Day 10 Bad Belzig, Germany - Finding Bike Parts

Tony's View

I woke up early this morning and immediately launched an investigation into where I could find replacement ball-bearing chain guides. The originals have broken, and I've currently got them held together with what can best be described as engineering optimism and a jury-rigged solution.

I found some replacements on Amazon, but they're designed for motorcycles. Since motorcycle chains are considerably larger than bicycle chains, they're not exactly a perfect match. Still, I think I can persuade them to do the job. I sent a message to our Airbnb host in Dresden, Germany, asking if we could have the parts shipped there. Their response was, "Only if you are there when they show up." Unfortunately, that doesn't help much when the package arrives before we do.

So, we decided to quit overthinking it, go for a ride today, and trust that a better solution will reveal itself somewhere down the road. After all, that's worked for most of our adventures so far.😄

We left Berlin and soon came across a small bicycle path sweeper. It was the perfect size for the bike lane. These Germans seem to think of everything, and it was doing an excellent job. The operator was also kind enough to move over when we caught up to him, which we appreciated.

Berlin was a great city, and I’d rank it near the top of all the European cities we've visited. We managed to get out of the city in about 8 miles, which happened much faster than we expected.

We had ridden about 15 miles into Berlin on our way in, and one thing we noticed is that afternoon traffic is definitely busier than morning traffic. Apparently, even in Germany, everyone decides to be somewhere at the same time. Once we cleared the city limits, it was back to enjoying the ride and wondering what clever piece of bicycle infrastructure the Germans would surprise us with next. 

We found a bakery in the first town outside of Berlin, and naturally, we had to stop. Joan decided it was the perfect opportunity to order one of each of her favorites: an apple Danish and a cream-filled éclair.

Being the sharing people we are, we agreed to share them. And by "share," I mean Joan made absolutely sure she got her fair share... and possibly a little quality-control sampling on top of that. 😂 You know we are at European bakeries, because Joan usually makes sure everyone else gets the biggest share.

The pastries were excellent and gave us the perfect excuse to take a break, enjoy the morning, and fuel up for the miles ahead. After all, bicycle touring burns a lot of calories—or at least that's what we keep telling ourselves every time we walk into a bakery. 

We got to see bison today, and for a moment, you would have thought we were back in the Black Hills of South Dakota at Custer State Park just a couple months ago. There was a whole herd grazing in the fields, including several calves. For a few minutes, it felt like we'd somehow taken a wrong turn and ended up back in South Dakota. The only thing missing was a traffic jam caused by bison standing in the middle of the road and refusing to acknowledge that anyone had places to be. 😂 It was a neat surprise and a reminder that every day on this trip seems to bring something unexpected.

We rode past a castle today that immediately caught our attention. What first tipped us off wasn't the castle itself, but the giant entrance designed for tour buses. That's usually a pretty good clue that there's something worth seeing nearby. As we got closer, it was easy to imagine how impressive the castle must have been in its prime.

It's always interesting to stumble across places like this while traveling by bike. One minute you're pedaling along, minding your own business, and the next you're looking at a centuries-old castle wondering how many kings, knights, or confused tourists have passed through its gates.

We didn't stop for a tour, but it was still a neat surprise and another reminder that you never know what you'll discover around the next bend. 

One of the highlights of today's ride was cycling through miles and miles of pine forest—at times, stretches of up to 15 miles.

Pine forests are my favorite woods to ride through. Unlike some dense forests where all you can see are trees right next to the trail, these woods were open enough to see far into the forest. It creates a peaceful feeling and makes the ride seem even more relaxing.

The best part, though, was the smell. The scent of pine is one of my favorite smells. Between the quiet surroundings, the open forest, and the fresh pine-scented air, it was one of those stretches of riding where you forget about the miles and just enjoy being out on the bike. 

We rode through some areas of active logging in the pine forests today and came across a piece of construction equipment that I thought was pretty cool. Of course, I had to stop and take a picture for my grandson AJ (aka Tony Jr. 😀).

I'll wait for AJ to tell me what it's called before I make any guesses. He knows his construction equipment, which is pretty impressive for someone who is 2.5 years old. It's amazing how much he already knows about excavators, loaders, bulldozers, and every other machine with wheels or tracks. I'm pretty sure he'll have the equipment identified within seconds of seeing the picture. Until then, the mystery machine remains unnamed, and I'm waiting for the official ruling from the family's youngest construction expert. 

We stopped for lunch at a grocery store today. It wasn't Aldi, although not for lack of trying. The lunch really hit the spot and gave us the fuel we needed for the final stretch into Bad Belzig.

