Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by cutifly on August 4, 2009 at 3:50am

Don't do too many high fives.

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Permalink Reply by 8vPete on August 16, 2009 at 11:22am

I've never ridden there or met anyone in the cycling community, but I gotta say that Berlin (and the rest of Germany) is a lot more cycling-friendly than the US. Drivers definitely watch out!

Have fun (if you haven't left yet)!

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Permalink Reply by Brendan on August 16, 2009 at 1:58pm

Try joining couchsurfing.com. I met a bunch of bike friendly folk in Europe that way.

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Permalink Reply by LarryN on August 16, 2009 at 2:08pm

I've ridden around Berlin and other parts of Germany and can attest to the courtesy of drivers there - I've approached intersections and people waited for me to pass before pulling out in front of me while I was initially 20-30 yards away. Drivers there are very careful about the law - but that works both ways, they expect you to follow the law too.

Let me give you an example:

A friend of mine (another American) was riding home in the western part of Germany late one night when he came to an intersection with a red light. There was no traffic so he went through without stopping. He noticed a group of teens standing nearby but paid no attention to them. A couple of streets later a cop came by, stopped him and asked if he rode through a red light. Figuring that the cop must know and there was no point in lying, he said yes he did. The cop realized my friend was a foreigner and let him off with a warning, but told him that had he been German, he would have gotten a ticket. My friend asked -
Just out of curiosity, how did you know I went through the light?
Did you see the group of kids nearby?
Yeah...
They saw you and reported it.

Amazing - some kid reported somebody riding a bike through a red light, and, equally amazing, the police responded.

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Permalink Reply by Maria Boustead on August 16, 2009 at 4:44pm

I lived in Berlin in the late '90s and LOVED biking the city. Pretty much the whole city is bike friendly, but I recall some beautiful paths along the Spree river in particular. Coming from a city like Chicago, it is easy to get lost since there is NO grid, but that's part of the adventure. Anyway, there are fantastic bike maps (Fahrrad Stadtplan) similar to the Chicago Bike Map that rate the safety and pleasantness of the city streets. The organization ADFC publishes them and you can find them in any bookstore. I think they are all in German, but you can probably understand it even if you don't speak German. The tourist centers will help you too. Have fun! I'm jealous.

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