Oderbruch Wide Horizon Ride · part 3

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Lichterfelde

   In 1881, Werner von Siemens opened the world's first electric tram line in Lichterfelde, a short track connecting the railway station with the cadet academy. Thirteen years later, Otto Lilienthal, the pioneer of human flight, had an artificial hill built in the same suburb so that he could launch his gliders from it, whatever the wind direction. The mound is still there, now a small park with a memorial. For a quiet residential district in south-western Berlin, Lichterfelde has a surprising place in the history of technology.

   Read the complete Lichterfelde write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Oderbruch Wide Horizon Ride checkpoint 8 is where the day begins. Next is Scenic stretch near Sperenberg.

2. 2. Scenic stretch near Sperenberg

   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.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch near Sperenberg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Sperenberg comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is High point near Baruth.

3. 3. High point near Baruth

   Glassblowers once worked in the forest just outside Baruth. In the eighteenth century, the counts of Solms-Baruth founded a glassworks here, using the local sand and the wood of the surrounding forests, and a village grew up around it. Glashütte, as it is still called, is now a museum village, with workshops where you can watch glass being blown, old workers' houses, a café and craft shops, a charming stop deep among pine trees.

   Read the complete High point near Baruth write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Back to Oderbruch.

4. 4. Back to Oderbruch

   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.

   Read the complete Oderbruch write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back to Oderbruch closes the day.