2011-08-02 53 10

Tue 2 Aug 2011 in 53,10: 53.5473116, 10.5236232 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Cycling in the hot sun

Location

On a field near Elmenhorst. Chances are that there are crops growing on this field, which would make the hash inaccessible.

Participants

Bierhefe will try his luck after work.

Plans

Bierhefe

I plan to cycle to this hash once I'm done working. I will start at S-Bahn Bergedorf and cycle along the B207/B404. Since this is quite a long way (roughly 28km to get to the hash) I am not sure if I can make it. But I will give my best. If I do make it, I might stop at the hash point for 2011-07-26 (would be my first retro hash) on my way to todays hash. Let's see how this will work out!

Expedition

Bierhefe

I did it! More will follow later... ...and "later" is now. Warning, wall of text to follow.

Somehow I have the feeling this expedition was very close to the quintessence of geohashing. I was cursing, I was sweating, more than once I asked myself why the hell I am doing this... and yet I continued and now that I'm back home, I'm happy about what I did today. But let's start at the beginning.

A few weeks ago I bought a new bicycle and I was eager to use it for geohashing, but I had very little spare time and all the hashes where too far away. Today's hash was very far away as well, but since I am on my semester break right now I thought I give it a try. I could always return home if I felt too exhausted to continue.

I started this expedition after work at the S-Bahn Bergedorf where I left my bike earlier this day. At first I bought some food and something to drink. I had some water with me, but it's always better to have some reserves.
I started at around 15:45 (3:45 pm). I forgot to activate track logging on my GPS, so the tracklog actually starts a few hundred meters after I started the expedition. I also forgot to reset the kilometer counter on my speedometer on the first few hundred meters of the expedition (I wanted to get a good estimation of the distance I cycled, so it's a good thing I rememberd resetting it so early...).

Anyway, the way to the hash and the retro hash wasn't very eventful. I tried to keep my speed above 15km/h, which worked out quite well. By the time I reached the retro hash it was around 17:00 (5:00 pm). The retro hash was located on a field, but it had already been harvested, so I figured I couldn't do much damage and went to the hash point.

I then had a short break, I drank the last of the chocolate drink I bought at the start of the expedition. I also had some sort of dialogue with myself whether I should return home now or if I should continue. My legs felt all right, so I decided to go on.

About an hour later I got close to the hash point, after I drove through some very badly maintained roads and through some dirt tracks. I came very close to the hash, all I had to do was to continue on the track I was on right now when some pedestrian came into my way. That guy looked a bit suspicious... he didn't make a good impression on me. Unfortunately he walked on the very exact track I had to use to get to the hash. I didn't want him to watch me while I walked over the field where the hash point was. Well, there was a geocache nearby I wanted to look for, so I went to that first. I didn't find the cache, but I fell almost flat on my face. The terrain was difficult to walk on, especially with the shoes I was wearing. They are quite old and the tread is almost nonexistend. So I just slipped and fell. Luckily I just got a bit dirty but didn't hurt myself.
I was hoping the suspicious looking guy now would be off the track, but he didn't even make it past the side road I had to use to get to the geocache. So, what should I do now? Just waiting here for the guy to pass me? This would look rather suspicious. So I decided to take a short detour, circling around a few fields. This turned out to be a very bad decision. I followed some path I found on my map, but it seemed to be a track that is only used by tractors. It was hard to cycle on it, but it was still possible. I then took a wrong turn, reading the map wrongly. I ended up on a field. Thinking this was the path I had to follow - I didn't see any other path - I continued walking over the field, pushing the bike along. I was starting to curse at the guys who mapped this "path" for Open Street Map. After I reached the end of the field I saw no path I could continue on. I checked my GPS again and realized my error. Cursing some more I went back the way I came to where I entered the field. After some searching around I finally found the "path" I should have continued on. "Dirt track" would be an euphemism for this path. It was hardly wide enough to walk on and I had to take my bike with me... but I didn't want to go back the way I came, so I wouldn't run into that guy I was avoiding. At this point, while pushing my bike through what felt like thickest underwood I was asking myself what on earth I was doing here. Why didn't I simply cycle back on the path I was coming from? And why did someone map this path for OSM? I think it was only about 50 meters I had to go to get back on a path I could cycle on, but it felt like forever.

