Pinneberg, Halstenbek and Rellingen lie just north-west of Hamburg, and between them they make up one of the largest tree-growing regions in Europe. For miles on end the fields are filled with rows of young trees, shrubs, roses and rhododendrons, grown for gardens and parks all over the continent. In May, when the rhododendrons bloom, the whole district turns into an unlikely riot of colour, and the roads between the nurseries are some of the most pleasant on the edge of the city.
Rellingen has a church that is a famous example of north German Baroque, built in the middle of the eighteenth century for a Protestant congregation, with a centralised design and a bright, airy interior. The town itself is a quiet, tidy suburb. Pinneberg, the district capital, has a pleasant old centre, with a moated residence called the Drostei, now a cultural centre, and a handful of cafés on the main street.
This is where the ride finishes, back at the edge of the city after a long day on the coast, and it feels like a gentle landing. The roads here are flat, with slow bends and few surprises, and the traffic picks up on the approach to Hamburg, so stay alert. After the open dikes and big skies of the North Sea, the neat hedges and garden fences of the suburbs feel almost cosy. The wind drops, the air gets warmer, and you can finally take your gloves off.
Fuel is plentiful, with stations at every roundabout and big supermarkets in Pinneberg and Halstenbek, a town of sixteen thousand. If you want a good place to rest, the nurseries sometimes have cafés, where you can have a coffee among the plants. Check the opening times, since they change with the season. Hamburg is a short hop away, and the first sight of the harbour cranes on the horizon tells you the day is nearly done.