for us. 

We’ve spent the last few days preparing and thinking, because as the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” 

THE ROUTES 

As for how to approach the Festive 500, it’s always been open to interpretation, whether you want to go long or short, on- or off-road, solo or with friends, and this year, for the first time, virtual Zwift miles will be counted. 

Since, as we said, we don’t have any family commitments this year, we decided to split the 500km over the 8 days, which is an average of 62.5km per day. We are also free to choose when we want to get on the bike on that particular day, since no one is waiting for us. 

Using Komoot, we have made a collection of routes for ourselves, some on and some off the road. This gives us the opportunity to cover more distance in less time on days with bad weather on the road. We may also ride longer distances on sunny days to have some buffer for supposed rainy days. 

Having a choice of routes with distances between 50 and 100km seems to be a good solution for us to choose a longer route on days when the legs feel good and a shorter route on days when it is pouring. 

THE FOOD / NUTRITION 

The main question (especially for me), what do we eat to be fit on the bike for 8 days straight? Sure, we could start each day with a quick slice of toast and cook pasta and open a jar of pesto after the ride, but that wouldn’t give us enough energy, nor would it do Christmas justice – because the best part about Christmas is the delicious food, too.  

So we made a plan: for breakfast and dinner. We start each day with healthy fats, long-chain carbohydrates, and plant-based protein. Our bowl is based on whole grain oatmeal, and then we add all kinds of seeds, nuts, fruits, peanut butter, dates, and definitely dark chocolate. This fills us up for a long time and gives us enough strength for the kilometers ahead. 

On the road we will drink lots of water, eat Clif Bars, vegan snack sausages and fruit. 

And then? When we arrive back home, tired and hungry? Then we’ll have a festive winter meal: homemade red cabbage, vegan goulash and pan-fried dumplings are on the menu, among other things. Much of it is already prepared, so no need to spend hours in the kitchen. And every day there is something different, because every day the same would be pretty boring. 

If we are not able to do 500km for the Festive 500 like this, at least it wasn’t because of the food. 

THE KIT 

Layers, Layers, Layers. Here in our northern hemispheres we have to deal with wind, cold and rain. Temperatures can vary from -2°C to 10°C. It is not so easy to dress appropriately. Somehow you are always dressed either too warm or too cold. 

Our basics are: a warm longsleeve baselayer, we have several to choose from, in different thicknesses. Warm socks. Warm winter bib tights and a thermal longsleeve jersey. Depending on the temperature, a jacket or a vest is added. We ideally pack something to change into, so that we can keep warm in case it gets very wet. 

To keep our limbs warm, we each have two different pairs of gloves, a warm cap for under the helmet and for the feet we have opted for overshoes made of neoprene. 

Perhaps the biggest weakness is that we do not have everything in multiple versions and if it rains really hard, the bib may not be dry from the previous day. The same could happen if we don’t manage to get the laundry dry after washing. But this will be fine… 

THE BIKES 

We won’t be riding the Festive 500 on our own bikes. Instead, we’re happy to announce that we’ve teamed up with Cannondale and will be riding the challenge on two Cannondale Topstone Carbon Lefty 3s. 

Since we ride gravel bikes ourselves, it’s not a big decision in principle for now, but the bikes come with suspension and wider 650b tires, which should make the 500 kilometers in the saddle more comfortable. Let’s hope. 

We always have extra bags on the bike anyway, whether it’s a saddlebag or handlebar bag, plenty of storage for multitools, extra snacks or layers are very welcome. Also, this time there will be extra liquid on board, as stops at cafes are not possible at the moment. 

Finally, it is likely that we will be riding at dusk or dark, so a set of good bike lights is essential. Make sure they are charged for each ride, this also applies to your GPS device, because as we all know, if it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen. 

