Ruth and I had missed out on the last International or two and were making plans to attend this year's rally in Belgium, when Michael Wolf's December 2005 TCJ letter caught our eye:
Spring Tandem Meeting in Germany Munster, North West Germany Wednesday 24th to Sunday 28th May 2006
It may not be well known in Britain, but for tandem riders in the northern half of Germany, the annual spring meeting organised by the Osnabrück branch of the ADFC, the German equivalent of the CTC, has established itself as an essential entry in the year's diary. First held in 2001, this event, typically based in youth hostels, has gone from strength to strength, so that this year for the first time, medium length rides were offered to complement the family and long rides. For 2006, we have block-booked a hostel near Münster, in the North West of Germany. Not far from the Dutch border, this location enables us to vary flattish rides with more undulating ones, with three different length rides each day. Moreover, it is easily accessible by rail, road and air(!), and will also offer the opportunity of a sneak preview of the Osnabrücker Land that will host the 2007 International Rally, just 25 miles away. Alternative accommodation in a country hotel or on camp sites can be arranged within easy cycling distance. What will make the 2006 event the most attractive so far for visitors from the UK however, is the option of combining it with the International Rally in Belgium. The ADFC spring meeting will take place from Wednesday 24th to Sunday 28th May, with the International rally starting on Saturday 27th May. So for those really keen people it would be possible to attend both events, with a transfer on the evening of the 27th, and not miss a single day riding. More leisurely options are possible of course... For more detailed information, on the ADFC spring meeting as well as the 2007 ITR, please see our English language pages on: www.adfc-osnabrueck.de/tandem
The opportunity of combining both events and making a full two weeks of it proved irresistible and accordingly, plans were made to book both events plus the Hull-Europoort ferry outbound on Sunday night, with a return 2 weeks later from Zeebrugge. The advantages were obvious, leaving the car with free parking at Hull and off the ferry at the other end at 8am, fed, watered and straight onto dedicated cycle paths, with a choice of tandem-friendly trains from nearby Rotterdam to give a boost towards North West Germany or the chance to ride through Holland to the event. That it started mid-week gave us 3 days to get there, just over 200 miles which looked feasible in theory but in practice, fully laden with camping gear and on strange territory, made the journey somewhat more eventful. But then what is life without meeting up and dealing with the unexpected and unplanned? (Ruth may have other views!)
We left a wet and windy Britain behind, only to find the wet and wind had followed us but fortunately, managed to largely avoid the former and benefit from the latter in our journey eastwards. Circumnavigating Rotterdam proved interesting, but confirmed our desire to avoid the temptation of a train boost in favour of the re-discovered pleasures of cycling once again in Holland. At Culemborg southeast of Utrecht and Doetinchem east of Arnhem, stoker cried enough and B & Bs were sought and the opportunity taken to hole up for the night and explore the local towns. Memories of the Slijk-Ewijk and Flevoland Internationals came flooding back. Yes indeed, it was good to be back in this cycle-friendly country, but with two days under our wheels and some 80 miles to go, we needed to get a move on if Greven was to be reached by the following evening. Early starts are always difficult: after all. holidays are all about relaxing (so why do we tandem? - don't answer!) but with an effort we reached Winterswijk, close to the German border, by late morning. The coffee was good, so was the cake and the sun was shining so what's the rush? It was by now lunchtime and we were getting nowhere fast so with an effort, wrenched ourselves away and set off for the border, hoping to take a short cut into Germany through the woods and fields. OK, we hadn't learnt from earlier experiences trying to tandem from Poland into Belarus by unconventional and less bureaucratic means, before being compelled to revert to an official crossing point. However, that was some 12 years ago and memories fade. So we slunk back to the main road to Vreden and surprisingly found ourselves in Germany in no time at all, with no obvious border point. And so to Stadtlohn, Coesfeld and up towards Greven, fighting into a fierce headwind and mindful of the rain clouds that had followed us for the last days, now gathering and closing in as if to say we gave you a good run across Holland, now its our turn to show we mean business. As indeed they did over the next 2 hours or so, but maybe we needed a refreshing spur to get us to the Naturfreundehaus by evening meal time. It worked. And so the Spring Tandem Meeting could begin, with us on time (for once!).
The hostel is situated deep in the country, and we arrived after a final shower to be greeted by fellow tandemists in a dripping and soaking woodland setting. Our camping intentions were quickly substituted with a request for indoor accommodation, fortunately still available, leaving a sole Austrian to brave the wet and test the claims of Mr Hilleberg's products.
The hostel-based German rallies were started in 2001 with 8 participants, now grown to 56 this year with visitors from Holland and the UK. The Redditch mafia of 2 Richards, Roy and Robert together with Pamela, Elizabeth, Rosalie and Margaret turned up in force just for the event itself, with the Sherwood family from Leicester and the Lancaster duo destined to go on to Belgium. Jörg Kummetz and Jörg Buchholz, members of the local ADFC board, organised the event, ably assisted by fellow-participants. Their policy is to seek out accommodation supporting the nature-oriented life style of cyclists such as youth hostels or hostels of the nature friends, an international movement, though hotel accommodation was available nearby for those who preferred it. Further information can be found on www.naturefriends.org.uk
And so to the event itself, 3 days of long, medium and family rides in and around the delightful area of Munsterland and the Teutoburger Wald, mainly on minor roads and dedicated cycle tracks, with evenings of conviviality amongst the mainly German, Dutch and English participants, amply fuelled by a fridge full of Weissbier and similar delights. Well, at least it was at the start of the evening, though the contents were apt to diminish somewhat rapidly as re-hydration activities got under way and the jollification factor rose. Catering was excellent, full board of breakfast, packed lunch and dinner being provided, with a BBQ for the final night. Memories abide of a lone Joerg Kummetz standing outside in the rain, busy cooking up food for the hungry, re-hydrating masses who watched from the comfort of within as they engaged on fridge-emptying activities with enthusiasm. A true star!