Once we arrived at our Airbnb, the real adventure began: figuring out where to ship my replacement chain guide parts. After some brainstorming, we came up with the idea of having them shipped to a local bicycle shop. That sounded great, provided we could actually get the order shipped. To use Amazon Prime, I needed access through Choice One. Unfortunately, the verification code was set up to be emailed to Abby. Since Abby is on maternity leave, she wasn't exactly sitting by her computer waiting for my emergency bicycle parts request. She also didn't answer when I called her cell phone. Dang caller ID.

So I started thinking: who else could help me with this and probably wasn't too busy? Then it came to me—Matt Hoying. After all, from my experience, when you're the President, you don't really do anything. Of course, I never had an ex-president that keeps calling for favors the way I do to Matt. 😂 Fortunately, Matt came through with a plan. Thanks to his efforts, the parts are supposedly on their way to Dresden and should arrive at a bicycle shop with one of the coolest names imaginable: Bike Hospital. If your bike is sick, that's exactly where you want it to go.

Matt is officially our hero of the day. Even if Joan thinks he spends too much time reading signs and pestering Amanda almost as much as I pester Joan. 😄

Joan's Extras

If you love the smell of pine, you'd love to have been with us today. The only disadvantage was the bugs. Maybe they love pine forests too? They seemed to hit the fairing and bounce right into my face. I kept my mouth closed, unless Tony started reading signs again.

One section of the trail had tons of carvings in the woods. This is just one of the many. We'll let you decide who is the GOAT.

Day 9 - Berlin, Germany- Interesting City, Interesting History

Joan's View

Great start to my day! During the German Mass at St. Joseph's, the priest spoke slowly and clearly so I leaned over to tell Tony that I think this reading was the one where Jesus says, "Who do you say that I am?" and I got it! I wanted to tell the priest thanks for speaking clearly, but he exited to the side of church.

We then did a 2 hour Third Reich and Cold War walking tour, but first made a stop at a bakery. 😁

We walked an hour to get to the tour meeting place by the Brandenburg Gate. Tony got some delicious ice cream (no picture) while we waited for the tour to start. The Brandenburg Gate was destroyed in the war so this is the rebuilt one.

There are over one hundred memorials in Berlin. Our tour took us first to the memorial to honor the gypsies, the Roma and Sinti people, that were killed by the Nazis. It's estimated about 500,000 of the gypsies were killed by the Nazis. All of the concentration camp prisoners had a triangle that denoted their class and the gypsies wore black or brown triangles denoting their lowest status. There is a triangle in the middle of the memorial which represents the triangle that they wore. The names of the concentration camps are on some of the stones.

Another stop was the memorial for the 96 members of SPD that voted against Hitler's enabling act giving him complete power . They were are murdered. Each stone has the person's name, date they were murdered, how and where. He definitely wanted to eliminate anyone that opposed him.







Next stop was the monument built by the Russians to honor those Russians that died liberating Berlin. Thing is, the locals call it, "The tomb of the unknown rapist" since so many women, estimated around 100,000, in Berlin were attacked at that time while their husbands were away fighting. The tour guide mentioned the book, "A Women in Berlin" and I had just told Tony about the movie while we were riding into Berlin.

The famous clip showing the Berlin Wall coming down was on Nov. 9, 2089. Cara was only 2 weeks old. It was really only a few years ago. 

Next stop was the sidewalk to commemorate the spot where Ronald Reagan gave his famous address, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." which I remember well. There was also a statue made of Reagan that was supposed to be near that site, but the city council decided against it, so the statue is on top of the American Embassy kind of like a "Where's Waldo" to see if you can find him.

The East Germans had one practice that is still around today, and has become kind of famous - Ampelmann. There are supposedly cartoons, and even whole stores dedicated to Ampelmann. The Germans love him because he is much more friendly than the stick man in our lights.

 

This path of two paver bricks marks the location of the Berlin Wall that separated East and West Berlin that was put up practically overnight and shocked the world.

This is a huge memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. There are 2,711 concrete (not cement for all you non engineers) blocks of all sizes spread out on a wavy base. They are treated so that graffiti won't stick to them.

This is the location of Hitler's bunker. It was completely removed because the Germans do not want him to be honored in any way. The tour guide said that she sometimes removes candles left by his followers to this day.

