Grand Tour de Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel Stage 46/59 – Sun and Sand

Date	03.06.2020
Strava Activity	https://www.strava.com/activities/3558131978
Bike	Flash
Distance in km	110.8
Elevation in m	573
Amount of newly ridden kms from wandrer.earth	41.0

This was the last chance to fit another Stage in of the Grand Tour de Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel before a few days of unsettled and much colder weather. The forecast for this Stage was pretty much perfect for cycling – sunny and not much wind. I opted to tackle a Stage that would take in four bus routes, one of which would traverse through the city of Potsdam. I would also pass through Kladow so I could stop by my friend’s place for a coffee and a chat too!

I prepared myself for the Stage by having my usual coffee and porridge plus the usual reductions in bolus and basal insulin. Putting on sunscreen is now also part of the preparation routine – much nicer than putting on all the extra layers for the Stages back in the early months of 2020.

The first bus route of this Stage would be the N88 night route that started at Rathaus Steglitz (Steglitz Town Hall). I cycled southwards towards the start and passed by the impressive Heizkraftwerk Wilmersdorf (Wilmersdorf Thermal Power Station). Its three stacks dominate the skyline here and are especially prominent when driving on the Autobahn in this area.

Once I reached the lovely Rathaus Steglitz, I followed the N88 route along the Unter den Eichen (Under the Oaks) road where the lovely Botanischer Garten (Botanical Garden) is found. This is a really lovely garden and the Tropenhaus (Tropical House) is an iconic piece of Berlin architecture. 

The N88 route headed into the district of Lichterfelde and crossed over the Teltowkanal (Teltow Canal) on the Eugen-Kleine-Brücke (Eugen Kleine Bridge). Eugen Kleine was an entrepreneur and bailiff in the early 20th Century.  The N88 continued along Osdorfer Straße and past the high-rise buildings of the Thermometer Siedlung (Thermometer Residential Estate) before ending at the bus terminus near the Lichterfelde Süd S-Bahn station.

My blood glucose was in need of some carbs so I ate a homemade flapjack before setting off towards Potsdam for the second bus route of this Stage. I cycled through some fields and back roads of Teltow and Stahnsdorf before reaching Potsdam. Some of these tracks were not passable so I had to hike with Flash in order to reach a trail that I could actually cycle on! Thankfully these were the exception and not the rule and I mainly cycled through the lovely Brandenburg countryside. 

The start of the N17 bus route was at Galileostraße in the Am Stern (At The Star) district of Potsdam. On the way there, I passed by the Jagdschloss Stern (Star Hunting Lodge) which was a residence for the nobles and their endurance hunts in the meadow nearby. I cycled through this meadow (called the Parforceheide) during Stage 40. The lodge was built around 1731 in the style of a Dutch townhouse. 

The N17 bus route headed out of the Am Stern district and into the district of Babelsberg. Not long after starting this bus route, my CGM warned me that my blood glucose was trending downwards so I stopped for an energy gel and another flapjack so I could continue the Stage with safe blood glucose. 

I cycled through the Steinstücken (Stone Pieces) area of Berlin before reaching Griebnitzsee. Here the N17 bus route makes a stop at the train station of Griebnitzsee which is located right next to a large campus of the Potsdam University. After this pitstop, the N17 route headed through central Babelsberg and onto the central station of Potsdam. 

The old town of Potsdam was next up for the N17 route including passing through the Nauener Tor (Nauen Gate) and next to the impressive Rathaus Potsdam (Potsdam Town Hall). The N17 bus continued northwards through the world heritage site of the Alexandrowka. This is a series of houses built by King Frederick William III of Prussia in 1826 for singers in a Russian choir that were part of the Russian army stranded in Prussia after Napoleon defeated the Prussian army in 1812.

The N17 circled around the Volkspark Potsdam (Potsdam Public Park) before getting to the Bornstedt district of Potsdam. Princess Victoria (daughter of Queen Victoria) and her husband the Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia lived in the Bornstedt Crown Estate before he died and she moved to Kronberg im Taunus. Potsdam is really full of impressive imperial buildings and gardens which gives it a very different feel to Berlin.

The N17 bus route looped around the tram terminus at Kirschallee (Cherry Avenue) before getting to the Bornim district of Potsdam. I followed the bus route past the lovely church and into the fields between Bornim and the Sacrow-Paretzer-Kanal (Sacrow-Paretz-Canal). It was here that the end terminus of the N17 route is found, next to the Institut für Agrartechnik (Institute for Agricultural Engineering). 

Next up was getting back to Berlin and the district of Kladow. I maximised my time in the lovely countryside of this area – the Krampnitzsee (Lake Krampnitz) and Königswald (Royal Forest) being particular highlights. The dry weather in recent weeks meant that the forest paths were very sandy and at times quite difficult to cycle on. I’ve been getting a lot of practise of this sandy cycling recently so it’s becoming a bit easier.

Once I reached Kladow, I cycled towards my friend’s apartment and we had a good chat over a coffee in the blooming garden. So many flowers and bees! I also ate some dark chocolate that she didn’t like so I was also very useful. I made an effort to stay in the shade as it was pretty hot in the sun. This was quite a contrast to Stage 37 where Nadja and I needed extra layers to keep warm.

After this physically distanced social interaction, I headed towards the barracks at Hottengrund for the start of the 134 bus route. On the way there, I cycled up a very steep road not particularly long but Strava tells me it had a maximum gradient of 19 % – a true Berlin anomaly!

The route of the 134 bus passed along the main road of Kladow and Gatow towards Spandau. I know this road well and was looking forward to tackling it as it is quite hilly for Berlin. The 134 route stopped at the Spandau train station before continuing northwards towards the district of Falkenhagener Feld (Falkenhagen Field). This district was a lot quieter than central Spandau which was full of traffic. The 134 bus ended at the end of Pionierstraße where the Wasserwerk Spandau (Spandau Waterworks) are found. This was a lovely street to cycle on as it was next to the large pine trees of the Friedhof in den Kisseln (Cemetery in the Kissel) – the largest cemetery in Berlin.

A check of my blood glucose showed that it was way too high for my liking so I injected 0.5 units of bolus insulin to help bring it down. I was near the end of the Stage now so I hoped that the remaining cycling plus this insulin boost would combine for good blood glucose. After injecting insulin, I cycled the short distance towards the Westerwaldstraße for the start of the final bus route of this Stage – the N30 bus route.

The N30 is a short night bus route that takes passengers from Falkenhagener Feld towards the main transport hub of the Spandau train station. Along the way, I cycled on Zeppelinstraße where the lovely towers of the residential estate are found on the corner with Falkenseer Chaussee. The N30 then used Seegefelder Straße to arrive at the Spandau train station. And that was the final public transport route of this Stage.

I cycled home from Spandau through the lovely industrial buildings of Siemensstadt, but before I could get home my CGM alerted me that my blood glucose was dropping fast. My injection at the Spandau Wasserwerk was working a bit too well so I needed some fast acting carbs to counteract the excess insulin in my body. I took on an energy gel and that was enough to allow me to get home safely.

This was a beautiful Stage with fantastic weather. I cycled through some lovely countryside and beautiful lakes as well as having a coffee with a good friend. My blood glucose was quite needy but I coped with it well – although I shouldn’t have injected that insulin at the Spandau Wasserwerk!

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