Bike to Berlin "IN REMEMBRANCE OF ALL VICTIMS OF WAR AND TERROR"
- Ride Report
The
cyclists; Geoff,
Peter, Richard, Chris, Rob, Darren, Robin and Paul.
The support
crew; Andy,
Dave and Martin.
The hotels were;
Calais Kyriad
Calais Plage
Ieper Novotel
Ieper Centrum
Mecehelen
Novotel Mechelen Centrum
Rheindahlen
Cassels House
Gutersloh
Hotel Appelbaum
Peine
Balladins Superior Peine
Tangemunde Ringhotel
Schwarzer Adler
Berlin
Mercure an der Charite
Saturday, 22nd May;
Hyde Park Corner, London -
Calais
Arriving at The Wellington Gate in the van with Andy (our
motorcyclist) right behind, we looked every bit the professional
cycle ride escort support team. Robin's neighbour, Chris, is a
police constable and came in on his off day to make sure we could
park on the open space . Geoff laid our wreath and The Exhortation
was then recited at the Royal Artillery Memorial. A few photos
later and we were off, dead on time at 8.00 am into the bright,
sunny London morning.
But not for long - my knees were hitting the underside of my
handlebars with every pedal stroke so I got off and lengthened the
stem a few inches at the bottom of Constitution Hill, feeling like
a muppet.
The most memorable things about leaving London on a bike are the
number of red traffic lights you hit - and the hills. By the time
we arrived at our lunch stop in Chatham (Blueberry Park - "the best
sandwiches in the Medway") we were already an hour and a half late.
Our slowest rider suggested if he took the train to Dover it would
speed us up, so he did so - arriving in plenty of time to take a
short tour round the town. The rest of us made up time by-passing
Canterbury (afternoon break stop) and staying on the A2 all the way
to Dover - which has a long climb to the top and a fast descent
into the ferry port. Shame for Robin to catch a puncture a few
hundred yards from the top, and take the descent in the van, having
done all the work getting there!
Thankfully, Andy was able to sort the electrical fault that had
developed while we waited in the leisure centre car park and for
the first time ever on such a ride, we breezed through passport
control and straight onto the ferry without waiting. Relying on the
strip maps and Garmin route I had prepared earlier to take us to
our hotel proved a mistake. It wasn't there! Riding around the
block, we came across a local lad who volunteered to take us, so
after another circuit we came in sight of our destination. Waiting
outside were a bevy of trikes, which is Andy's project for next
year. The hotel was not quite the most basic of those that we
stayed in, but pretty close.
Sunday, 23rd
May;
Calais - Ieper
Taking on board the lessons learned the day before, we decided to
make an early start and were on the cool, bright morning Calais
road by 7.45 am. But just as we came out of the hotel car park, our
route took us down a 'cyclists only' one-way street - so the van
and m/c had to turn left while we turned right. We kept the pace
down until they caught us up a half mile further on. We had
arranged to meet up with a cycle club in Esquelbec, who would
escort us to Wormhout and take in the memorial to the massacre that
happened on 28th May 1940 - the 70th
anniversary made national news, but we were there 5 days early. We
laid a wreath, recited The Exhortation (in English, then French)
and dipped the standard. A few km's further on was our lunch stop,
in the converted farm house that is now a community centre in the
town. Odile & Patrice Martin were our hosts - Patrice doing
particularly well having prepared a rice salad, followed by cheese
and then strawberries - all washed down with beer, orange juice or
water. This was arranged through the town twinning association -
Wormhout is twinned with Llandudno - where Andy comes from!
Enjoying the hospitality so much (and fixing another puncture) put
us a little behind time but, as this was our shortest day, there
wasn't too much concern. Except by the time we hit Ieper Genevra,
our battlefield tour guide, had already waited an hour for us. We
had enough time to shower and change before rejoining her and
seeing the sites of Essex Farm, Pilkem Ridge, the memorial to Harry
Patch and Langemark (the German War Cemetery) where we laid another
wreath - where instead of The Exhortation, the words 'In
remembrance of all victims of war and terror' were spoken. Arriving
back at the hotel, we had a few moments to spare to gather our
thoughts before the Last Post Ceremony at 8.00 pm, where I was the
only standard bearer. As Dave's grandfather's name is inscribed on
The Menin Gate, he was selected to lay our wreath - for which he
was very grateful. The hotel was in a completely different league
compared to Calais.
Monday, 24th
May; Ieper -
Mechelen
Setting off from Ieper and riding under the Menin Gate that only
last night was a scene of remembrance - now a quiet, still and
peaceful memorial. We arrived at Oudenaarde (twinned with Hastings)
about 30 minutes late due to our route directing us down a one way
street (the detour took us onto a road that was barred from
cyclists, though we were only on it a few hundred metres) so the
cycle club had left Roland, their president to escort us out of the
town and on our way. Willy met us at the cycle museum cafe and we
had a croque monsieur, washed down with a refreshing, cool drink.
