South of Berlin, the forests around Sperenberg hide a strange history. In the early 1930s, at the nearby Kummersdorf army testing ground, a young Wernher von Braun began his rocket experiments for the German military, the first step towards the V-2 and, eventually, the Saturn V. After the war, the Soviets built a large air base at Sperenberg, which remained in use until the last Russian troops left in 1994. The old runway and buildings are now abandoned, slowly being reclaimed by forest.
Sperenberg itself is an old village known for its gypsum, which was quarried here for centuries. The old quarries have filled with water, creating clear lakes surrounded by white cliffs, an unusual sight in Brandenburg. The surrounding landscape is mostly pine forest, with lakes, meadows and small villages, and the Mellensee and other lakes to the north are popular for swimming and boating in summer.
As for the riding, it is relaxed and quiet. The roads are flat or gently rolling, long forest straights broken by the odd bend at a lakeshore. Traffic is light, apart from weekends, when Berliners come out to the lakes. Sand drifts onto the asphalt where forest meets field, deer and boar keep their own timetable, and village cobbles get greasy in the wet. Some of the old military areas are still closed, so follow the signs.
Sperenberg is too small to count on for fuel; Zossen and the larger villages along the main roads are where to fill the tank and find a proper meal. A picnic by one of the gypsum lakes is a nice alternative. The Oderbruch lies to the north-east, a long ride around the edge of Berlin.