Bringing a road bike to Munich

Hi! This is an incredible forum!

It looks like I will probably be in Munich (Oberhaching) for two weekends (June 10-11 and 17-18). I am considering boxing up my LeMond Sarthe in an IronCase, and dragging it on the airplane.

Will irate Germans/visiting French throw day-old brochen at me if I ride a LeMond bike?

From my recent forum lurking, it sounds like I might want a bell, and possibly a small light. Is there anything else I should be aware of? Other than watching out for cars/people/dogs/bikers/airplanes on the bike paths, of course.

Assuming that the whole bike thing is a reasonable plan, what are some good rides in the area? I'm hoping for 100-150km rides on the weekend, with some moderate climbing (6% grades or so). I average about 25km/hr on longer rides.

It looks like there are some good ideas here: Cycling - road riding 2006. I need a Geography lesson!

Also, I'm used to wearing my Camelbak on longer training rides (for water). I typically ride out in the boonies (in Colorado) where water is scarce. Are there typically plenty of water stops in southern Germany?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I don't drink myself, but I could be persuaded to donate a beer to a good cause.

- Matt

Hi - LeMond bikes are available to buy here, so I wouldn't worry about being attacked just because of your bike (you see quite a few Trek bikes out as well).

If you want mountains, best bet is usually to take a train south in the morning (plenty of opportunities - either towards the Allgäu, down to Lenggries, Tegernsee, Schliersee, Bayrischzell or Kufstein) then there are plenty of possibilities. If you search in some of the older road cycling threads there are some route suggestions.

Next weekend, you might even be lucky with the weather and not encounter snow in the mountains. Keep an eye out on the forum and someone might post a tour suggestion for either Saturday or Sunday. With the Wochendticket/Bayernticket from DB or BOB it's quite cheap as a group to go on the train.

Where in Colorado are you from?

Markus

Sorry - forgot to say - you can always buy water at petrol stations or then there are plenty of restaurants/cafes which might sell you water.

And forget about the bell (technically you need one)- better to shout "Achtung" at pedestrians when they are in the way. Sometimes works wonders.

There are numerous regulations about lights and reflectors according to the Strassenverkehrszulassungsordnung - important thing is that on a road bike with less than 11kg weight, you need to carry lights with you so you can attach them to your bike when needed.

Although the Bavarian police usually don't have enough to do, they appear to be very reasonable. I have never been stopped because my racing bike doesn't have all the necessary reflectors.
Just don't use your mobile phone on the bike - that'll cost you 20 €.

Also - they'll be far to busy with the wretched world cup anyhow.

I don't know how your German is, but there is a link to all of the legal info for cyclists here:

http://www.rad-net.de/modules.php?name=htm...stvo.htm&mid=80

Bron

Hiya

Maybe one or two things about traffic;

Be aware of the rules here - lots of Germans love to play policeman. You need to be aware about bike lanes here, even with a road bike. I got told by the police on a Sunday morning at 8am riding down a deserted main road to ride on the bike lane (mandatory bike lanes are marked with a blue sign with a white bicycle on it). There is a bike lane most of the way to Unterschliessheim (North of Munich) and motorists go nuts if you ride in the road (come up behind hooting, roll down their windows as they go by and shout at you). The road down to Starnberg is exactly the same width, speed limit etc. but has no bike lane, so motorists don't bother you. Go figure .

In the city (and small towns) note that in the absence of a sign (yield, right of way or stop sign) where two roads cross, it is right before left, including cyclists (i.e. cars on your left will stop for you and you need to stop for cars approaching from the right).

Cheers
B

Marcus, thanks for the info! I live in Colorado Springs.

Bron, thanks for the link. My German is limited to bitte und danke, but I'll see what Babbelfish can do.

Bugs, thanks for the warning. Maybe I should read about German cycling regulations on the plane.

I'll keep an eye on the forum for weekend rides.

Thanks!

- Matt

Hmm. I thought I made the topic "Bring a road bike to Munich?", but now it's called "Bringing a road bike to Munich." And the subtitle is different, too.

It that a grammar correction, or a subtle hint?

If you hit any problems with customs or transportation you are welcome to borrow my race bike whilst you are here:

One more point - did you check with the airlines to see how much it will cost you to bring it? I have a friend who did and they wanted to charge him $150 to bring his - although, when I smuggled mine over to Germany, the airline let us bring it on with no extra charge (we were Delta Silver or something at the time, so maybe that was it).

Also, a rant about the bike path in Unterschleissheim - There is absolutely no reason you should be riding your road bike, mountain bike, tricycle, tandem or what-have-you on the road between Feldmoching and Oberschleissheim when there is a beautiful bike path next to the road. The reason they make those things is so people can ride and DRIVE safely. I am a road cyclist/mountain biker myself and always try to ride on the path, if possible. It's just safer. Plus, it's more considerate. There's always some dumb-ass going exactly the 70kph speed limit and people want to get around him anyway - now he's driving behind some 30kph road cyclist and afraid to pass him lest he get a ticket for crossing the solid painted line!

So, ride on the bike path if you can.

