Wittenberg

On any long distance ride such as our Epic Elbe, there are always some days that stand out in your memories, long after the ride is over. Sometimes this is for all the wrong reasons - terrible weather, bike crashes, punctures, rough trails, etc. Every once in a while you experience a day where all the stars allign to give you the very best cycling experience possible. That day was today.

Although our impressions of Dessau were rather poor, the bike path out of the city was absolutely delightful in every way. We found ourselves riding through silent forests along quiet trails that are the real essence of what we all came so far to experience. The early morning air was cool and clean and there was absolutely no wind to hamper our progress.

About 18 km from the start we arrived at the picture postcard village of Worlitz, complete with medieval half timbered houses, a palatial mansion and a lake. Although we arrived too early for the numerous cafes to be open, we did find a little coffee caravan. The coffee was OK and the poppy seed cake I purchased was excellent.

It was while we were exploring the town that our attention was grabbed by a loud siren warning. At the same time, every phone started sounding an alarm with a red flashing warning on the screen. This would normally have been enough to induce pure panic, however exactly the same thing happened during our ride last year. Fortunately, it was only a practice drill and not a message of an impending nuclear holocaust.

After exploring the town, and after being thoroughly castigated for riding our bikes where such a thing is "absoluten verboten", we continued on our way to the highly historic city of Wittenberg, actually this is the second town of that name we have ridden through, but this one is the real deal.

It was in this city that Martin Luther questioned the authority of the Roman Catholic Church by writing his 95 theses. These relied on the authority of the scriptures, and not the authority of the church. This did not go down well with the existing power structure and Luther was immediately excommunicated from the church.

Luther was then declared an outlaw at the so-called "Diet of Worms" and his excommunication was still in place when he died almost thirty years later. What Luther's stand did initiate was the start of the Protestant Reformation, one of the most significant events in the history of civilization.

After we arrived in this beautiful city, I had some time to wander back down the main street to the cathedral where all this took place, just over 500 years ago. The original door where Luther nailed his 95 theses has now been replaced by an impressive bronze one, but groups of people still gather here to reflect on this pivotal point in history.

I also learned this afternoon, that not only are we walking (and riding) through history, but we are also making history ourselves. While chatting to our contact person at Ruckenwind, I learned that we are the first group of cyclists to attempt such an epic ride. Apparently, most of their trips are from 4 to 7 days. In both the length of the ride and the number of participants, we are boldly going where no cyclist has gone before.

It is little wonder that the logistical challenge of putting together such a trip almost meant that it was abandoned at several stages along the planning pathway. But, in spite of the challenge, we are actually doing it, and enjoying (almost) every second of it.Read more