South of Hamburg the Elbe loosens into marsh, flat and open to the sky, with the river kept in place by a long dike that you can ride along or beside. The land behind it sits below the level of the high tide, and the old farms stand on little mounds, their fruit trees and thatch looking oddly protective. This is the Elbmarsch, close to the Vier- und Marschlande, and the horizon is made of sky.
The dike road is the place to be. It is narrow and straight, with the grass slope on one side and the fields on the other, and the surface changes from newly laid to patched. Sheep graze on the slope and move aside with some reluctance. Ride slowly and look at the river: container ships and bulk carriers come past silently, and from the level of the dike they seem to glide across the fields. The wind is the main character. On a clear, cold day it comes at you from the west with real force, and a heavy bike will feel it in the shoulders for the next hour.
The Elbe has shaped this area for centuries, and not always kindly. Great floods, including the storm surge of 1962 which hit Hamburg so hard, led to the raising and strengthening of dikes along the whole river. The soil behind them is rich silt, which is why the marsh is full of vegetable growers and orchards. In late spring you can smell blossom, and in autumn the roadside stalls sell apples and pumpkins on an honesty basis.
Nothing practical sits right at the dike. Drage is a village with a handful of services, but the sensible place for fuel, a proper meal and a rest is Winsen on the Luhe river, about four kilometres away, which has pumps, supermarkets and a pleasant old centre with a moated castle. The dike works best as the last scene of a day, with the light turning gold over the water and the long road back toward Hamburg ahead. Bring a windproof layer and be ready to be a little slower than you planned.