Our tour guide, Maria, was an extra in hundreds of movies. She met quite a few stars when she was acting, but moved to Berlin and focused on history because the acting thing brought in very little money. According to Maria, Berlin is one of the hottest places to shoot a movie because it is more affordable than London. Movie trucks on location:

Then we get to the remaining section of the wall:

We visited Checkpoint Charlie, the entrance to the Allied side of Berlin, but it was simply an intersection with some memorabilia. This picture in our Airbnb seems to depict it so much better

These are Trabis, the cars built in East Germany that was the only kind that an East German was allowed to drive. It had the engine of a lawn mower (two cycle engine, you had to mix oil and gas) and you had to be on a wait list for 10 years to get one. Now, they have tours that you can drive in groups around Berlin in a Trabi.

We were hungry so we stopped for some weiners. Tony's beer is behind the plant.

On the 2 mile walk back we stopped for a pizza (& beer) and found this cool playground with a built in trampoline. 

Tomorrow we ride again. It'll be another interesting experience riding out of Berlin. Let's see if Tony's arms are in shape for this one.

Tony's Extras

It was a very interesting day. I wasn't expecting much from Berlin, but we easily could have spent two more days there and still not have seen everything. I went in with low expectations and left wanting more. It still amazes me how a group of people could be so cruel to other human beings. We must never allow something like that to happen again.

Day 8 - Berlin, Germany, We're in Berlin

Tony's View

We headed out today for another round of bumpy trails. As I mentioned in the last blog, we had a planned route of 62 miles. What I forgot to factor in was actually getting to the start of the route, which somehow added an extra 2.5 miles of "surprise adventure." I'm still not entirely sure how that happened.

Once we got rolling, we ran into another mechanical challenge. One of the chain guide rollers broke. To be fair, one had already broken the day before, and I managed to shuffle parts around and make it work. This time, though, I wasn't so lucky. I had to realign the chain and improvise a fix just to keep moving.

The top picture shows my "engineering masterpiece" from yesterday. The roller is supposed to have four knobs, but ours was running on only three. The bottom picture shows another roller hanging on with just a single knob on one side. These aren't parts you can pick up at the local hardware store or bicycle shop. They're rather unusual pieces that have to be specially ordered. Apparently, they're rare enough that breaking them is easier than finding replacements, according to the bicycle shop we stopped at!

If some of you remember, I stripped the tandem down to its bare bones and rebuilt it with almost all new parts. After 17+ years and more than 20,000 miles, it was definitely time. I replaced everything except three items: the chain guide rollers, the derailleur hangers, and the front wheel. Well, of those three holdouts, the chain guide rollers are now breaking, and the derailleur hangers are bending. The front wheel, however, is still hanging in there like a champ.

So I guess 2 out of 3 is bad. So much for Meatloaf fans. 😂

Any guesses what's going to be at the top of the replacement list when we get back home? The chain guide rollers and derailleur hangers have clearly decided they want some attention too! 🚴‍♂️🔧

We've passed a lot of deer stands along the way—every shape, size, and location you can imagine. But this one was so unique that we had to turn around and take a picture.

Yep, it's a deer stand on wheels!

I'm not entirely sure what the intended purpose is, but my first thought was, "Just add a motor and chase the deer instead." 😂😂

I have to admit, after seeing countless deer stands during this trip, this one easily wins the award for the most creative design. 🚴‍♂️🦌🏆

I never used to pay much attention to deer stands. They were just another thing along the side of the road. But thanks to our son-in-law, Nick Balog, I notice them everywhere now. It's kind of like buying a new car and suddenly seeing the same model on every road. Once Nick got me looking for deer stands, I realized they're absolutely everywhere—and apparently some of them even come with wheels! 😂😂

A great way to use round bales.

A round a bout with an old train engine.

Another great way to use round bales.

We found a Lidl about 25 miles into the ride and decided it would be our bakery stop for the day. As we pulled in, I figured I'd get on Google Maps and search for bakeries nearby. Surely there had to be something in the area. Google quickly informed me there was a bakery just 20 meters away. Turns out it was attached to the Lidl. 😂 It was a bullseye and made for a perfect bakery stop. 

Rode by several miles of beautiful canal today

I gave my phone to Joan and asked her to get a picture of this mini houseboat. We had seen lots of boats cruising along the canal all day, puttering along at about 10–15 mph, but this one really caught my eye. It looked like a tiny floating house, so naturally it deserved a photo.

Well, after Joan took the picture, I looked at it and noticed something we hadn't seen at first. Let's just say the captain was... taking care of some personal business off the side of the boat. Oops. 😂😂

Cool boat regardless! 😆

We were about 18 miles from our final destination when we spotted a Biergarten right along the bicycle path.

At that point, we really had no choice. I'm pretty sure it's German law that cyclists must stop at any Biergarten they encounter. 🍺

I briefly considered riding past it, but didn't want to risk an international incident. So, being the law-abiding travelers that we are, we pulled in, took a well-deserved break, and enjoyed the moment.

