Post Tour Criterium: Hamburg to Wischhafen and back
After having ridden for eight days with Martin through western Germany I spent a few days in Hamburg meeting up with friends. With the bike on hand I took the chance of a bit of good weather for a chill ride down and up the Elbe to visit Ela und Tim.
Two days on the dikes, dodging sheep
Hamburg had greeted me with the pretty bad weather, even by the standards of northern Germany in the summer. However with two days looking pretty good I repacked my bags (easy enough after having done so for eight days in the Ronde van Bouldern) and set off down the Elbe.
The first day (80km) started with still a bit of rain and the slog out of the city, along the posh villas of Blankenese and finally onto the dikes north of the river. From here on I mainly had to deal with the headwind (oh my old companion…) and the sheep (plus their droppings).
A few years earlier I was caught out by a closed flood gate on my way to Wischhafen and this time, but had checked when I needed to be where - which in turn was lucky for a group of guys I picked up on the way who were not aware of this little quirk of the area.
Finally I took the ferry from Glückstadt to Wischhafen, tagged on a little loop and reached the home of a friend I had known since school.
Riding back the next day south of the Elbe and up the river towards Hamburg again I enjoyed the first day of tailwind in ten days of riding in Germany. With the wind in my back and a little more pressure on the pedals the 75k back to the city went by in a blink of an eye. Riding through the Harbour and finally through the old tunnel under the river did make a fitting end to this summer's exploration of new roads and meeting of new people.
PS: Thanks to Buddel, Ela and Tim for hosting me and Jost and Dali for storing my bike for the next adventure!
Adventurer: Bengt