Das Rad Ist Gut

GERMANY’S CHANGING BICYCLE CULTURE

By Eric J. Herboth

For most casual cyclists the popular visibility of German cycling does not extend far beyond Jan Ullrich’s escapades at Le Tour or perhaps the Hochdorfer girls on their dance bikes. Dig deeper, however, and the rate at which Germans ride will disclose the long history of the bike in their country, a heritage of cycling with distinct icons and elements of tradition that have informed what they do today.

Though race bikes are still a mainstay in the nation’s cycling industry, more and more two-wheel converts are emerging from Germany’s urban centers. On some level one could argue that the surge in urban-oriented cycling, though happening everywhere at once, has in Germany been driven in part by the much-publicized downfall of the T-Mobile professional team. Beyond the disgrace of doping, the curtain call on the country’s pro racing dynasty sent ripples through the lower echelons of the racing circuit and turned off many of the cross-promotional opportunities with sponsors. Mix that with the democratization of media and information, and it isn’t hard to imagine fewer German kids spending July in front of the television watching the Pink Kaisers jockey with the Tour de France elite. Maybe some of those kids are digging up old VHS tapes pornographizing the exploits of mountain bike legend Hans Rey (from Kenzingen, near the country’s Franco-Swiss border) and heading into the woods, but a growing number of others are keeping the dust off their bikes by staying close to home, racing and riding with exploits in and around the cities.

To be sure, the “dismal future” that Cycling News said was gripping Germany about two years ago hasn’t spilled out of the peloton and into the bike lane. Instead, in every city and town around the country bikes are as much a part of the culture as ever. Though they are suffering the same decline as their contemporaries in the US, many mom and pop bike shops still operate in villages with only a few hundred residents, and the country has maintained its momentum as a destination for bicycle tourism.

The news with the health of cycling in Germany is that it really isn’t news. While not quite to the trademark degree of its Northwest neighbors in the Netherlands, the bicycle has always been a relative constant in German society, as much a part of daily life as a part of sport. Like most nations without great landmass, Germans take congestion seriously, but as a nation as under the influence of Americanism as any, over the years Germany has given in to some of the conveniences of sprawl. Around services-oriented cities like Cologne and Frankfurt rush-hour traffic jams turn the Autobahn into gridlock. Hence most commuter trains are packed as well, and though full-size bikes are no