Another bright blue day to begin our cycling. Starting again on cobbletones away from the city and down to the river. We rode on a bike path along the river for the first 15 km (9 mi). These bike paths were old roads with grass growing in the middle. You had to stay on the narrow path for safety. We passed by some pastures with a flock of sheep and a dog keeping watch. At the end of the bike path, we came to the river and our first ferry ride of the day. The river wasn't very wide so I guess a small ferry is more efficient than building a bridge. There was only one car with us and our fellow cyclists. It only took us a couple of minutes to cross. We waited to cross because one of the bikers hadn't arrived with us at the ferry landing. The guide said he would wait and cross with him.
When we got to the other side, the van with all our supplies was waiting for us and we could fill up on water and snacks and continue. The next part was the worst - worse than the cobblestones. It was a busy 2 lane highway and it was filled with trucks, both small and 18-wheelers. We are pedaling at a good pace, but not as fast as the traffic. It was difficult watching the large trucks trying to pass the cyclists in front of me. They would ride up very close. I tried to stay a ways back so that the trucks would have room between us when they were trying to pass. I was very happy when the traffic starting going in different directions and we biked into the small town of Genthin. Some stopped for coffee, but Mark and I drank some water, ate granola bars and fruit. From Genthin, it wa mostly small roads and onespot which was called a "tank road". It had cement for bikes but gravel in between. You needed to stay on the path.
We came to the town of Kirchmöser Dorf for lunch. This town is on one of the Havel Lakes surrounding the town of Brandenburg. It was very pretty with lots of small boats because the lakes are interconnected. After lunch at a little cafe, we cycled on a great paved bike path that circled around the lakes. Then we arrived at the second ferry of the day and this time everyone was on it. Then we all biked together into the city of Brandenburg and to our hotel. We did get a chance to walk around the city before dinner. Where we were staying was more residential and historical. But as we walked around, we saw the downtown with street cars and more stores.
Before we dinner, we went on a tour of a private bike museum. Brandenburg was known as a large bike manufacturing town and one of the residents decided to create a collection of bicycles from the 1800 through today. Pictures are from the towns we biked through, the bike museum and the town of Brandenburg.
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