I keep exploring bike routes around Berlin, and this year I went from Berlin → Jüterbog → Wittenberg → Leipzig. I also finally got a new bike — lighter, faster — and I was itching to go on a longer ride and push my boundaries.
I’m usually a big planner, but this time I wasn’t in the mood to organize anything exotic or spend hours preparing. I just picked a well-known and easily downloadable route. Unlike my trip last year to Quedlinburg, this one is famous for its perfectly paved bike paths. One of the biggest highlights is the Flaeming-Skate road — tens of kilometers of smooth paths for skaters and cyclists. About a third of it goes through forest, but even those parts are great — nothing close to rough terrain.
Of course, what’s a bike adventure without some surprises? I didn’t even make it out of Berlin before my rear tire went completely flat. Luckily, a quick look at the map showed a bike shop 15 minutes away, so I decided not to repair the tire myself and instead take advantage of being in a big city. I pumped it a bit with my hand pump (bought an electric one right after the trip 😅) and started walking. A few minutes later on my way, two gentlemen with a car-sized pump stopped and helped me out. Thanks to them — because it turned out the shop was closed. Thankfully, the leak was very light and I was fine with some pumping every 15–20 km.
Day 1: 90 km to Jüterbog. Arrived early and felt surprisingly good. The new bike makes a huge difference — on the old one I’d be dead after 80 km, but this time I was just normally tired. Jüterbog itself is lovely — over 1,000 years old, full of towers and gates.
Day 2: Tougher. 130 km to Leipzig — more than I usually like (I prefer to stop around 100). I always have a rule: don’t push to over-exhaustion, ever (learned that the hard way once). After 40 km, I stopped for lunch in Wittenberg (Lutherstadt) — a beautiful city where Martin Luther started the Reformation.
The route was scenic, the tire was holding up… until I followed the navigator’s “shortcut” suggestion. It saved 5–7 km but took me onto a narrow overgrown path — cool abandoned castle, but not much of a road. With the sketchy tire, that wasn’t fun. Later I realized I’d also skipped my last chance for a direct bus/train to Leipzig. Everything else required long detours or weird transport connections and long waiting times.
I decided to keep cycling but slowed down to save energy, with a “call-a-taxi-if-I-die” plan in mind. Then my power bank died. Three kilometers before the hotel the tire finally gave up and went fully flat again. My muscles betrayed me – I didn't manage to properly re-pump the tire and couldn't even think of repairing it, so I just walked the rest of the way with 1% phone battery left.
When I got to the hotel, there was a vending machine waiting for me — and it had Apfelschorle (apple juice + sparkling water). I opened it, and it fizzed like champagne. Cheers to a good finish — I made it! 🥂
Spent the next day in Leipzig just walking, eating, and resting. No overexhaustion, just muscle tiredness. Took the ICE train home in the evening — two hours later I was back in Berlin.
by According-Glass7827