Anyway, when I got back on the track where I could reach the hash point from "that guy" was gone. So after all, this detour had something good to it. The field the hash point was on had had already been harvested as well, so I once again figured I couldn't do much damage and looked for a way to get on it. I had to go over a small hill and through some bushes, but it was easy enough. Well, once on the field I quickly walked up to the hash point and took some pictures. Too bad I forgot to bring my hashcot with me (second time I forgot to bring it with me :( ).
Once I got back to my bike I drank up the rest of my water, as I was getting really thirsty (summer seems to finally be here!). I then realized the kilometer counter on my speedometer had reset itself, I don't know how this could have happened. Maybe because it went into "stand by" mode and I didn't "wake it up" before I continued cycling after I gave up looking for that geocache. There goes my "good estimation of the distance I cycled", I once again have to relate on the track log of my GPS.

My short pause was interrupted when I noticed someone was approaching. I think it was "that guy" again. I jumped on my bike and drove away, stopping again to continue my break a short while later. At this point my backside started to hurt (it's been a long time since I cycled that for that long). I got off my bike and decided to walk for a bit. This proved also to be good for my legs, since they started to hurt a bit as well. So a short walk was a good way to loosen them up. When I continued cycling I got the feeling Mother Nature was really angry that I made it to todays hash point.

Explanatory snippet start: On the way back I cycled on a different path since it was a few kilometers shorter; I didn't want to go back to where I started (the train station) but back to my home. The path led through the saxony forest - landscape wise it was a much better ride, but I didn't think of all the stuff that flies around in a forest during this time of the year. Explanatory snippet end.

While I was cycling on a very narrow path (which seems to be part of an official cycling trail) something almost flew right into my mouth. Propably a wasp or a bee, because I felt a sting in my upper lip. It hurt like hell at first, but luckily the lip didn't swell. A short while after that another insect nearly flew right into my left eye, it missed only by a few millimeters. I suddendly understood why so many bikers wear glasses while cycling, I have to get me one of those as well. And maybe some sort of surgeon mask; I lost track of how many gnats I got into my mouth, but it must have been an awful lot.
At least I found a geocache on my way back that I had looked up at home. It was right next to the path I cycled on, so I didn't even have to take a detour. I also used this opportunity to take another break. My backside was getting worse all the time, so I had to cycle "standing up" whenever I had the opportunity to do so. I may need a more comfortable saddle, heh.

The way back was getting more and more difficult, since my legs got really tired. Cycling uphill was hell, but rolling downhill was a great relief. I also stopped at a very well known fast food restaurant (it has an "M" in it's name) to get something to drink. Plain water never tasted that great to me! :)

After I got home at 21:00 (9 pm) I was very exhausted, but I also was proud that I made it all the way to the hash and back home on my bike. It was my longest expedition by far and I even could have made it back a bit faster if I hadn't to get off my bike it push it for part of the way because of a sore backside. ^^

Tracklog

Tracklog available on everytrail.

Photos

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  Nice pond on my way to the retro hash.

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  A crane(?) in the pond.

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  First break, time cycled.

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  First break, distance cycled.

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  Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.

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  Me cycling. I think this picture turned out quite well.

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  My bike parked near the hash point.

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  The hash point.

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  Standing on the hash point.

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  Coordinates...

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  reached!

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  My marker, which I didn't leave there. No use planting this on a field...

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  Damn those raptors...!

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  See? We don't need roads!

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  A tribute to the late Peter Alexander?

Achievements

Bierhefe earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (53, 10) geohash on 2011-08-02.

Bierhefe earned the Bicycle geohash achievement by cycling 29.3 km to the (53, 10) geohash on 2011-08-02.

Bierhefe earned the Velociraptor Geohash Achievement by reaching the (53, 10) geohash for 2011-08-02 with highly visible raptor claw marks.

Bierhefe earned the Tough Guy Gratious Ribbon by finishing this expedition despite being attacked by raptors, wasps, gnats and other insects that Mother Nature has to offer. (53, 10) geohash on 2011-08-02.

Geohashing Expeditions and Plans on This Day

Expeditions and Plans

2011-08-02
Atlanta, Georgia	NWoodruff	In the back yard of a house in Kennesaw.
Leipzig, Germany	Manu, Reinhard	Some meters into a field near Brösen, north of Leipzig.
Norwich, United Kingdom	Sourcerer	Close to the confluence of the river Chet and river Yare on the Norfolk Bro...
Sheffield, United Kingdom	Monty	In the grounds of a haulage company on the outskirts of Barnsley, South Yor...
Hamburg (East), Germany	Bierhefe	On a field near Elmenhorst. Chances are that there are crops growing on thi...
Gdańsk, Poland	JRK	My last day on Baltic coast and second virgin graticule during that trip. V...
Malmö, Sweden	Fasanen	On the edge of a barley field, Skönabäck, Skåne Sweden
Rovaniemi, Finland	isopekka	About 13 km to the N from my home, in Vennivaara, near the forest road

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