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Wolfgang and Harald, this is a test episode.
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Wolfgang and Harald, this is a test episode.
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Harald: What is it that makes cycling so enjoyable? Wolfgang, what do you particularly enjoy about cycling?

Wolfgang: Well, I have to say, I don't just ride a bicycle—I ride an e-bike.

Harald: Well, age does matter here.

Wolfgang: Exactly, exactly. You can simply, uh...

Harald: Wait! Oh yes, I forgot to put on my headphones. So, you ride an e-bike.

Wolfgang: Exactly.

Harald: To be honest, Wolfgang, if...

Wolfgang: We're not there yet.

Harald: Actually, without an e-bike I wouldn't make it through a bike tour with you.

Wolfgang: Yes, I have to say, I used to ride 30 kilometres a day. And with an e-bike, well, it's easier on the joints and makes things a lot less strenuous. Right? Especially when there's wind or hills and so on. At least with an e-bike you can enjoy nature even more.

Harald: Oh, so now you're talking about 50 years ago.

Wolfgang: No, it wasn't that long ago. It was only five years ago.

Harald: Five years, yeah. Yeah, it's similar for me. So it isn't only about e-bikes. But it isn't about which bicycle we ride, or how much assistance we use. It's more about what the two of us experience together along the way.

Wolfgang: You also have to look to the right and left, take off your headphones, and not focus solely on cycling, but also notice what there is to see on either side of the path.

Harald: That—uh-huh. That reminds me of something. Wolfgang, you're a typical example of that. On normal cycling tours offered by other providers, if we use parts of those routes, you always know some spot that is especially beautiful, where there's a bench or, well, some quiet and lovely corner. Do you remember where we met the, uh, colleague who was heading to Potsdam, down by the bench?

Wolfgang: Yes, that's a particularly beautiful spot. It's near Busco. If you ride straight down from Busco, you come to a bathing area, a little way off the cycle path to Voskrau—roughly halfway between Voskrau and Tresco. Very beautiful. And that's where we met a curious cyclist who had come from Potsdam and was trying to find his way along the European routes here. That's exactly what we do, too: simply ride along and discover new paths. Deviate from the well-worn tracks and make new ones. That's why we ride bicycles—to keep discovering something new. You ride through the forest, and suddenly it opens into a clearing with a pond, where you can sit down, and nobody knows where it is except me.

Harald: Yes, and now, of course, our listeners. That reminds me of something else: when we were sitting on the bench down there and weren't talking for once, you could hear the leaves rustling and the birds singing. It's wonderful—you completely unwind. And what I would also like to say is that it was only about eighty or a hundred metres from the cycle path.

Wolfgang: Exactly.

Harald: Mm-hmm.

Wolfgang: Yeah, and what Harald just said about the birds, the rustling leaves and the tranquillity: it always depends on when you ride. For me, the best cycling tours—or the ones that really soothe the soul—are in the morning and perhaps in the late evening during summer, as long as it is still light.

Harald: Yes, that's why we always meet in Europien at the lakeside promenade, on our bench, at seven o'clock. Then we eat a banana, have a small energy drink, and set off. That brings us to the point: we don't actually plan the cycling tour—we simply set off.

Wolfgang: Yes, at first we did have to ride a few routes that were already familiar to me, so that the Haraldcould get to know the area a little, too. Otherwise he couldn't put together the brochures or talk about what we do on the side. But by now he sometimes says, Wolfgang, look at this path—we've already ridden that one. No, then we go this way and discover something new again.

Harald: Yes, and I have been living here in Neuropin since 2014. Of all the routes we have ridden here, especially around the lake and Altfriesack, that is the most beautiful area for me. I didn't even know there were places like that here. I thought Neuropin—Ropina—was bleak. But you have to get out and explore, don't you? That's the beauty of it. Oh,

Wolfgang: Yes, and what many people don't know—and Haralddidn't know either—is that one day we met again down by the lake, and I told him: today we're visiting the Ruppiner Schweiz.

Harald: I thought, Switzerland? I came here from Switzerland in 2014. I thought I had left Switzerland behind, but then—Ruppiner Schweiz? Interesting. Beautiful.

Wolfgang: So.

Harald: Ah, yes, I remember that now. Beutenmühle, down there. We were there very early and really wanted to have a coffee. Then you went over to the waitress and asked whether they were already open. They weren't open yet, but the waitress brought us coffee anyway. And the best part was that when we wanted to pay, she said, 'It's on the house.' Wonderful.

