Just a quickly from Luebben

I’ve not got very good internet so I’m posting this from a backhand in the town while I have breakfast! I’ll do a better missive when I get back.

Fist the lows, we’ll the German unions, a strike on the trains nearly put the Kenosha on the trips reason d’etre on Friday and another strike by security at the airport means my return trip has been delayed by a day and now involves a lay over in Paris!

On the plus side, I had a god visit to Berlin, I did pretty much what I planned apart from getting sore feet on Thursday from an 18km walk!

Then of course yesterday was the 200km Spreewald Marathon. It was a glorious day, up to 23c by lunchtime and wall to wall sunshine. My usual tactic is to go hard for the first half then have a more relaxed second half, getting into a group riding at a pace I can maintain is a huge thing.

So I found myself in good groups of between 30 & 100 riders bumbling along at 40kph to the second stop at 90km - two and a half hours, not bad going. The next stop was due in 40km but a late change meant it was closer to 80km, my group of @ 10 were getting weary and I found myself on the front quite a bit.

That stop was more a break from the saddle than desperate food need so I was away well before most of those I’d been riding with thus far. Now we were joined by the riders on the shorter routes and I picked them off all the way to their finish and the last feed. Just 20km to go so I didn’t stop and then I was back, I claimed my golden gurke and grabbed a free shandy!

I checked the time, I’d completed the actual 204km event in six hours thirty, over 30kph by some way!

I start the return journey tomorrow, hopefully you’ll get pics and a better report on Wednesday

Madeline Anafrid