Flat as a table and wide as the sky, the land around Moosinning and Oberding is the gravel plain northeast of Munich, a former marsh called the Erdinger Moos that was drained over a century ago and is now mostly fields, villages and the long concrete ribbon of Munich Airport. For a rider coming back from the Alps on the German Alpine Road, the mountains are simply gone, and the horizon is a line of trees, a church spire and the occasional aircraft banking in.
The German Alpine Road itself is a long tourist route that runs along the northern edge of the Alps from Lindau on Lake Constance to Königssee near Berchtesgaden, about four hundred and fifty kilometres in all. The eastern portion, part of which this ride follows, passes lakes and meadows and the foothills of the Chiemgau, and has a few real highlights, but this last leg is strictly commuting country. Roads are straight, speed limits are strict, and much of the traffic is airport-related, so expect delivery vans and taxis.
If you want some relief, Erding is close and has a handsome old town with a long main street and a famous wheat beer, Erdinger Weissbier, which is brewed here. It also has one of the largest thermal spas in Europe, popular with Bavarians after a cold weekend. Freising, to the west, has an old cathedral hill and is the seat of an ancient bishopric; Bavarians say Munich owes some of its faith and brewing to this town.
Small towns here are well supplied. Moosinning and Oberding have little of interest beyond the practical, but Erding and Freising have filling stations, supermarkets, bakeries and cafes, and the airport region has twenty-four hour fuel. The Isar and the Strogen canals add a few green corridors for a short walk.
Because the land is so level, the wind can be sharp in spring and winter, and fog sometimes settles over the Moos in autumn mornings, cutting visibility. In summer, the evening light across the fields is warm and soft, and the Alps will sometimes reappear, rows of pale teeth to the south, as a reminder of where you have been.