BEFORE THE RIDE 

Before the ride there is not only breakfast, but also once again check the bike, inflate air depending on the route and prepare ourselves. This includes, of course, getting us peeled into all the layers, but perhaps also a little stretching and warm-up program. Not to be neglected is also the use of Chamois cream, with 8 days in the saddle in a row that definitely will not do any harm. 

DURING THE RIDE 

The most difficult thing for us in winter is to remember to hydrate enough while riding. We are going to try to remind ourselves with a little trick we learned from our friend Johanna. We will set a lap time of 15 minutes on our Wahoo, so every 15 minutes we will be reminded by a sound to take a sip. Let’s see if that helps. 

AFTER THE RIDE 

The cold is upon us and possibly we will be wet after a long session in the saddle and all we will think about is a hot shower and spending the rest of the day on the sofa. But if we forget the essentials, it could get in the way again on the next ride.  

This time of year we expose our bikes to a lot more potentially horrible conditions, so a little extra love and attention won’t hurt them. Fortunately, in order to properly clean the bikes after a ride, we can rely on a battery-powered low-pressure cleaner. 

Otherwise, we would have to carry the muddy bikes to the fourth floor to clean them in the bathtub. So we can rinse off the grossest mud outside and then take care of the details inside. Special attention should be paid to the drivetrain and brakes. We will maintain our chains with a new lube from Muc Off, the Hydrodynamic Lube.  

So after the ride, we’ll not only treat our bikes with love, but our bodies as well. That includes post-ride stretching, maybe a massage, and products to go with it, like a recovery balm or warming massage oil.  

CONCLUSION 

Ultimately, flexibility and limiting unplanned down days seems to be the key to a successful Festive 500. While the challenge is measured in distance, the reward is measured in happiness. 

We will ride some of our favorite routes, spend time with each other being active, and above all, have fun, because that’s what cycling is all about.

by Jana Streich

Sylt

After we spontaneously got on the train to Sylt with our bikes in the early season last year and spent an incredibly great day there that felt like a vacation, we couldn’t get rid of the thought of repeating it all over again.

I voiced this desire throughout the summer. Due to the pandemic, there was no “real” vacation for us except for a few trips with our gravel bikes around Hamburg and a tour to Lübeck.

Because I used to spend a lot of time and vacations by the sea as a child, I had a little wanderlust for the sea, for the North German coast, to be exact. For the fresh salty air and the feeling that spreads through you when you’re by the sea.

However, the total of about 6 hours train ride, this year turned out to be a bigger obstacle: Do we really want to sit in a train for so long during this time? How can we travel “most safely”?

Sept. 19 was the day, thanks to FFP2 masks we could start our long-awaited trip to Sylt.

We got up in the middle of the night so that we could take advantage of every hour of the day. So at 4:55am we were on the train to Westerland, Sylt. With bags full of snacks, bars and fruit. We experienced the sunrise on the train, so we got to watch the sky turn into a beautiful red as we got closer to the island. The weather was on our side – as sunshine and pleasant temperatures were predicted.

Through the open windows on the train we did not lack fresh air, however, I was thoroughly frozen when we finally arrived in Westerland.

We finally arrived around 8:30 am. We got on our bikes immediately, as we really needed to get moving, to warm up and to get away from the numerous people.

From Westerland we first rode to the southern part of the island, to Hörnum. Unfortunately, this part of the island was not particularly exciting or particularly beautiful to us and the route led us directly along a road almost all the time. But still: the sun gradually came out and warmed us up and for our next visit to the island we know that we prefer to choose different areas.

After we had reached Hörnum pretty quickly, we went directly to explore other parts of Sylt. We continued east to Morsum.

Our way led us past the Rantumbecken, along the outside of the island, there were mainly dikes, sheep, flat land and tidelands as far as the eye could see.

In addition, however, also a lot of tourists on e-bikes. Lots of them, so that we could count on two hands how many cyclists like us were on the road without technical support.

