Leisure cyclists in/near Stuttgart

I like cycling, although I'm a bit of a "fair weather cyclist" when it comes to long distances. My previous contract was in London, around 5 miles from where I lived. I commuted every day by bike. Here in Stuttgart I live quite centrally and work near Hulb, around 20 miles away. As the first part of the commute involves a steap climb up to Vaihingen from Feuersee, it's not a commute I do often; plus a 40 mile round trip takes quite a while. I do it around once a week (using the SBahn the other days).

I notice that if I cycle in the opposite direction it's a lovely cycle through the Schlossgarten and then I usually stop at Faulkland or Beta supermarkets, go shopping, then cycle home to cook. Of course, it would be nice, having got to the Nekar, to keep cycling.

Does anyone else have a bike and fancy spending a Saturday or Sunday (or even one evening) cycling around and exploring?

Just as soon as I find a bike, I might like to join you for your outbound commute. I also live in Stuttgart (Mitte area) and work in Sindelfingen... I used to commute by bike at home daily, and driving every day here is killing me! What route do you take up the hill? That's the part that scares me!

I start from near Feuersee and climb up some nasty hill (one part so steep I get off and walk, but I'm going to find a longer, shallower "bypass" for that if I can) then through the forest to the University. Then on road for a bit through Vaihingen which is a long but not too steep uphill, then through the forest on anold "tank track" coming out near Goldberg. There, I cycle to Boeblingen and finally Hulb.

I've got decent cycle maps so we can sit down and work something out. Might be worth trying out a route to the University at the weekend when there's no time pressure so it doesn't matter if we get lost ;) Then grab a beer before coasting downhill at 45kmh back to Feuersee ;)

It's a long commute for me - 20 miles each way - so usually I take the SBahn. I might try cycling tomorrow; was going to try today but it's too hot. Any excuse.

Oooh I want to come cycling too! But the bike I had my eye on has been snapped up Know any good cheap bike shops?

Nope, they all seem pretty expensive to me. I think the best place to get a cheapish one is a non-bike shop. Real sell them (but the only Real I know is near Hulb Sbahn) as does one of the department stores on Koenigstrasse. Maybe Kaufland (Bad Cannstatt) does, too.

oh bummer. well theres a second hand shop just off bebelstr. and they had some okay ones from €40 but theyve all been sold now When I get one, I am definitely up for bike riding exploration

I'm not sure if a €40 bike is safe to ride; aong as we cycle where there's always an SBahn within half an hour's walking distance then it should be fine. You could always take the SBahn back if the bike breaks ;)

ha ha, yeah I guess the trusty Sbahn is always on side for such problems... I once cycled 160km on a sperrmull bike and both the bike and I survived to tell te tale My mission today is to track a bike down and get out on it into the sun! It has to be done.

Right. Hurry up then! Buy your bike, call me, let's see robots, drink beer or coffee, then see if your bike falls apart ;)

Anyone else is welcome to join us for the robot and drinking stuff. If you have a bike, today's a great cycling day - warm, not too hot, not too humid.

Just to update this on behalf of Amy ... she bought a second-hand bike for €45 and it was properly checked over. Although not as snazzy looking as one costing many times as much, it was well put together and the gears and brakes all worked properly (the main tests in my opinion). We cycled from downtown Stuttgart to Bad Cannstatt, a lovely, short flat ride through the Schlossgarten. Well recommended for someone just wanting a quick spin, or to kid themselves that they've burn off enough calories for a bratwust and half a litre of heffe. Works for me.

It's even good fun in the rain - dress light (just let your clothes get wet) and wear sunglasses or something to stop the raindrops hitting your eyes.

Hi,

I would be up for a bit of leisure cycling. I currently work here 2weeks at a time and 2weeks in the UK(Chester). I am living up near Marion Platz and usually take the tram up to the top of hill and cycle around the woods up there it pretty nice up there some good trails.

I'm working for HP for my sins

Vern

I'm working for HP too. Am I a sinner? ;) In an office near Hulb.

I took that tram on Saturday from Marienplatz (I don't live far away) up to Degerloch with my bike on the front. However, I have a standard trekking bike, currently with 28mm slicks, so it's not good for blatting down forest trails. I'm about to order some new tyres (and brake pads - the front ones are worn totally through so I can only use the back one - another reason for not going fast downhill!) which will sort me out.

Oh, and I cycled to Hulb yesterday (and back, obviously). I found a route avoiding Heisenbergsteige (leading to Blauer Weg) which is too steep for me, so I used to walk up most of it. I now stay on Reinsburgstr. which goes into Rotenwaldstr. before cutting off through the forest to the University/Vaihingen. Of course, the climb is the same, but as my new route/road takes much longer to get there I can manage it without getting off and walking.

Then there's another annoying long but not to steep climb in Vaihingen (or is it Rohr?) along Waldburgstr. befoer hitting the forest again.

Yesterday's trip was 25km there (taking 1 hour 20 minutes) and 22km back (taking 55 minutes - I zoom down Boeblingerstr. from Vaihingen). I got to 55km/h coming back home down Waldburgstr. and no doubt faster down Boeblingerstr but I was too scared to look down at the computer and take my eyes off the road ;)

R U in B32?

I thought about cycling to work but it seems bit far and I quite enjoy the train journey. Nice walk to in the morning to get my breakfast roll and coffee then jump on the train Some may say lazy I call it relaxed.