Ah, and the film shows too, with memories brought back of events and Internationals past, how much younger everyone looked! However, the main event of the evening was confined to a select few, the GPS clan, This was serious business, the map now considered redundant by aficionados of the hi-tech age, and many an intense hour was spent pouring over and synchronising the new aids to man's ability to navigate. Apparently there are different systems in operation, which led to co-ordination difficulties and occasional conflicts of direction. However, after a post-midnight first session we were assured all was well and set forth with high hopes. Just as well the hopes were high as the clouds were low and the days grey, gloomy and cold. The long riders set off earliest to maximise their potential for getting wetter than everyone else (they succeeded!), with the medium riders leaving later to steer a middle course and strike a more direct post-lunch route home, mindful of the afternoon refreshments in store. GPS leadership conflicts were soon in evidence, but resolved eventually (toss of a coin?) as agreement was reached and the rest followed. Erich did sterling work on Day 1, amply supported by the Brit contingent as we pedalled merrily on occasionally muddy tracks across fields and through forests, woods and trees, mindful of the forecast of rain by lunchtime as we headed for coffee. A slight translation misunderstanding here, Brits think of coffee as a mid-morning destination, in Europe it's where you stop eventually which may well be lunchtime, as indeed it was on arrival in Steinfurt. But no matter, a pause to jump behind a tree or have a quick bite seemed to suffice until we got in the swing of things. A certain amount of education would not go amiss, in that CTC stands for "café to café" and TC is an abbreviation for "to café". Our continental friends, please note!
Cycling is popular around the area, as is power walking with long poles. However, the latter activity seemed to bring little joy to its adherents, all of whom appeared to wear a uniform expression of grimness as they strode purposefully along the tracks. Several groups of cyclists were in evidence at Steinfurt, where we enjoyed a long, leisurely lunch in the local hostelry, with excellent coffee and cakes which seem to come as standard in this part of the world. But by now the rain was falling, and a direct route back seemed appropriate.
Day 2 offered some excitement in the shape of a hillier terrain as the route took us to Tecklenburg. An intended coffee stop at a restaurant in the woods didn't come to pass, but that hardly seemed to matter as soon a long-awaited opportunity to engage the little front ring came about as we entered the Baumberger range of hills. A delightful hill town, this, and succumbing to blandishments to enjoy lunch at an outdoor terrace offering stunning views of the countryside beyond, the group made for the archway to take their seats. Visibility promptly deteriorated as the rain started and lunch was taken under the dripping "sun canopies" as the temperature fell. Ruth declared enough and disappeared indoors. The Redditch brigade, who had earlier become separated from the medium riders in the woods in the mix-up with the family riders, expressed their wish to re-join our party for the return. However, another mix-up ensued, something to do with locks, and they were left in the mist whilst the rest remained firmly attached to the GPS man for the day. He too got lost (water in GPS?) but after a u-turn or two a decision was finally taken which brought us to a railway station-turned-café, an appropriate afternoon tea stop, especially as it was still raining. The long riders swept past, determined to get their full soaking of the day. Various GPS "events" followed on the return, but eventually all came back safely to head for the re-stocked fridge.
Day 3 was a non-GPS Erich-led ride to Munster and an opportunity to look around this interesting town, enlivened by the presence of a Fair. Johannes' Santana suffered a split rear rim (nothing to do with stoker Anni, we were assured!) but that unfortunate event curtailed their activities for the day and necessitated an eventual return home to pick up their second tandem to take on to Belgium. The rest had 3 hours to explore Munster and sample the many Fair offerings before setting off back to base across fields and through woods. Only when one of the more observant in our party noticed the similarity of certain bits of countryside did we realise that an unintentional circular tour had been undertaken but no matter, being already wet a little more hardly mattered and in any case, it was our turn to be last back at camp. At least there were still plenty of tea and cakes left with the barbeque to come, and we'd given the long riders some competition in the "who can get wettest" stakes.
So what did we think of it all? A very "European" event, small enough to be friendly with good co-operation from everyone, and a triumph for good spirits which prevailed against the entirely unseasonable weather affecting all of Northern Europe at the time. The hostel was very accommodating, in an excellent location with great rides in all directions, and amazing road engineering gave bikes almost unprecedented priority at road junctions. Event organisation was first-class, must have taken a lot of hard work, our thanks to all who made it possible. The organisers want to continue their success and hold another ADFC tandem meeting in 2007 at the hostel in Soest near Lake Moehnesee at the northern end of the Sauerland area, so all intending participants please note, this will take place from 16-20 May.
And how did we get to Belgium from Greven? That's another story!
Frank Feinberg