Wolfgang: Yes,

Harald: And the pond up there—I didn't want to interrupt you—but the pond above Beudenmühle is naturally beautiful, too.

Wolfgang: Yes. The waitress was very friendly, and whenever I ride to Beutemühle, I remember what it was like 30 years ago. Beutel Müller was always a popular destination for men on Men's Day. Back then there was only a glassworks, if you can imagine it: a glass building shaped like a wagon shed, with the Bienenbach running right through it. People were supposedly meant to throw money into it, but by the afternoon it was usually the men who had ended up there.

Harald: Yes, that figures—Ascension Day and men out together. But what I also found interesting was the mill wheel outside, its size. And, before we forget: if you are interested in our website, you can look at the pictures under Bilderbuch, and you will find the G_P_S_ data there. Wherever you get off, you can simply take your bicycle by train to Neuruppin Rheinsberger Tor or Neuruppin West, enter where you want to go from our cycle route, and our system will guide you there. Our routes can be ridden in both directions, so it doesn't matter from which end you want to ride them. That's all for now. You wanted to say something, didn't you?

Wolfgang: Yes, I should add something. I was just talking about 30 years ago and so on. The Dänen of Der Wohnbauer Mühler was bought by the building contractor Katsch back then and then renovated. The mill wheel was also rebuilt completely. For people travelling from further afield, there are many hiking trails in the area, which is why Mr Katsch also set up a guesthouse there. You can stay overnight, the food is good, the terrace is very beautiful, there is a playground for children and a small animal park with donkeys and ponies.

Harald: Yes, yes, you've said so much about Katsch now that perhaps we should send him a postcard—maybe he would like to support us. That brings us to the subject. We make everything free of charge for everyone. We realised that there are many providers of cycling tours, but first you have to register. And when you find a new cycling tour, you then have to

Wolfgang: Mm.

Harald: Mm.

Wolfgang: Mm.

Harald: create a professional account, with 14.19 euros deducted each month. That's not how it works with us. We want everyone who enjoys cycling to be able to discover cycling tours at no cost. Sorry—cycling tours. Yes, that's what matters to us, and that's how it will stay.

Wolfgang: Exactly.

Harald: Yo. Just because you've praised Mr Katsch so highly, I thought I'd say that we'll simply send him our podcast. And yes, once again we have a kind of ferry.

Wolfgang: No, Mr Katsch isn't the only one. When I think about it, since I started riding with , I have remembered all sorts of beautiful places that I haven't visited by bicycle for a long time. Some of them also have restaurants or guesthouses that we got to know over the years. And we would include those guesthouses and similar places on our website for cycling enthusiasts from outside the area, so that they know where they can stay if they want to spend a long weekend here in beautiful Neuropin, the beautiful Fontane town—as I have always called it.

Harald: Yes, Schinkel was born there, too. Schinkel is well known, of course, mainly for his buildings—not just any buildings, but some of the most famous buildings in Berlin. Yes, yet failin' us the water, no.

Wolfgang: No, you can't—well, you can also say that in the future, when we get that far or something, people coming from outside—for example, to the Brandenburg Gate—will be able to get information and perspectives from us.

Harald: And then, if they don't fall, there are still five hundred metres from us where everything from us is located.

Wolfgang: I think demand will increase because there are more and more cyclists. So you have to keep your eyes open when you're cycling. In the past, when I rode a bicycle, percentage-wise it might have been twenty or thirty per cent. I think we're at eighty per cent now.

Harald: Cycling.

Wolfgang: Yes.

Harald: Well, not only people cycling to work, but also those who cycle in their free time

Wolfgang: Okay.

Harald: will use it.

Wolfgang: You can see it in the two of us—there are also some pretty fit pensioners.

Harald: Yes, yes, still. Well, something else just occurred to me—no, it's gone again, but that's age for you. So we can make a cut here and

Wolfgang: Yes.

Harald: will have to find our bearings again from scratch.

Wolfgang: And next time, something new and more.

Harald: Exactly, from both of us. We

Wolfgang: Exactly.

Harald: hope you enjoyed it. And if you have any suggestions or criticism—even negative criticism—just send us an email.

Wolfgang: Yes, and the best thing would be to ride again sometime and meet you.

Harald: Well, now we're going to do it again.

Wolfgang: We have the desirable T-shirts with our emblem.

Harald: And. ratten. minus O_P_R_ dot D_E_

Wolfgang: Well, now.

Harald: Okay, until next time.

Wolfgang: Cheers.

Harald: Cheers.

Wolfgang: Bye-bye.