Offenbach – The call comes at just the right time for Jürgen Bamberger. “I’m happy that I can take off my mask,” says the owner of the Artefact bike shop in Offenbach, who despite the Corona crisis cannot complain about too little work.
BY CHRISTIAN DÜNCHER
On the contrary: “The interest is huge. People are thinking that there is a lot you can do by bike. “Especially since these days many try to avoid public transport, which is often difficult to keep clear of.
“The motto is: Get out of the bus, get on your bike. Of course that’s good for us, ”admits Bamberger. While he had offered his workshop service throughout (“There were no dropouts there”), the store had to be closed in the meantime. But there has also returned to normal there.
However, the first week was “exhausting” because everyone had to get used to the new events. When advising a customer, the prescribed distance is usually “difficult to maintain”. So improvisation is the order of the day. And wearing a face mask for a long time is also anything but pleasant.
Bamberger does not want to complain. “It is gratifying that people are also thinking about retail. We recently had customers from Heusenstamm and Fechenheim among others. And in order not to have any problems due to the international supply chains, we ordered inexpensive bicycles from wholesalers at an early stage, ”he reports. A decent bike is already available for the price of three public transport monthly tickets. Switching from bus and train to bicycle quickly pays off. More and more people notice that. “There is a lot of cycling going on right now. You can tell that from the response in our shop, but also from the cityscape. Even heavy boys are now getting on their bikes. ”
Bamberger does not only have positive things to say. Cycling was forced by the Corona crisis to “brake hard”. The district of Main-Spessart-Rhön, chaired by Offenbach, is no exception. “We wanted racers from different clubs to compete in a race in Alsace. The jersey was already designed, the press should be informed, ”says the son of the cyclist Heinz Blümmel, who is known in Offenbach. But Covid-19 destroyed everything. Especially since Alsace is one of the hotspots of the pandemic. “The plans went back into the drawer, which is a shame,” says Bamberger.
In this country too, some cycling events have already fallen victim to the Corona crisis, including the classic Eschborn-Frankfurt, which was actually planned for May 1. It is also extremely questionable whether the sixth edition of “Rad, Wein und Gesang” can take place in Offenbach (June 31 / August 1). “For me as an organizer, this is not something that can be done under these circumstances,” says Bamberger. The trend is therefore clearly towards cancellation.
Especially since “almost 1000 people” came to the event and it was on the edge of what would be a prohibited major event today. “You could dissolve the central square by serving red wine at one point and white wine at another. However, as an organizer, I would feel very bad about it. ”It would then be difficult to control the number of people. Postponing to a later date is also not an alternative. “I’m afraid that everything will come to a head, especially the big, commercial events,” explains Bamberger.
But the athletes are also suffering from the consequences of the Corona crisis: “They don’t know where and what to train for.” Nevertheless, Bamberger sees the current situation as a “small chance”, as he emphasizes. “I always ride a bike. You are mostly independent of a sports facility and it takes place outdoors ”, he lists the advantages. “In this respect, we should be one of the first sports to be allowed to take place again.” An exception to this is probably the cycling ball players and the artificial cyclists, because each of them is an indoor sport. Bamberger still sees a training ban as a “joke because you are alone or in pairs in the hall. That should be relaxed. “
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