Moving to Dresden: What Type of Riding?

[jerk_chicken]

First, apologies for not posting in German, but my skills are not as good as my vocabulary and my language lessons start next week.

I will be moving to Dresden soon and was wondering what type of riding is available to me and where it might be. I'm into very technical, rocky trails and don't mind long climbs with a payoff at the end of the day.

How are the bike paths along the Elbe and across for leisurely, scenic rides?

Are there good, friendly bike shops in the area?

I'm looking forward to Germany.

 

[martn]

the bike paths along the elbe are crowded and boring, but we have some sweet singletrack pleasure in almost every direction from the city and some gnarly stuff, too.
when will you get here and for how long are you going to stay?

 

[cxfahrer]

Not far away from Dresden is Zittau, for the gnarly stuff:

Foto: proper, rider M.R. & me

There is a great MTB community in Dresden, be sure to have much fun!

 

[jerk_chicken]

Thanks for the input and the PM's. Again, I apologize greatly for not using German here and was one of my reservations about posting over the last year.

I will be staying in Dresden permanently starting in July. I will be in NRW for the next couple months, however. I will definitely check out Winterberg.

The above photo looks perfect. I enjoy trails that offer a bit of everything, from XC to more technical stuff like the above pic. I'm not the greatest, most physically fit rider, but I like trying and if I walk up a climb, no big deal.

The Elbe path would at least offer me a morning leisurely ride to get my days started. Unlike the states, I want to minimize my usage of a car and make my best attempts at getting to the trails on the bike. Don't know if it's possible, but would like to try.

 

[crisillo]

The Elbe path would at least offer me a morning leisurely ride to get my days started. Unlike the states, I want to minimize my usage of a car and make my best attempts at getting to the trails on the bike. Don't know if it's possible, but would like to try.

No worries, JC... I am not familiar with commuting in Dresden in particular.... but in most cities it is fairly doable to "live" without a car......I been have 5 years here..and still haven't got one...and I do love driving...

 

[martn]

yeah, commuting is just fine here. you'll also not need your car to get to the trails (from what i read i think in the states it's quite a usual thing to get to 'trailheads' by car. we live in smaller dimensions here, no need for that. at least not with the plenty local trails...)

here's a picture of one likely popular trail in the dresdner heide:

i think don't have any pictures of the more rocky terrain in the south. gotta take some, when i ride there next time. maybe this week already...

 

[maatik]

yeah, commuting is just fine here. you'll also not need your car to get to the trails (from what i read i think in the states it's quite a usual thing to get to 'trailheads' by car. we live in smaller dimensions here, no need for that. at least not with the plenty local trails...)

here's a picture of one likely popular trail in the dresdner heide:

i think don't have any pictures of the more rocky terrain in the south. gotta take some, when i ride there next time. maybe this week already...

Endlich mal ein Hardtail in der Heide ! Ich dacht ich bin der einzige..
Finally a Hardtail in the Heide ! I thought I'm the only one

 

[martn]

ich kenn ehrlich gesagt kaum fullyfahrer hier...

 

[maatik]

Ich hingegen sehe in der Heide nur Fullys. DH ist zwar was anderes als Heide, aber die Freeride-Fraktion ist schon sehr zahlreich.

 

[cxfahrer]

...of the more rocky terrain in the south. gotta take some, when i ride there next time. maybe this week already...

Martn, lohnt sich das mal für ne Tagestour von L.E. aus? Trails Zittau-like?

 

[martn]

Ich hingegen sehe in der Heide nur Fullys. DH ist zwar was anderes als Heide, aber die Freeride-Fraktion ist schon sehr zahlreich.

die scheinen sich vor mir zu verstecken... dabei würd ich mit denen gerne mal über ihr kickergebuddel schnacken...


cxfahrer: so derbe, wie auf deinem bild oder den harz bildern im eingangrad isses nich, aber die hangwege am tharandter wald sind schon ganz nett. wenn du bock hast... wenn ich zeit habe, stehe ich immer gerne als tourenklaus zur verfügung. und wie gesagt, ich werde mal paar bilder machen, wenn cih mich zum anhalten durchringen kann, ^^

kennst du dich da im zittauer gebirge aus oder warst du mit locals unterwegs? im schönster-singletrail-thread hatte da die tage auch einer ein bild gepostet, was bei mir den muss.da.hin.-reflex ausgelöst hat, ^^

 

[-hr-]

Es gibt schöne Trails im Zittauer Gebirge, allerdings eher Freeride/Enduro freundlich, für DH sind die wenigen guten Trails zu sehr verstreut. Aber ein Wochenendtrip lohnt allemal.

 

[cx-fahrer]

@martn:
Gerne! Muss mal schauen, wer von hier aus mitkommt, Spritkosten teilen und so. Dann können wir uns kurzfristig abstimmen. Mach ne Ansage! Oder wir schieben es auf Juli und nehmen gleich den jerk_chicken mit.