Dunno - can't remember. I walk from Hulb along the tracks, over a motorway, through some turnstiles, then am in the second building on the left. It *is* a long ride from central Stuttgart, and the S1 is comfortable enough.

Oh, and I'm glad you typed "R U" as I read somewhere that the internet was nearly full ;)

Sounds like Building 6 the one with the philips canteen.

You should know the IT people like use abbreviations.

I also work with SAP was BC+Many Modules Consultant now SAP TECH PM. More abbreviations

AH? Cust TetraPak ?

I'm sure it's called M32 or someting like that - starts with an M. There's no canteen in this building although there is a stand-alone one in the complex. I think you're on the other side of Schickardstrasse to me; you're slightly nearer the SBahn station. That will shave at least 30 seconds off your cycle commute, so go for it ;)

Oh, just seen the bottom of your post. If AH is meant to be my initials, then yes. You know who I am. Is this building 6??

I thought it was building 6 from the address book loc. SUO06. Thought thats what it mean't. That the canteen well known for its crappy food. The other one is much better but a little pricey.

I'd love to find someone to ride around with on the weekend. I live in Vaihingen and I ride my bike to work in Boeblingen everyday during the week. On the weekend (usually Saturdays), I try to get out and ride anywhere from 20 to 30+ miles. I regularly ride to/from Boeblingen, Sindelfingen, Leonberg, Moehringen, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Bernhausen, Plieningen, Degerloch, Ostfildern, Musberg, Gerlingen, and Downtown Stuttgart from my house in Vaihingen. If anyone would like to join me one weekend or if anyone is looking for someone to join them on a leisurely weekend ride, send me a PM.

Sounds good! I'm busy this weekend but maybe the next one we could cycle somewhere. I'd like to cycle to the Schloss Solitude one day. Easy for you, as you're already in Vaihingen, where as I have to do the steep-hill-to-get-out-of-Stuttgart thing first ;)

I've not heard of many of the places in your list. Are they worth visiting themselves, or is it the cycle route to get there which is the fun part?

Adrian, the commute sounds great. And by great, I mean long and uphill. But still worth doing. I work for Mercedes, mostly at MTC in Sindelfingen (the big plant there) but also occasionally at our R&D office in Hulb right next to the S-Bahn. It sounds like you walk right by it on your way to HP. I'm really regretting not boxing my commuter bike and flying it out here - bikes are SO expensive! Still looking for a good option, and will join you as soon as I'm up and running with two wheels!

Schloss Solitude is less that 5 miles from my house. Let me know when you want to take a trip there. I can meet you at Marion Platz and we can hike up the hill together. A lot of the other places I bike are just small towns I bike through to get exercise. The actual ride is the highlight of most of my trips, but each town has it's own individual qualities. I don't know if you know about the VVS Bike Route Planner web site, but it is an excellent tool to plan a run/bike ride. http://efa.vvs.de/bike/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en

Solomon - thanks for the URL. I found that a few weeks ago but gave up trying to print out all the tiny maps, so bought a proper one ;) You're willing to coast it down to marionplatz just to cycle up the hill again with me? Wow, you're one serious cyclist! Or just very friendly. Or both ;) It's a deal. One weekend very soon - probably the one after this coming one if we both have some free time. Or even one evening I guess.

PilotChris - bikes are quite expensive here for decent ones, but then they are pretty good bikes. Amy (on this thread) bought a second hand one for under 50 euro and it's fine for short trips, probably even more.

I brought my bike with me from London - didn't box it, just strolled (after being shouted at for riding it!) with it into Heathrow T5 and gave it to BA who, free of charge, delivered it unharmed to Stuttgart. I removed the pedals and turned the handlebars through 90 degrees.

And yes, I walk past your Hulb site, with envy, as continue walking for another 5-10 minutes along a boring path. I look forward to the cycling commute company!

adrian, riding from Downtown Stuttgart to Schloss Solitude and back the weekend after this one sounds like a plan to me. We can work out the details in PM's. If anyone else is like to ride from Downtown to Schloss Solitude the weekend of the 19th, please let me know.

As the 19th is when we have our company BBQ, I've asked Solomon to change it to Sunday 20th and he's agreed.

As he'll have a child in a trailer he didn't want to cycle up from the centre of town (don't blame him!) so I'll cycle up to Vaihingen and we'll meet there.

Everyone is welcome to join us! Come on all you people with bikes. If you don't fancy riding up hills, then just stick your bike (along with yourself, obviously) on the S-Bahn and let that carry you up to Vaihingen. Then it's a short, scenic (I think) ride from there to the castle. Coming back into town, it's nearly all down hill, so you can skip the S-Bahn and just coast (with good brakes!) back to central Stuttgart.

This happening on the 20th, as long as the weather's good.

Current plan is I'm meeting Solomon in Vaihingen at 11am. I'll probably need to leave my flat near Feuersee at 10:15 to guarantee that.

Anyone interested??

adrian and I had a great ride from Vaihingen to Schloss Solitude and back to downtown via Wolfbusch and Feuerbach. The weather ended up being nice, although I'm afraid that I may have slowed him down a bit on the way to the castle. After we parted ways I had a nice little nap on the Schloss Platz lawn in preparation of my climb back to Vaihingen. I was completely spent by the time I made it up the hill and finally back home (but I was able to resist the temptation of hopping on the train). Hopefully we can get more people to join us on future trips.