The babelfish translation of the webpage Bron recommended is _interesting_, if not to say incomprehensible.

Don't worry too much about it - in the countryside it isn't really a problem, as long as your bike is safe. A lot of the police force do sports as well, and therefore are sympathetic (of course, you always get a complete idiot somewhere). You can always try to claim ignorance and not understand what the police are saying (since it is unlikely that they'll speak English), and in the worst case, the fine won't be more than 10 or maximum 20 € (except if you are cycling very drunk which could set you back well over 1000 € - but from what you write that is not an issue).
Especially south of Munich, you should carry your passport with you - the Austrian border is close, and although usually there are no checks at all, due to the football, there might actually be some the weekends you mention.

In town, I recommend to stay on marked cycle paths, also for your own safety.

You see lots of people out on roadbikes and I have never seen anyone have all the required reflectors on them.

There are lots of regulations on paper, but where it counts, most of the time its down to common sense.

to kitkat64's reply: that is definitely correct, in most cases the cycle paths are paved and wide and worth using. It is, however, a pain when they are combined cycle/pedestrian paths, which technically cyclists are REQUIRED to use, but where pedestrians have right of way in all cases. In that case: use common sense.

I've started a Toytown-wiki page on rules of the road in English as it seems to be something lots of people want to know. So far it has all of the regulations for the reflectors etc. that you are meant to have on your bike. I never realised before just how many rules there really were.

If anyone wants to add anything to it, then please do.

I have to admit to having a grand total of zero relectors or lights on my racing bike. Ahem, maybe I should do something about that.

Bron

you're not alone Bron. My bike isn't up to regulations

Matt, can you not go two weekends without riding? Do you not want to see Munich? If you go on 100-150km rides, then you won't be in Munich anyway. What is with the 12th- 16th? If you are flying over twice, then the jetlag will kill you.

Sorry, I phrased that poorly. I'll most likely be in Munich for two whole weeks. However, during the week I will be working during daylight hours. OK, I could probably ride for an hour or so on some mornings.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

- Matt

A suggestion for Saturday (weather forecast looks good, for once):

Take the 7:42 train from Hauptbahnhof to arrive in Kufstein at 9:03 (change in Rosenheim). Cycle from there up through the Thierseetal over the Ursprungpass toward Bayrischzell (with possible excursion to Ackernalpe). From Bayrischzell either via Sudelfeldpass back down into the Inntal and then into the Chiemgau, or up to Spitzingsee and from there via Valepp, Wechsel, Tegernsee, Sylvensteinsee, Jachenau to Lenggries (can be shortened at many points).

Attached altitude profile is the "worst case" scenario.

Any takers?

ok, I'll give it a go. You said something about being able to shorten the route if necessary...

@markus, I'm not staying at home while you go and have fun on your bike.

Bron

@kitkat64

Agreed - it is a really decent bike path and I ride it quite often. I happened to not ride on it when I had first arrived here and didn't know better. The point is that if there is a bike path, even when it is next to a country road, it is better to ride on it than on the road.

Motorists having a go at you is a usually good indication that you are doing something wrong

I have to say, when there is a bike path next to a road such as this one (narrow), I am more than slightly annoyed when a road cyclist chooses to ride on the road and I AM a road cyclist.

I don't know why I posted that, just had to get it off my chest!

by the way -- I should add that the ride I suggested on Saturday is not going to be a "cappucino ride" - I think it would fall under what was called on this forum a few weeks ago a "brisk 160km with a few hills"

@Kitkat, thanks a lot for the suggestion. It looks like I'll be flying Delta, and according to their "Excess Baggage" policy (here), anything over 80 linear inches (length + width + height) is not permitted. Other airlines, such as United and Air Canada allow up to 115 linear inches.

Well, all of the bike cases that I'm looking at are 90 or 100 linear inches. Doh! Even if I found a small enough case, it would cost $100 each way with Delta.

I'm still tempted to just show up at the airport with a big bike case, and see what happens. The worst that could happen at Colorado Springs is that I have to wheel the case back out to my car. However, even if I manage to smuggle my bike onto the plane to Munich, I still might have problems on the return flight. I don't really want to leave my bike in Munich for an extended stay! Particularly since I am doing the Bicycle Tour of Colorado at the end of June.

@markus - wow, "a brisk 160km ride with a few hills" sounds like a blast. Unfortunately, I won't be in Munich this Saturday. Last minute travel changes - par for the course. I'll be thinking of brisk bike rides on the plane.

Hi, I'm new in Munich, a keen road biker and want to get some good Alpine/scenic riding in before the weather turns nasty. I´m out here for six months - are there any riding groups in Munich? Any suggested routes?

Cheers,
Alex

There are some bike clubs in Munich which organise rides and time trials, such as this one:
http://www.rrc1902muenchen.de/
they have links to other Munich cycling clubs on their website.

Alternatively keep an eye out here for anyone going on a ride, or post your own suggestion with when you want to go, how far and approx. how fast.

There are details of past rides that people have done here:
Cycling - road riding 2006

I hope this is of some help
Bron

thanks a lot, thats really useful!