Berlin by Bike: Lessons Never Learned

Peaceful, dog-filled Grünewald -
moments before I realized I was completely lost

After nearly 6 months of sunless days, Berlin is now a completely different city. Sidewalks are buzzing with people, dogs without leashes, stray children, sidewalk cafes, and bikes. People are smiling. Winter coats are put away (or in my case, sent home in March with my mom in a fit of frustration over the length of winter, only to leave me coat-less for the final cold weeks. That trick didn't outsmart Mother Nature, but having a generous tandem partner to lend me an extra coat did.) I am now spending as many hours a day outside as I can. My new May challenge is helping me with this: when my monthly subway pass ran out last week I just didn't get a new one. I'm now biking everyone I can - rain or shine. (Ironically, my challenge coincided with the first rainy week this spring.) The Germans laugh in the face of rain, though - umbrellas be damned! - so I am following suit. Ever wondered how big a head can look when you attempt to pull a hoodie over a bike helmet? I do now. Ever tried to imagine the feeling of sitting on a wet bike seat for the third time in one day? I'll never forget it.

A nice result of this challenge is getting a good amount of exercise, and in my case, a LOT more exercise. Last week I decided to talk a simple route into the edge of the Grünewald forest (which is only a few kilometers from our apartment). This is a route I've been on multiple times with Dominic - he runs, I bike, and I laugh about how much faster I am than him. It's mean. It's fun. It's completely inaccurate.

Well, last week I made it into the forest and decided to stay and enjoy the view for a moment. I sat at the edge of a lake and watched all the dogs splashing about. I saw an artist furiously painting a scene on his easel - oh wait - just painting dogs. This forest, like much of Berlin, is a dog's paradise. They reign supreme and they know it. Playing "dodge the dogs" on a bike is another one of my German accomplishments from the year.

I finished admiring the dogs and decided to head in the direction of home. Easy. Turned around, picked a fork in the road, pedaled away. Interestingly, the path was becoming more and more narrow and filling up quite rapidly with rocks. Soon I stumbled upon a gigantic tipi made out of sticks, and that's when the old "fight or flight" kicked in. I have never pedaled so quickly in my life - over sticks, over stones, on paths, off of paths. I was motivated both by my desire to get out of the forest and by the knowledge that I still don't know how to turn my bike light on. Soon the new sun was going to set. (Dominic, meanwhile, was in the US - probably devouring his third Chipotle burrito and marveling at how big shampoo bottles are in CVS.)

At this point in the story I would have much rather been doing this:

Did I have a map? Sure did - but it was pretty useless inside the forest. I did what any good Girl Scout would do and simply followed the sound of cars. I soon found myself at the edge of a busy street, got my bearings, and determined that in a short hour or so I'd be back in my own living room. Indeed, I was. I'd turned the 40-minute round-trip ride into a nearly 3-hour trek through nature. All this from a girl who previously claimed to prefer nature from behind a glass window.

I am ashamed to admit this happened only one day after I ventured out - for the second time this year, and you may remember the results of the first time - without either rolling my "right" pant leg or using the velcro pant cinchers I bought after the last attack by my bike chain. I'd debuted my favorite pair of spring pants that day, but they only managed to stay pant length for 5 blocks before being devoured quite violently (and with an impressive amount of grease) by my bike. As my sister said, "I see capris in your future".

Speaking of my sisters - Margaret, I should have known you were the one with the Romig/dairy connection. And Kathleen - thanks for convincing me that a bike helmet really is a wise investment - bright blue and all.

There's a lot to see by bike here - from gorgeous Potsdam:

To German bachelor parties, humiliating the groom-to-be: