On two wheels with a tailwind once across Germany

The couple has already successfully tackled a few larger tours, such as the cycle paths along the Rhine, Elbe, Lahn, Altmühl, Weser or Ahr with several hundred kilometres. And also in everyday life the Wittmanns regularly use the bicycle and leave the car in the parking lot. But 1500 km? The two were not deterred by the length of the route and decided to tackle the tour with electrical support. The couple had cycled the previous bike tours without electric tailwind on their beloved touring bikes. It was therefore clear to both from the beginning that they did not want to simply swap their bikes for some pedelec. They went to a workshop for advice and got a bike with a built-in pendix for a test ride. Wear-free, noiseless and easy to ride even without a battery, they were quickly convinced by the electric drive. A specialist bike dealer in Cologne fitted the Pendix to the wheels without any problems - and off they went.

The Wittmanns from Kempten in the Allgäu region of Germany started with fully packed bags, a lot of good courage, the Pendix retrofit kit, replacement battery and charger. Right on the first day, the route began with a real sporting challenge: On the Iller cycle path towards Ulm, the first 100 km had to be mastered on a partly bad cycle path that had been washed out by previous floods. Afterwards it went smoothly. During the three-week cycle tour, there was only a minor technical breakdown with a broken spoke, which was quickly repaired by a friendly mechanic. The route continued from Ulm along the Danube to Donauwörth. From there the Wittmanns set course for the "Romantic Road". This cycle path connects seamlessly with the lovely Tauber Valley cycle path, which leads through historic towns and villages with an eventful history. From Röttingen, the tour continued on the Gaubahn cycle path to Ochsenfurt am Main. The railway line was no longer needed for the transport of sugar beets in the eighties, so it was closed down and converted into a cycle path. We continued on the Main cycle path to just before Schweinfurt, from there on the Main-Werra cycle path to Meiningen an der Werra. Here too, the cyclists passed through villages and towns worth seeing, such as Münnerstadt and Bad Neustadt. Except for a few gradients, the Wittmanns used the Pendix permanently at Eco level. Due to the geometry of the ladies' bike, only a 300 battery could be installed, but it always provided reliable power for between 80 and 90 km. The men's bike could be equipped with a 500 battery, which still worked on the longest daily stage of the tour of 115 km.

Along the Werra the Wittmanns continued to cycle to its mouth in the beautiful town of Hann. Münden, which is worth a visit because of its medieval town centre. This route led them many kilometres along the former inner-German border to the Weser. They followed it to Achim, shortly before Bremen. From Achim, the couple reached the Mönchsradweg, an old pilgrims' path, which led them past old stone graves and church buildings worth seeing to Wischhafen on the Elbe. There they took the ferry across the Elbe to Glückstadt and further along the eastern bank of the Elbe to the Kiel Canal and finally to Rendsburg. The last two stages the cyclists then rode via Schleswig on the Ochsenweg. The route, also called Heerweg in Denmark, leads in large parts through a varied mixture of unique natural landscapes with wide moorland, meadow and heathland areas and forests. Now the destination was not far away: Flensburg!

The conclusion: a great tour

Arriving at their destination, the couple spent a bike-free day and used the time for sightseeing, but above all for a review of the last eventful weeks. "The tour was great," both agree. "No adulation, we're completely thrilled by Pendix and would love to go on another bike ride right away!"

We would like to thank the Wittmann family for this report and for sending us the pictures. If you have had a similar experience as the Wittmann family with a Pendix bicycle, then we are also happy about your story. Just write us an email to info@pendix.de.