Cycle Routes in East Germany

Shortly after reunification of the two German states the federal government decided to add a temporary extra tax to income tax to improve the infrastructure of the new formerly DDR federal states: Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Some of this money has been invested in cycle routes. Eastern Germany is now a paradise for touring cyclists:

• Havel Cycle Route follows the River Havel from its source north of Berlin, south to Berlin and Potsdam and then west to join the Elbe (371km). www.havel-radweg.de  (in German)
• Oder-Neisse Cycle Route from Nova Ves in the Czech Republic along the German-Polish border to Ahlbeck on Usedom. www.oderneisse-radweg.de (in English, German and Polish)
• Luther Route in Saxony in a loop east of Leipzig, passing through Colditz amongst other places (550km). www.lutherweg-sachsen.de (in English and German) 
• Much of the Elbe Cycle Route lies in the former DDR from Lauenburg to the Czech border (1260km). It is better to cycle upstream because of the prevailing wind. http://www.elbe-cycle-route.com/start.html
• Cycle Tour Oder-Spree a loop between Berlin and the River Oder (250km) www.seenland-os.de (in German and Polish)
• Thuringia http://www.thuringia-tourism.com/travel-hotel-holiday-tour/cycling-127964.html (in English)

• Long-distance cycle trails (12)
• Elster Cycle Trail (250 km)
• Gera Cycle Trail (75 km)
• Harz Circular Trail (310 km)
• Ilm Valley Cycle Trail **** (125 km)
• Rennsteig Cycle Trail (201 km)
• Rhön Cycle Trail **** (180 km)
• River Leine - Heide Long-Distance Cycle Trail (281 km)
• River Saale Cycle Trail (418 km)
• River Unstrut Cycle Trail (200 km)
• Rivers Unstrut-Werra Cycle Trail (32 km)
• Thuringian Chain-of-Towns Cycle Trail (225 km)
• Werra Valley Cycle Trail (300 km)
• Regional cycle trails (4)
• Feininger Cycle Trail (28 km)
• Hainich National Park Yellow Route (37 km)
• Hercules-Wartburg Cycle Trail (130 km)
• Laura Cycle Trail (46 km)
• Coal Wind and Water Tour in the former brown coal open cast mining area south of Berlin, now recultivated (250km). http://www.elbe-elster-land.de/en/cycling-trails/coal-wind-water-tour.html

The Black Forest Mountain Bike Crossing

This route is known in German as "Bike Crossing Schwarzwald". It runs from Pforzheim to Bad Säckingen  and is 445km (278 miles) long with 16200m (58500') height difference. Technically it appears not be that difficult as much of the route is along forest roads that are at least 2m wide. There is, however, the odd stretch of single track to give the route some pep. Cycling the route will probably take seven to ten days. It is like crossing the Alps so you need to cut down on your gear to get it into a six to seven kilo rucksack. The route has the advantage over the Alpine crossings that cycle from village to village and so you can wash your stuff in the evenings as well as stocking up on victuals  every day. The Black Forest tourist organisation (service@schwarzwald-tourismus.info) will book hotels and organise baggage transfer in case you feel that pajamas are an essential you cannot do without. There is some information under http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/discovery/sports/Bike-Crossing-Schwarzwald.

Bicycle Leasing in Germany

A number of major German companies have latched onto the concept of offering their employees a company bicycle rather than a company car. The employees can use the bicycle as though it is their own, keep it at home, commute to work and use it for shorter trips for the company. This has been made possible by changes in German taxation law in 2012. The company leases the bicycles from dealer or from an agency that sources the bicycles from one or more dealers. The employee pays a monthly leasing rate, which is taken from his salary before he or she pays tax, unemployment or health insurance, i.e. he pays less tax and social insurance. After three years he or she can buy the bike for 10% of its original price. Over three years this yields a saving of over 40% of the original price of the bike.

The advantages for the employer are:

• It has been found in studies in the Netherlands, that employees who cycle to work enjoy better health than those who commute by car or public transport.
• It improves the green image of the company.
• It is cheaper than a company car, but at the same time it makes for a cool image, especially these days where employees who live in city centres have difficulty parking cars.
• There is less need to provide car parking which can be expensive to provide and maintain.
• In cities a bicycle is fast, if not faster than a car up to about 5km, because there is no need to find a parking slot at the end of the journey which cuts down wasted time.

Over 400 German companies some of which are blue chip companies offer their employees subsidised bicycles:

• DHL, logistics
• Bayer, chemical industry
• Deutsche Telekom
• Allianz, insurance
• Weleda, a multinational company that produces both beauty products and naturopathic medicines. Both branches design their products based on anthroposophic principles.
• LBS, building society
• Commerzbank

In addition many local utilities, town councils and tradesmen take advantage of the schemes.

Bicycle Hire in Bonn, Germany

The Radstation in Bonn near the main railway station is operated by Caritas, a Roman Catholic social mission. It employs and trains people, young and old who have difficulty finding employment to become bicycle mechanics. One can hire refurbished bikes there. One day's hire costs €10. The price drops to €7 a day for longer hire periods. It is possible to return the bikes to other Radstation in North Rhine Westphalia, but this costs extra.
The Radstation is near the Bonn Hauptbahnhof (Main railway station) on Quantiusstraße, opposite numbers 6-8 in a blue container, 53115 Bonn, Tel (0228) 9814636. It also offers secure bike parking and repair.
Website: www.radstationbonn.de

Commuter Bikes

There was an article in the "Guardian" on Saturday on the Money pages about saving money by buying a bike to commute to work. We both found this an interesting article because we've been to Amsterdam and Copenhagen, where a third or so of inner city journeys are made by bike. One sees all sorts of bikes underway there. The article was intended for London readers. Even the "Guardian" now seems to believe that life in the rest of the UK is not possible. The Guardian's approach seemed to be buy a sporty road bike, perhaps even with dropped handlebars. You get there quicker. Your bike is cooler than anybody else's. Fortunately before I crumpled the paper in a ball and flung it in the waste paper bin*, the author did recount that most of the bikes did come without mudguards/fenders and that these were very important.

We both feel quite strongly that for inner city cycling a sit up and beg bike with mudguards/fenders and a luggage rack and/or a basket at the front is a lot more use. The majority of the bikes in Amsterdam and Copenhagen are of this type. They may not be "sexy", but they are comfortable to ride, you can carry stuff without wearing a rucksack and you see what's going on round about you. Defensive cycling, looking out for danger strikes us as sensible, especially in cities. When your nose is almost touching the front wheel, this is difficult.

There is another aspect to the buying of sexy bikes. Some years ago, a friend of ours in her 40's had a road bike built by the best local frame builder. She picked it up and decided to cycle round the block. As she passed the high school next door, she heard one boy say to another, "Check out the old bat on the cool bike!"

 *This would have been difficult as we read the Kindle edition.