The surface was actually everything from asphalt to gravel and many small stones, which is why we were very happy this time not to be on the road with Fixed Gear or Singlespeed bikes and small tires as we did last time.

We both didn’t know the Morsum cliff yet and especially Björn was taken by the beauty of this place. There was something very special about these truly beautiful and diverse shades of the soil.

We passed Keitum, continued north, and right through Kampen.

Despite a few snack breaks, our stomachs (especially mine) started to churn and we had planned to have a portion of fries as a pick-me-up, so we kept our eyes open for a fries option. Thereby we focused on the harbour in List, where there are numerous restaurants, snack bars and shops. Unfortunately, this plan very quickly turned out to be a big mistake.

The harbor was crowded. There were people standing and sitting everywhere, eating, shopping, enjoying themselves, as if this were a day like any other, a day like any other year. Pandemic 2020? Obviously it did not exist here.

Once we got a little overview, a store with a big “to go” sign on the wall lured us in. Perfect – grab a portion of fries and get out of here fast. After being ignored by the staff first, we were just told that no “to go” was feasible that day and sitting down and ordering would involve a long wait. So we tried the next store but they didn’t pay any attention to us at all.

Quite stressed by the many people and the prospect of not getting any fries to go here, we fled. Upon the shock, we needed to quickly ride a few kilometers to get away from the people. It just felt strange for us.

So we had another bite to eat, from our supplies, and hoped for a new opportunity to get something warm to eat.

The next destination: the northernmost point of Germany and to explore the “Ellenbogen”. We already knew this area from our last trip to Sylt and we knew that there are really beautiful spots, beaches and relatively few people. And so it was. For me personally, the northern part of the island is one of the most beautiful parts of Sylt.

From there, we continued along the island, slowly back to our starting point. We still had a few beautiful places and route highlights planned on our route, which were really worth seeing.

On the west side (Weststrand) of List, as far away from the harbor as possible, we passed along the dunes and the Lister Wanderdünen. The shifting sand dunes reach a stately height of 30 meters. You can see the dunes practically from everywhere in the distance. Over the course of a year, the dunes migrate up to ten meters.

For a long stretch we followed the path through the dunes, past a beach sauna in a beautiful dune landscape.

We reached the Red Cliff and admired the octagonal Old Cross Light (lighthouse) in the dunes northwest of Kampen. The rust-red boulder clay, which gave the cliff its name, got its coloring from the oxidation of iron-bearing components. (Yes, foolishly) we forgot to take a photo over all the admiring of the beauty of the place…)

About 1 km west of the center of Kampen is the dune Uwe Düne, which we passed on our way. This is the highest elevation of the North Sea island and is not surpassed by any natural elevation within a radius of about 40 kilometers, Uwe dune measures a proud 52.5 meters. Supposedly, you should have a great view of the island and Kampen from a viewing platform – to carry the bike up a 109-step wooden stairs we rather spared us then.

We reached the beautiful beach between Wenningstedt and Kampen, there was a small colorful toilet house (just at the right time) and so we made a small detour into the sand. In the distance there were few naked people, as there was both a dog beach and a nudist beach. We used a small hut to take a little break and a few nice pictures.

Further on, we took a hiking trail: that is, a wooden footbridge over the Red Cliff with “supposedly” the most beautiful view of the North Sea. So we pushed our bikes and enjoyed the view on the North Sea. This was definitely beautiful.

When the boardwalk was over, our route led us through the small village of Wenningstedt on the Lornsenweg further in the direction of Westerland.

Finally, we reached the center of Westerland and had a reunion with the traveling giants in the wind standing near the station. One thing was still missing for our happiness and before we exhaustedly got on the train home: the french fries that we had been longing for all day.

A kebab shop near the station was able to make us happy with a portion of fries before we headed home. Finally! After that, totally exhausted and happy, we got back on the train to Hamburg.

ROUTE DETAILS

Join Komoot and ride this route yourself.

by Jana Streich