On the north-eastern edge of Hamburg the city thins into a green ring of woods, meadows and villages, and the point here sits close to the boundary with Schleswig-Holstein. Stapelfeld, a small village in the Stormarn district, is just across the line, while the big residential districts of Farmsen-Berne and Sasel lie on the Hamburg side. The ground is gently rolling, and the landscape is a mix of fields, small woods, and the quiet backwaters of the Bille and the Alster.
This is where the ride begins, and it is a good start. In ten minutes you are out of the city's grip and into lanes lined with oaks and beeches, past thatched farms and stables, with the traffic lights of Hamburg already forgotten. Horse riders are common here, and the lanes are shared with cyclists and joggers, so keep your speed down in the villages. The surfaces are generally good, with the occasional patch of broken tarmac after winter.
The countryside north and east of here is the beginning of the Holstein lake district, where the glaciers of the last Ice Age left behind their moraines and hollows, and the day is meant to carry you towards the lakes and low hills around Eutin and Plön. It takes a while to get there, so use the quiet lanes in the first hour to settle in. Early on a clear morning the light is low and the fields are damp, a good time for a quiet start.
Fuel is easy in Hamburg's suburbs, with stations on the main roads, and it is sensible to fill up here before leaving the city, since the lakes have fewer pumps. Farmsen-Berne and Sasel have supermarkets and bakeries, and Stapelfeld has a handful of small places for a coffee. Check the weather, because North German days can change from sunshine to showers in the time it takes to put on a jacket. Pack a waterproof, and leave without hurry.