East of Berlin, the land flattens and the lakes begin, and this start and finish lies near Grünheide and Spreenhagen, in Brandenburg, at the edge of the forested lake country around Erkner and the Müggelsee. The area has a long literary link, since the playwright Gerhart Hauptmann lived in Erkner and set some of his early plays here, and today it is known more for the large Tesla factory in Grünheide, which opened in 2022. Pine forest, sandy tracks and small lakes surround it, and in summer the roads are busy with cyclists and swimmers.
The Oderbruch, the destination, lies about sixty kilometres to the northeast, along the Polish border, and it is a strange and beautiful place, a wide, flat plain of former marsh that was drained in the eighteenth century by order of Frederick the Great. His engineers cut a new channel for the Oder river and built dikes, creating fertile farmland where there had been floods and fever, and settlers from across Europe moved in. The villages lie along the dikes, with brick churches and low houses, and the horizon is wide and empty. Storks nest on the roofs and cranes gather in the fields in autumn.
The Oderbruch has a darker history too. In April 1945, the Seelow Heights, at its western edge, saw one of the last big battles of the Second World War, when the Red Army broke through German defences on its way to Berlin. A museum at Seelow tells the story. The plain has also flooded several times, most recently in 1997, when the dikes were tested.
The ride across the plain is gentle and open. The roads run straight along the dikes and between fields, with the wind an almost constant companion, and views stretching for miles. The surface is mostly good, with some old cobbles in the villages. Sunsets are huge here, and the flat light in late autumn has a special quality, with mist rising from the fields. Winter is cold and the roads can ice up.
Fuel is available in Grünheide, Fürstenwalde and the larger towns, but the villages on the plain have few services, so fill the tank before heading out. Roadside stalls sell seasonal produce, from asparagus to apples, and village inns serve game and fish.