However Andy was running low on fuel and, as it was a holiday,
there were no petrol stations open. Robert (the Oudenaarde
chief of police) offered to show him where he knew one would be and
so they set off after lunch. On their return, Andy said that his
card wouldn't work in their machine, so Robert paid and Andy paid
him in Euros. Outstanding service from their police force! The
weather was fine as we set off once more, with Roland setting a
cracking pace, leading us along the south side of the canal to the
main road. Along the way to Aalst he asked the following rider,
Robin (who was only just keeping up) if the pace was ok. "No
faster" Robin managed to yell - but what Roland seems to have heard
was "No, faster!" because he upped the pace 3 or 4 mph. As we came
into Piezegem, we noticed there were crowd barriers lining the
road, with spectators behind them. We hadn't a moment to think what
this might mean before a police siren was heard, and the m/c that
was generating it sped past us. This looked like the end of an
etape, so those that were quick enough threw their hands in the
air, to great applause! That was amazing enough, but in the next
village there was a closed street market which we could see no way
round, so we walked our bikes through and had an ice cream. At the
end of this we were running low on water, so stopped off at the
nearest likely looking place - which happened to be a brewery that
was having an open day with live music, barbeque and drinks. Due to
the weather however, we stayed sensible and took only water - which
turned out to be warm. Not 20 metres on and a stand pipe had been
connected so we replaced the warm for some cold and set off again.
Our evening meal was across the canal from the hotel, in the fish
market (though there was no smell of fish) and I think we can all
recommend the "Rondo" Moroccan restaurant.
Tuesday, 25th May;
Mechelen -
Rheindahlen
While Geoff set off to hire a small car, we set off through the
city centre and the support crew set off to find their way through
the maze of one way systems and meet up with us at RV 1. We reached
RV 1 without any sign of the van or Andy, so texted Martin with 'Am
at RF1 and pressing on'. His reply was a little unnerving - 'Great.
Sadly, we are lost again'. Pressing on, we were unable to find our
scheduled lunch stop in Ham, so carried on and found a nice café in
Leopoldsburg. The next stop at Beegden also proved a problem - it
was a bar that opened at 18.30! Another set of road works meant we
had to divert off the strip map again and ended up getting lost
trying to find a bike friendly road over the German border; we
found ourselves separated from the support crew again and riding
through a housing estate. The Garmin reckoned there was a cycle
path to our right that would lead us to the road we were searching
for - but led us into a dead end - though we could hear the traffic
on the road about 30 feet above us. Zooming in on the Garmin showed
that the cycle path took a sharp left hand about 10 yards back -
and there it was. Overgrown so much the weeds were touching
in the middle… taking this cautiously, this too ended in a dead
end! Pulling the bush aside revealed a flight of steps leading up
to the road, so we carried our bikes up to the top. It was good
that we could see the funny side of it. Only a few hundred metres
further on and the cycle path turned into a farm track - with
gravel and thorns. Pausing for breath in a town and I realised my
rear tyre was flat - and for good reason. I had picked up a 15mm
thorn in it! Arriving at JHQ Rheindahlen we were surprised to see
how extensive the site is - and how lucky to have someone to escort
us to Cassels House, having seen us at Ieper the day before. The
accommodation was as would be expected in a British military
establishment; pretty basic - and proud of it.
Wednesday, 26th May; Rheindahlen -
Gutersloh
Only a few minutes after starting, an eagle landed on the fence 50
meters ahead. It naturally thought better of the position as we
approached and flew off with a few lazy wing beats through the
trees. More road works and route diversions put us seriously behind
time and with the rain things were turning grim. Nevertheless, we
were glad to arrive in daylight after 'only' 130 miles. There are a
few lessons learnt this day that will be a long while not
forgotten.
Thursday, 27th
May; Gutersloh -
Peine
This was the day with the two best climbs of the ride, so I was
torn between continuing in the van - we managed to stick with the
cyclists the day before - and rejoining them on my bike. In the
interests of safety, I navigated 60 miles before getting out my
bike when the sun came out (about 3.00 pm) - and after driving
around Springe and not finding the cyclists, who had had to bypass
the town completely due to road works. 30 miles in under 2.5 hours
(with a few stops) with some stretches 24mph, drafting behind
Rob.
Friday, 28th
May;
Peine - Tangermunde
"The best day yet!" Our planned stop in Wolfsburg - the Autostadt -
was hosted by Laura and Kirstin from VW, who treated us to some
great rolls and coffee in the visitor's centre cafe. This is one
establishment that any motor-lover would have to visit. Unknown to
us, the day we arrived was the first day of their 10th anniversary
celebrations - there would be fireworks, parties, food, drink, live
music and fun, fun, fun until Monday. Ah, well. At least they gave
us a badge each.
Today we worked more on our pace line and Chris fell off (for the
4th time) at zero mph - failing to unclip. He also misjudged his
entry onto a cycle path and had to ride through a field for a short
while - we were well impressed with his off-road handling. I, on
the other hand, also misjudged my entrance onto another cycle path
- way too fast and hitting a slick of mud, I lost the front end and
landed on my left hip at speed. A police car had been following our
support crew for a few miles and witnessed my accident; he had been
contacted by some concerned motorists that we were not using the
cycle paths - all but Peter had missed the entry and I had intended
to join him. The crew decided that the best plan would then be to
go on and find a safe place to pull in and wait for us to catch up,
then 'leap frog' us to the next safe place and so on.
