The worst biking area in Germany presents itself in a truly marvellous and fully furnished way. Pulse accelerators of the distinctive variety everywhere. Jumps. Bridges. Footbridges. Built chest-high, at least.
The whole slope looks like a model track speciality shop. An unbelievable number of Euro pallets are nailed together to form a dense ensemble of ramps designed to prevent any contact with the ground. A mountain bike airfield. Not in the centre of Berlin, but still in Berlin. In the city whose highest point is a walk-on transmission mast with the silhouette of a giant toothpick with a disco ball stuck on top. And which is otherwise as flat as Kate Moss.
"Top of the pops!" says Ralf Hübers. His eyes sparkle. An axe leans against his leg. Hübers is standing in the Müggelberge mountains, in the "green lungs of Berlin", as the wooded area on the edge of the Köpenick district is known. Hübers is standing at the foot of the track in which he has spent years of his free time. He stands with his legs wide apart, like an upside-down V. He stands there and crosses his arms. Proud, a little defiant too. He still can't believe that Berlin is supposed to be the worst mountain biking area in Germany. "This is the envy of downhillers all over Germany," says Hübers, sweeping his gaze over the course and dowelling it in the crowd of people peeling into the plastic armour next to a huge jump monster. An estimated hundred riders are already scurrying around. More downhill-hungry riders come pushing up on high-powered bikes. Some are wearing jeans, some have eccentric haircuts. None of them give the impression of being squeamish about their hobby.
"Hey Ralf, the early bird has lead up its arse!" shouts someone they call "Ben". Hübers waves back in greeting. Hübers knows everyone here and everyone here knows Hübers. He is the chairman of the Downhill Berlin e. V. association, the boss. The association had to be founded after another illegal race was broken up in July 2001 with massive police intervention and the Müggelberge was to be closed to downhillers. Today, the forester is happy about the beautiful, professional jumping landscape, says Ralf. The annual membership fee is 84 euros, half that for children.
I am irritated. According to the cliché, a place like this shouldn't even exist. Berlin is a mountain bike steppe, a wasteland of adventure, a concrete nothingness. At least that's how you could summarise the results of the annual BIKE reader survey, filtered from the statements of 15,000 readers: Zero per cent intention to travel to Berlin. And only a single, measly per cent for the surrounding region of Brandenburg. Otherwise, only Saarland and Hamburg and the surrounding area are ignored in this way. The result raises questions. Can there be places that are so terrible that nobody wants to go there? That offer so little that masses of bikers jam their way to Lake Garda year after year via the motorways, where they then stand in front of the pizzerias after the same old gravel tours, submissively begging for a place? That's what I'm here to find out.
You can read all about the area check and mountain biking in Berlin in the PDF download.
MTB tour Berlin: Wannsee loop
20 km - 1 h 20 min - Difficulty level: medium
The tour starts at the "Loretta am Wannsee" beer garden at Wannsee S-Bahn station. After a short roll-in, the first steep climb soon begins, a former rubble hill with a view over Berlin. After Glienicker Schloss, the centre of the tour, there is a short section through Glienicker Park and then along narrow trails and forest paths past Schäferberg to the Havel. Above the Havel, numerous single trails wind their way through the forest. If you prefer a quieter ride, you can also enjoy a leisurely roll along the water. After a few kilometres, you will reach the Königsstraße again, which leads directly to the starting point of the tour.
