Thunder and lightening in the distance. Around me were rolling hills shrouded in mist, and a long, straight, flat road. In Frankfurt was a fair on city planning and mobility. In Darmstadt, I am staying with a bike city planner. A real bike infrastructure day.
My route has changed. Following Mathias’ advice, I headed south straight to Frankfurt and then Darmstadt. All set for tomorrow cycling along the ‘Bergstrasse’, a flat road bordering on hills, from Darmstadt to Heidelberg. I cycled along dirt roads through fields, and along dead straight roads between small towns, always under cloudy, sometimes rainy heavens..
In the central square in Frankfurt, there was a fair on mobility in the city. They had a stand from the German cycling organisation, from the public transport company, and other companies promoting modern city planning. The Dutch cycling infrastructure was taken as a good example of how to do it right. Cycling and public transport are both very important factors for making the cities of the future sustainable.
I am staying with Benjamin – my warm showers host in Darmstadt. A really cool guy who is working on the cycling infrastructure in the region. He is planning and maintaining a cycle path along the ‘Bergstrasse’ from Darmstadt to Heidelberg. We have lots to talk about.. 🙂