On the eastern side of Hannover, the city stretches into leafy suburbs, and the dot lies near the Mittelland Canal, among tidy housing estates and patches of woodland. Hannover is a big, sensible city, rebuilt after heavy bombing in the Second World War, and it has an unexpectedly green heart in the Eilenriede, a city forest of old oaks and beeches, one of the largest urban forests in Europe, where people ride, jog and walk dogs between the lakes and meadows.
The ride from here goes east to the Elm and the Lappwald, two low, wooded ridges near the old border, where half-timbered villages sit among fields and beech woods. Königslutter, nearby, has a magnificent Romanesque cathedral, the Kaiserdom, whose stone carvings include lions and strange creatures, and the town is a good place for an unhurried look. The Harz edge and the Oker valley are the high point of the day: the Oker flows through a narrow gorge of granite and spruce, with a winding road, and a waterfall at Romkerhalle, a popular stop.
The roads of the Elm are quiet, narrow and gently winding, through woods of beech and oak, with farm lanes branching off. The Oker valley road is a classic, with sharp bends and rock walls, though it is busy at weekends, with bikers and cyclists sharing the tarmac. Surfaces vary, and in autumn, wet leaves make corners slippery, so a gentle approach pays off.
Fuel and food are easy on this side of the city. Lehrte and Laatzen, the nearest large towns, have supermarkets, stations and cafes. In the Harz foothills, Bad Harzburg and Goslar are both good for coffee. Goslar, with its imperial palace and half-timbered streets, is a World Heritage site, and an easy and rewarding place to stop.
In summer, the afternoon sun is warm and the evening long. If your trip finishes at dusk, the light on the city's spires and the Eilenriede's canopy makes for a quiet, satisfying arrival.