Gute Fahrt near Bremen

Ferry plank signage

On Monday afternoon MOB and I took a ride in the countryside along the River Weser northwest of Bremen. The ferry (ferry company?) was the Weser courier, and they wished us and all the other vehicles a "good ride" as we rode off the boat. I explained to MOB that "gute fahrt" sounds to a juvenile American like "good fart", which is not really an appropriate farewell greeting, but is nonetheless very funny.

In a juvenile sort of way. Very juvenile. 

This word "fahrt" in German has a lot of comic potential. Where is Dave Barry when we need him?

I rode the Ridley with a 1x SRAM setup. Very nice. Very comfortable. Plenty of gear range.

700x40 Donnelly Strada tubeless ready tires. Very comfy and reasonably fast. 

The tire tread is just right -- some help on gravel and in minor wet patches, but still fast on paved roads.

We headed off to the north and after city streets eventually turned into an area of parks, marshlands, and agriculture. We made a brief photo stop on the grass-covered levy just as we rejoined the Weser most of the way out of town.

MOB

David

We soon arrived at a neighborhood facing the river, which included a road at river-level and another one along the top of the small ridge upon the side of which the houses were perched. This view must be very precious in an area of the world with almost NO hills.

We attacked the climb from lower to upper road, known as the "Mur de Bremen" or "Wall of Bremen".

The climb up the infamous "Wall".  Maybe 9-10m elev gain in a 60-70m path?

An impressive vessel, the tall ship Deutscheland. I believe used for training sailors.
(Can be rented for special occasions?!)

MOB points toward the sailing vessel.

Industrial areas -- power lines and wind turbines near the river.
LOTS of wind energy in northern Germany.

As we rode along one stretch, I could literally smell the wild blackberries. Delicious.

MOB said last time he rode by here he did not notice the berries ... something about
trying to hang on at the back of a very fast moving peleton of cyclists.

Wow, those look tasty! (They were, tasty!)

The bushes extended for hundreds of meters.

Likewise, somehow it was amusing to see an old Kellogg's cereal factory as part of the German industrial landscape.

We're not in Battle Creek Michigan anymore.
But Kellogg's is here.

Anyway, the ride was a nice exploration, and I can see the attraction of being in a place where good riding routes are only a few kilometers away.

You can see your route below, or get the Strava GPS track here.

Our route.
The blackberries were on the west side of the river ~75% of the way back to town.