Wednesday, Oct. 3: An auto-free day in Germany
Published: July 19, 2012
There's one day left to jump on your bike and head out to participate in one of Germany’s wonderful auto-free days: Oct. 3: Obrigheim Autofreies Eistal, in the Leiningerland, highway will be closed to traffic between Ebertsheim and Grünstadt northwest of the German Wine Road, 25 km.
If you’ve never taken part in one of the auto-free days, you’re in for a treat. You may find the start or end points of the route choked with the cars of people driving to the event. Trains can also get chockablock with bikes and riders. A possible means to avoid this is to begin at a midpoint along the stretch of highway closed to motorized traffic.
Once under way, expect cyclists, in-line skaters and masses of pedestrians who will be out enjoying the day. Some of these events attract tens of thousands of participants, including families with children, so you’ll need to bring your patience --- these are not, generally speaking, days to achieve great speed or distances.
You can pack a picnic, but there’s no real need, as the roadsides are usually brimming with stands where you can grab a bratwurst or a Radler, that beer-and-lemonade mix perfect for quenching a sport-induced thirst.