Zittau: wie im Harz hat mich die Truppe aus dem Berlin-Forum mitgenommen, die kennen sich bestens aus. Ich hab versucht, das auf der Karte nachzuvollziehen, konnte es aber nur teilweise. Das Foto ist oben der Grenztrail am Hvozd/Hochwald - die Trails an der Grenze sind alle sehr geil, ansonsten gibt es viele gemeine Steintreppen von den kleinen Aussichtshügeln. Dazwischen leider Forstpistengekurbel ohne Ende.

@jerk_chicken: sorry for writing in german. But we´re still on-topic!

 

[jerk_chicken]

No worries about the German talk. My language lessons are intense and coming well, and this kind of talk could help at some point.

I spent the long weekend in Dresden and acted like a tourist. It's a very nice city and nicer than I imagined. I don't feel like I'll miss anything I had in the states, such as the big city nearby.

The driving around town is a bit odd with the bad roadways and the streetcars, but it's doable. I'm in Blasewitz on a quiet street, so in that regard, having a bad surface keeps the cars out.

I saw many cars with more serious mountain bikes on them, as well as street riders on more serious bikes, but I could not get to them to ask where the riding is. I did a short walk along the Elbe, going into nighttime and was surprised to see so many riders and walkers in total darkness.

Overall, I'm feeling that I'll like Dresden very much. The flaws I see in such things as the roads is charming right now, as it's a reminder of the recent past of the city and what the people went through.

 

[crisillo]

Nice pics, JC!

Willkommen!

 

[rs-sepl]

Another big local (Dresden) mountainbike community you can find on www.cielab.org . There are countinuously collective mtb-tours in and around Dresden. Have a look.
You are going to live in Blasewitz? So, you are very lucky. It is on of the nicest quarters in town. To the "Dresdner Heide" (mentioned above) it is only 10min per bike, but you have to climb 100hm.

sep

 

[jerk_chicken]

Danke, Criss!

I'll check out the local areas perhaps next month. Climbs are no problem. My ability is not good, but I certainly enjoy the challenge. Thanks for the advice, Sep.

As far as where we are, some refer to it as Streisen-West, some as Blasewitz. We are on the edge somewhere and there doesn't seem to be a clear line. According to some maps, we're in Blasewitz, while others label it closer to Striesen. Either way, both are quite nice and quiet and there are some nice backeries and restaurants at within one or two streets.

I definitely look forward to meeting with some riders from the area, hopefully at a time when I can speak German better than I can right now. The language lessons are progressing well enough that my English is getting worse, a sure sign that I'm starting to understand.

PS- Before I forget, any advice on internet providers, as well as telephone and handy providers?

And some shots from back home:

 

[cxfahrer]

Problem with most providers (internet and handy) is a 24 month contract.
I use a prepaid from tchibo, and they DO sell coffee too. Similar cards you can get from any food discounter e.g. ALDI or LIDL. No monthly rate, minute from 9 -15 ct.
Check out www.teltarife.de for more info on internet and handy.

For fun racing in Dresden look at www.erste-mai-brigade.de .

 

[martn]

i was riding the southern trails around tharandt last week. there's not much picture coverage of the tour, as i didn't want to bother the other riders with photostops all the time...

 

[freundblase]

Was habt ihr denn für schöne Strecken??? Leipzig ist langweilig... Ich glaube ich muss auch bald mal in das Land der Ahnungslosen!

 

[rs-sepl]

@ jerk c:
Internet in Striesen could be a big problem if you want DSL. It depends on the street where you are going to live, if there is DSL available or not. I guess you will have no fast internet as DSL when you live in the nice part of Striesen.
But there are alternatives: UMTS via vodaphone & Co., Internet via Powercom (several times fast than ISDN, from the socket), WLAN form DDlan, WLAN from Wimaxx. For more information see http://www.dslfuerdresden.de/ and http://www.dslfuerdresden.de/phpbb/index.php
56k-Modem and ISDN are no problem, of cause.

mfg

sep (from Striesen)

 

[jerk_chicken]

Thanks! Which ones give a good combination of speed, reliability, and price?

I heard the powercom types weren't reliable or fast. Don't know how reliable it is. I tried the DDLAN when my wireless picked it up, but the signal is poor.

Put another way: What do you use?

And you should be close. We'll have to meet up when we're all settled in.

 

[rs-sepl]

Maybe you can get wimax: http://www.maxxonair.de/. It should be the best combination. Or you get Internet from you TV-Provider (antenna cable) like Kabel Deutschland http://www.kabeldeutschland.de/home/index.html. You have to ask your renter.
I use 56kb-Modem at home. But I can get wimax.
In which street you are going to live? And what you are going to do in Dresden?

greets

Sep

 

[MadCyborg]

I'm using ddlan. By now its quite ok, almost like "real" dsl, but earlier (and sometimes today) it was really bad. Maybe UMTS is interesting...some people at www.dslfuerdresden.de are using it, I use it sometimes as "backup connection" on my mobile phone.

 

[gab-star]

Hi all
Alsp pardon my German (working on it...)

I will be moving from Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to Striessen, in Dresden next july (around the 15th) and I would appreciate it to be shown around a bit!

I ride XC, FR, trails...

Hope to see you around
G