Location
Right beside the A9 freeway, near an interesting colourful spot on my map that's called "Rote-Pfützen-Sumpf" (red puddle swamp) and also near the former cycle race course of Wismut Gera.
Participants
- Juja, Benjy and Frankie Mouse
Retro Expedition on 2012-03-24
Because it would have been far too easy to cycle not even 10 kms to the hash point of 2012-03-24_50_11 on a free day with lovely weather, I started the tour visiting three retro hashes I had missed before, this one being the second after Bad Klosterlausnitz.
I reached the east side of the swamp first - there's a nice overlook you could use for watching swamp flowers and birds if you are clever enough to bring a spyglass. I just had a short break and then cycled on on the little footpath that seemed like it would go round the whole swamp. I loved it first, it was grassy and sunny, but after a while it got worse, there were some trees lying directly on the way and the way itself got more and more muddy and bumpy and almost impossible to cycle on. Finally, the A9 freeway was in the way (from the other side I saw a there was tunnel, but I couldn't find it then) and so I had to go some way back and take the detour to a cycle bridge.
After I did that I reached the west side of the swamp, parked my bike somewhere in the wood nearby and... sank in. You know why it's called a swamp? Because it's swampy, that's why. My feet got wet through the shoes right away but I didn't care and walked on until I had reached the point (the footpath, if there was any, was completely invisible now, and I am quite imaginative already!). Ok, back to the bike, stumbling and getting wet feet again, and in the great condition after that walk I directly entered what OSM calls "Trainingsstrecke Radrennen von ehemalig WISMUT-Gera" (former cycle race training course of WISMUT Gera). The unnatural square shape on the map led me to thinking the race course would be unnaturally flat, too, but it wasn't - there's quite some nasty little ascent there in the top left (ok, north-west) corner going counterclockwise. And it's a little strange to have asphalt and street lamps in the forest... all a little bit rotten... but hey, the spirit of the past!
On to the next...
Photos
| Nice cycleway around the swamp...
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| ...with some little obstactles.
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| Swamp and freeway near the point.
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| You know why it's called swamp? Because it's wet everywhere.
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| Old racecourse, barely visible.
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