Eighteen miles left to go is much easier to think about when you're sitting in a Biergarten instead of pedaling toward it. 😂

We were sitting in the second row of those cool chairs, and if you look closely, you can spot our bicycle leaning against the tree.

I'd also like to offer a strong advice for anyone who hasn't done a bike tour like this before. If you're 18 miles from your Airbnb, decide to stop at a Biergarten, and then order a large beer—especially when you're no longer 25 years old—the math is very simple:

1 large beer = 2 pee breaks before you get to your destination. 😂🍺🚴‍♂️

I tested this formula extensively and can confirm the results are highly repeatable. The good news is that the extra stops give you more opportunities to admire the scenery. The bad news is that you're not stopping to admire the scenery. 😂😂

When we got to the Airbnb, I decided to visit the closest bicycle shop and see if they could help with my chain guide roller problem.

When I arrived, Mom, Dad, and their young daughters were sitting on a bench in front of the shop. The mom smiled and said, "Here's the mechanic," as she pointed to her husband. We talked for a while, and then he went inside to see if he could find or order one of those chain guide rollers. He admitted he'd never seen anything quite like it before. While he was searching, I ended up making friends with his wife and daughters. We chatted and passed the time while hoping for some good news from the shop. Unfortunately, after digging around, he couldn't find anything that would help with my unusual repair. But then something much better happened. His daughters came out and presented me with this beautiful picture they had drawn for me. It was completely unexpected and absolutely precious.

Sometimes the best part of traveling isn't fixing the bike—it's meeting kind people along the way. ❤️😊

Joan's Extras

The wind was kind to us today. We have been biking into some fairly strong headwinds since we started this trip, but today was a much appreciated break. We noticed the wind today though when these long hanging greeneries coming into Berlin blew into our faces and gave us a big shove. Still trying to figure out what plant hit us.

Lastly, Matt, you will be happy to hear that Tony has learned enough German that he is reading signs here too now. 🙄

Day 7 - Rheinsberg, Germany, Happily Bump, Bump, Bumping Along

Joan's View

Nice 58 mile+ ride today with a little bit of every terrain. Uneven cobblestone roads, gravel bike paths through woods, patchworked paved roads, smooth and bulging bike paths, two row concrete pads, and the ever popular shortcuts around bike stops through the grass (see Wade's comment on remembering them well). Tony got quite the workout keeping the bike steady. At one point we had to cross some mud to get to a bike path and it was much mushier than anticipated. We stalled and swayed and he sighed with relief, "That was a close one." I'm learning to push up on my side grab bars when possible to avoid absorbing so much of the jolt.

We are riding in what was formerly East Germany ever since we crossed the border into Rostock. "Rostock was crucially important to Nazi Germany as a major industrial and military manufacturing hub." We see signs of what we think are old Nazi buildings, but the Communist remains stood out way more in the Baltic Countries last year.

Lots of inter connected lakes in this region of Germany. In fact, we are staying at resort on a lake tonight. We were riding on the trail close to Rheinsberg and Tony said, "Down that road is a really nice resort." We rode about 2.5 miles farther into the city and stopped to check into our hotel. Tony actually booked our hotel tonight through Airbnb, and then he received notification that our reservation was cancelled by the hotel. That is where his backup to the backup plan comes in. Anyway, Tony sends me in to the hotel because he thinks my little bit of German helps. The woman at the desk says that we are at the wrong hotel. 🤔Tony checks his reservation and uses that link to get directions on his phone. We ride back via the exact same route that we were just on and, wah lah, we are at that really nice resort!!

We made a few stops today. One was to get a picture of one of the many onlookers. We get lots of stares, but this one was intense.

Another stop was to watch the boats going through a lock.

More pictures of our ride:

Lots of old growth pine forests

The moss was so thick and squishy

It's fall in this woods

Look, Nick, you can even hunt your garbage can here!

Dinner was a buffet at the resort. Roast schwein. Yum.

And, of course, a big German beer for Tony. 🍺

Tony's Extras

I really enjoyed the variety of trails today—although I did have to clean the bike and re-wax the chain when we got back. 😄

The route ended up being a little over 58 miles of planned riding and about 2.5 miles of unplanned sightseeing. Oops! I routed us to the wrong hotel. Not sure how I managed that one. But we didn't need the back up plan or the back up plan to the back up plan.👍😀

Tomorrow, we have 62 miles of planned riding into Berlin. The good news? We finally get access to a washing machine and a day off! My derrière will appreciate the break... and I suspect my legs will be sending thank-you notes as well. 🚴‍♂️🍻