Canyon to Rapha — a bikepacking tramp across Germany: The Final Part
Day 5 (Möckern -> Rapha Berlin)
Distance: 150km
Terrain: Flat, dense forests, unopened shops, one hell of a thunderstorm.
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/1574386564
Amazingly, my phone survived the night despite not being charged and the alarm wakes me promptly at 6:00 am. The first job of the day is to inspect the tent for ticks. I am pretty pensive about this given the haunting experience on the morning of day 2, but it quickly becomes apparent that the coast is clear. I’m surprised but pleased. I eat a leftover banana and try to pack up as quickly as possible. It’s still early so I might have to starve for a bit but I’m sure I’ll find some food eventually — at least it’s not Sunday!
My mind quickly turns to COFFEE. I roll through a small village that looks like it’ll have what I need. But I am to be sorely disappointed by the small shop at its centre. The woman behind the counter looks at me like I am crazy when I enquire about coffee. I buy a dry bun and consume it immediately. Better to eat something than go completely hungry.
It feels insane to me that yesterday morning I was riding up the 1200m of the Brocken and now I am riding through fields and woodlands with roughly 0m of elevation. The hunt for coffee is not going well, so I decide to pull off the road and into a nearby field. I pass a strange-looking wagon and upon closer inspection, I can see that it’s a mobile bee metropolis. Maybe I won’t get too close. I ride further into the field where I set myself up and make myself a cup of tea with my stove whilst watching the bees travelling to and fro. Now it’s time to wash: East-Germany style. I strip off and give myself a very basic shower with a bottle of water and shower gel — obscured by the wheat which comes up to my waist. I am sure Theresa May would love it here. Well, except that it’s in Germany.
After 45km and still without coffee, I come across a Gästhaus in the woods. It doesn’t open for another 15 minutes and I am starving. Should I wait or go on? I think I saw a sign for Bad Belzig back there? I decide to sit it out. After 30 minutes I give up and get back on my bike. I flip a finger at the inanimate building and go on my way cursing at the person’s inability to open their own business. In these situations, you also end up just as angry at yourself but that frustration does help to turn the propel yourself along the roads with even greater velocity than before.
Luckily, I’m not that far from Bad Belzig and there is a bike path through the woods straight to the city. This is supposed to be a beautiful historic town which I am looking forward to seeing. Better yet, I hope to find a charging cable as my eternal 1% battery has finally hit zero. The first shop is closed (of course) but luckily I am able to find another one where I get a “cheap” cable for 15€. Just up the cobbled street, I find somewhere to eat — a traditional German restaurant. I lie. It was an Indian. A curry and a local dark beer is exactly what the doctor ordered. I feel so close to home that I savour the moment and decide not to rush things: Local dark beer, Dahl soup, garlic naan and a mutton curry with pilau rice. This time I don’t struggle to force it all in. Just as I’ve paid, I spot another cyclist with a Rapha jersey and bike bags pull up outside. I find it funny that this restaurant seems to be the epicentre of bikepacking in Brandenburg. Turns out he is doing a one-day long distance ride from Berlin to Leipzig. Maybe I’ll have to try that one day? I wish him well and get back on the bike.
Little do I know at this point that my ‘laissez-faire’ attitude is going to cost me later on. But really, this now feels like a victory lap….
Before too long, I am circling around Beelitz Heilstätten (The abandoned mental hospital) and as I carve my way up towards Potsdam I hit the bottom of the long lake that divides the two cities. A few of the guys have promised to cheer me in when I arrive at the Rapha Clubhouse and Andreas notes on WhatsApp, “You’re flying mate. Get yourself an ice-cream”. There it is again — ice-cream. I can’t resist. I stop at the bottom of the Schwielowsee and have a Radler and a Cornetto. I have time, I’m on schedule. The cone is rapidly absorbed and the drink, just as swiftly. I pretty much know my way from here. I can pretty ride on auto-pilot.
