This is the flat, fertile ground south-east of Hannover, where the city's suburbs give way to the Hildesheimer Börde, one of the richest farming landscapes in Germany. The soil is loess, a fine, wind-blown dust laid down in the ice age, and it is so deep and so good that sugar beet, wheat and rapeseed grow in enormous fields stretching to the horizon. Sarstedt, a town of nearly nineteen thousand people on the Innerste river, is the largest place nearby, with Giesen and Harsum close by, and the villages are neat and prosperous with brick houses and big farms.
The geography is quiet but not dull. The Leine and the Innerste rivers wind through the plain, lined with willows, and on a clear day the blue line of the Harz mountains is visible on the southern horizon, with wind turbines standing in rows across the fields. Hildesheim, about fifteen kilometres to the south, has two Romanesque churches on the UNESCO list, the cathedral and St Michael's, and a rebuilt market square with a famous timber-framed Knochenhauer-Amtshaus, the butchers' guild hall, that is worth a detour.
For the rider, this is the starting gate for a longer journey to the Kyffhäuser, a low, wooded ridge in Thuringia with a huge monument to the emperor Barbarossa, who legend says sleeps inside the mountain until the ravens stop flying round it. The first part of the road crosses the Börde on straight, quiet lanes, with views across the fields and the occasional bend around a village, and the pace is easy. The wind can be strong, particularly from the west, and in harvest time, tractors and sugar beet lorries on the road are a hazard.
Sarstedt has fuel stations, supermarkets and several bakeries, so fill up here before the long run south-east. Look for a coffee and a slice of cake in a village bakery, or a plate of Braunschweiger sausage and potatoes at a country inn. Spring and early autumn are the best seasons, when the fields are green or golden and the air is clear, and in winter fog and frost can make the roads slippery. Check the forecast before setting out for the hills.