At our coffee and cake stop in Gardelegen, the waitresses were
putting out the tables and chairs under the awning. Chris asked her
if they were open and she replied "We are, now!" Further on, my
rear tyre blew out spectacularly - on a cycle path and just ahead
of the van. Not thinking about the spare bike and with only 20
minutes or so to go in the day's ride, I threw the bike in the back
and jumped aboard. Geoff was up for getting on his bike the last
day and riding into Berlin; this meant returning the hire car as
soon as possible. So it was that while Geoff and I set off for
Berlin (70 miles away - the nearest return location? - with he in
the car and I in the van) and after the quickest shower in history,
Peter replaced my rear tyre, patching the tear with an emergency
patch and inner tube; Martin sourced a spare tyre (just in case -
the spare didn't look too good either). We returned 3 hours later
at 9.30 pm and went straight into dinner - was very good indeed. We
all recommend Tangemunde as a fine location to visit.
Saturday, 29th
May; Tangermunde -
Berlin
Another early start - I reckoned changing that tyre for the new one
would be one less worry, so changed it right after breakfast. An
hour ahead when we stopped at Stechow for a coffee, so there was no
surprise to find the place closed. Coming out of the side door was
a guy wearing an apron, so we asked him where we'd get a coffee (or
eleven). He said he was the baker, and that there was a place about
100 meters down on the right. So off we went and, opposite the
church (we actually went past it the first time) was a bakery. Frau
Baker was a little perturbed to try and make eleven coffees all in
one go, but with three separate sets of mugs, cups and the best
china, she did us proud - and at a fair price, too. The cycle path
ran alongside the road for several kms, winding in and around the
trees in a marvellous way. As we approached Berlin, we found things
a little hairy - our route was again barred from cyclists and,
again, no parallel cycle path. Tomtom said go right, but Garmin
said go left so we went left. This was after Andy and the van had
set off, but we figured they'd turn round soon enough - which
luckily, they did. Soon after this, we found ourselves in a housing
estate again so opted to follow the tomtom. Rising over the '5'
motorway (which was our planned route into Berlin) we stopped on
the bridge to see if there was a cycle path - and there was, though
no access between the road and the path. Taking the cycle path,
Andy was to make his way to the next scheduled stop - number 438,
HeerStrasse (an Italian Restaurant called La Lumaca). After a few
more kms, the cycle path became a path of gravel for 100 meters or
so. There was nothing for it but to get off and walk - punctures
there would be horrendous. Apparently, the owner of the land had
banned the cycle path being built across it. "He wouldn't have got
away with that before the wall came down" was one comment. At the
bottom of a long, sweeping downhill stretch it was Darren's turn
for a puncture - but fortunately, this was easily fixed by Peter
who returned to the spot while Geoff, Chris, Robin and Richard
pressed on. Not so horrendous after all. We caught up the advance
party and soon found the cycle path leading into a farm yard - so
we stopped and asked directions of a young lady taking her pony for
a walk. She advised to return to the junction, pass under the road
bridge and we would find the path on the opposite side of the road.
As we set off once more, Chris took the opportunity to display his
skills at not unclipping - or unclipping the wrong side - for the
5th time.
Feeling like progress was being made I called Martin and suggested
he ordered some pizzas so they would be almost ready for us when we
arrived. He advised that it would be tricky to find the place as it
was hidden behind some bushes - so after ordering, he, Dave and
Andy waved us over.
Half an hour after lunch and we were at The Berlin War Cemetery,
where members of the Berlin Legion Branch were awaiting our arrival
- organised through Amanda. We laid our wreath beside theirs, The
Exhortation was recited once more and some photos taken with our
bikes in front of the Memorial Stone. Amanda advised that the road
closures in Berlin were for the cycle marathon the next day, but
she had reccy'd the route and we should get through - though the
van and motorbike would not. I suggested she navigated in the van,
Andy to follow and we would try our luck. Thus we rode up to The
Brandenburg Gate through closed roads, under the finish line just
like it was le Tour! Stopping only for a few photos (and taking
care around the hoards of welcoming tourists) we carried on to the
Neue Wache - the memorial dedicated to all victims of war and
terror, which is an enlarged, bronze statue of 'A Woman and Her
dead Son' - where we met up with Amanda and our Legion friends
again, laid our wreaths and recited the Exhortation one last time -
in English and German.
Conclusion
This was a tough ride. We should have persevered with the radios -
or bought a new set - so that the van could have immediate contact
with Andy on his motorbike. The longest day was too long, though it
had little in the way of hills compared to the day after. I should
have made better (OK, 'some' would be a better word there, than
'better') use of local knowledge of cycle paths and which roads
cyclists are barred from. Am I doing it again next year? Not in the
same way, and not at the same time of year, but probably. There
will be less of the diverts because of barred roads - but no-one
can count on road works.
Paul Harding
Ride organiser