But this is where it starts to go wrong. I stupidly planned several massive gravelly detours at the end. I’m a sucker for always following my Wahoo even when I don’t want to. I turn off the road into the unknown. Why did I do this to myself? I turn off the now cobbled road to find a house has been built over my route. Hmmmm…. I stand around wondering what to do. This is the point where the mosquitos descend on me like they haven’t eaten for several days. My bite count was impressively low — that is until now. MF. I figure out a plan B and head down the mossy cobbles. These are particularly bad and as I pass under a railway bridge I realise where I am — The Hell of Caputh. Great* (*Sarcasm). I eventually find my way onto something a little more pleasant to ride until I take off onto another pre-planned detour: a dirt track around a lake. Why why why. I continue to race from mosquitos and dogs until I see something I recognise — a bridge over the motorway.
It’s at this point my luck also hits 0% and the heavens begin to open up. I reckon it’ll be a light shower so I duck under a tree and put my gilet on. I message the guys to tell them that this might delay me a bit but I shouldn’t be much longer. Ha. I wait a little to see if it eases up but of course it doesn’t — if anything it is getting heavier. Okay, I’ll go off plan and take the most direct route to the Clubhouse possible. It’s not on my Wahoo but I’ll figure it out.
I ride on and within 5 minutes I am caught in a torrential downpour. Every part of me is dripping wet. My fingers are pruning. I can’t see very well and my phone has run out of power again. The one thing I was relying on telling me how to get to my final destination. It’s truly terrible and in this weather, I feel very lost. I have to just guess and try not to get run over. “It’ll be more epic they said”. It feels like I am never going to make it. The streets begin to bubble with white foam and the cars splash me further, even on the bike path. I ask at a Chinese restaurant which way is Mitte but they don’t know. I don’t recognise anywhere whatsoever. How can the city I have ridden through a million times feel so alien?
After what feels like an eternity I finally see a sign pointing towards Mitte. I haven’t gone completely wrong. When the Fernsehertürm (TV tower) comes into view I am overcome with joy. My first reaction is to blow it a kiss. It really means I have made it. This final 5km or so feels like forever. I finally roll up to Rapha’s Clubhouse and walk in the door feeling both heroic and defeated. Andreas & Steffen give me a clap and kindly take my photo. It’s super nice of them but wholly an anti-climax. I mean, there could have been 50 people and I might feel the same. How can this ending really tell the story of what just happened to me? It’s impossible to do it justice. I’ve heard people say the same after completing even more epic rides like LEJOG or the Transcontinental, so don’t take it personally guys! ;)
I don’t know what to do with myself to be honest. Of course, everyone wants to ask how it was? I try to give them the short version but if you’ve read all of these posts then you’ll know that it takes a bit of time to squeeze out all of the details. The folks at Rapha are all stars — Fanny gets me a dry change of clothes whilst Dominik and Alexsi bring out a heater for me. I needed all these things — and the beer.
Sadly, I don’t get to chat for long as there is also a screening of an old film about the Giro that everyone wants to watch. Steffen convinces me to join in and watch it. I’ll be honest, I am not in the mood to watch this thing but I don’t want to leave so soon after arriving. The film rolls on past my eyes whilst I think about my bed and what I am going to eat. It’s interesting but not very good. Eating and sleeping are good things.
The film finally finishes and I am ready to head home. I say my farewells and head to the U-Bahn. There is no way I am doing any more cycling today. I get home, dump my stuff and decide to head over the road to Schillerburger to get something to eat. I chat with the guy working there and he promises to make me the best burger I have ever had. I accept.
I struggle to eat all the food. But it’s delicious and I am ready to hit the hay. No medal, no fanfare, no red carpet. But that’s not why I did it. I did it for the adventure, the story, the chance to go out of my comfort zone. It’s such a crazy experience which I feel has changed me to some degree and also allowed me to see parts of Germany I would never have seen before.
In the end. The world is beautiful and mainly filled with kind people. It also turns out that the bicycle is the best way to see it.
