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Rudi Potlitz on the Bungsberg, 168 meters, the highest mountain in Schleswig-Holstein. private © private
Rudi Potlitz has covered around 4700 kilometers
Hofheim – A normal trekking bike for less than 1000 euros, equipped with one or two saddlebags, depending on the length of the tour – this is how Rudi Potlitz describes his equipment. But what sounds like a leisurely weekend trip was actually a tour of Germany that the man from Hofheim completed in several stages. He has left home a total of thirteen times over the past few years, spending up to 16 days on the road at a time and cycling exactly 4,695 kilometers. He was driven by a very specific goal, because at the age of 60 he had set himself the following project: “With my bike, i.e. completely ‘organic’, to visit all 16 federal states and drive there both to the capitals and to the highest elevations in each case.” Supplemented by the four extreme points of Germany, the centers of the Republic and the EU and the lowest point, this resulted in 39 individual goals.
Unique round trip
Such a round trip by bike is unique so far, he had researched, only parts of it had previously been completed by others. He found inspiration in the book “Zippert Rises”, which describes the ascent of the 16 highest mountains, and when he went into semi-retirement four years ago, he suddenly had a lot of leisure to flesh out his plans. The 64-year-old, who studied business administration, had already traveled a lot during his years at Lufthansa; He worked for the Cargo subsidiary in Beijing and Cairo, among other places, where his wife and two sons – who were still small at the time – were there. “My hobby has always been to discover the world and its mountains. So when I was about to travel to a new country, I always looked at the map first to see if there was a mountain there, preferably the highest in the country,” he says. At home he has a large map of the world with pin markings of mountain climbs inserted.
It started in June 2020 with the one-day “prologue” to Mainz and Wiesbaden. After that, Veitshochheim near Würzburg was the focal point of the EU. The tours and distances became longer, and by the end of August Potlitz had already conquered four summits: “I got lost on the Wasserkuppe and had to push my bike up steep, muddy paths in the pouring rain,” he recalls various difficulties. “And on the descent from the Feldberg in the Black Forest, the paths were rocky, narrow and with cattle gates, so I had to heave the heavily loaded bike over fences.” Some points were not so easy to find, rough terrain or stormy weather often gave him problems, and when climbing the Zugspitze, the bike had to stay down as an exception.
For some trips he had his tent and sleeping bag with him, which he used more often during the Corona restrictions, but gave him both unpleasant nights behind noise protection walls and idyllic stays at the lake. He had to persuade some hotel operators to give him a place to sleep in the dry when there was no room left, but this also led to memorable encounters and conversations: “You will never be able to make such acquaintances in large, luxurious hotels. That’s a great gift!” In any case, many friendly people would have often helped him.
He was particularly pleased that there was no breakdown or even an accident during the almost 5,000 kilometers. He also realized something: “The whole of Germany, from the sea in the north to the edge of the Alps in the south, is littered with beautiful places and landscapes, and I took so many beautiful impressions of nature along the way.” Thanks to the slow movement on the bike, he experienced everything even more intensively.
He is currently hiking a lot, and he will be running an Alpine Club hut at 2800 meters with a friend for two weeks. “I’m already collecting ideas for a new bicycle project – possibly France or cycling around the outer borders of Germany, if necessary I would also head for the almost 50 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Germany,” the Hofheimer keeps everything open.
Hofheim – The appeals of the Eschborn farmers to the landowners have obviously not been of much use. Because they are ready to sell a large area in the east of the city to the line network operator Tennet, who wants to build a substation there. This follows from a statement by Mayor Adnan Shaikh before the city council. But the city thinks nothing of it, mainly because of the land use. According to Shaikh, a lot of agricultural land is already being lost in this area for the construction of the Regionaltangente West. As is well known, the railway from the north of Frankfurt to the south is to be implemented in the next few years, and the city is also positive about it. But she doesn’t want to ask the farmers to give up more land for a substation.
Specifically, it is an area of just over 21 hectares, that is 210,000 square meters or more than 28 football pitches. Farmers calculated a year ago that enough wheat could be grown there to produce 390,000 loaves of bread each year. Over the past 12 months, as global hunger has worsened, such an argument is gaining weight.
The problem is not solved in Eschborn, but the city would like to prevent the substation. It is currently being examined whether Eschborn has a right of first refusal and can exercise it, said Shaikh before the city council. If the opportunity arises, the city will buy the land. The farmers are lucky that the city can afford it, because the purchase price is 18 million euros. No other municipality in the district would be able to do this without further ado.
The company Tennet justifies the project with the increasing power consumption in the region. The network operators assumed that demand in the Rhine-Main region would double by 2050. Optimization and the expansion of existing systems have priority, but this is not enough. Tennet operates five substations in the region, and two are to be added. One near Alzenau, one in Eschborn. The company’s website says that locations in the area are also being checked. However, since the purchase intentions have become more concrete, Eschborn obviously has priority. One of the most important factors when selecting a location is the possible connection to the existing pipeline network. According to current plans, up to five transformers are to be set up, which transform the electricity from 380 kilovolts down to 110 kilovolts. The electricity is also handed over there to the operators of the local grids with lower voltages.
Tennet is one of four companies in Germany that operate high-voltage lines. The Amprion company, which is planning the conflict-ridden Ultranet line through parts of the Main-Taunus district, is well-known in the region. With 6,200 employees, Tennet operates a line network with 25,000 kilometers and 675 substations.
One can assume that such a large company has opportunities to convince landowners. In contrast, the Eschborn farmers, who wrote a circular to the landowners last year, probably don’t carry much weight. Their problem is that they have only leased many areas – and that the landowners would now prefer a handsome sale proceeds to regular, but rather low rental income.
Cyclist sways towards police officers
Hofheim. On the Rheingau Bridge, a radio patrol noticed a cyclist on Sunday night due to his extremely unsafe driving style. The 52-year-old man was on the footpath parallel to the road in the direction of Marxheim at 0.40 a.m., supported himself on the railing of the steep bridge and slowly pulled himself forward. After getting off the bike, the man staggered towards the officers. The 52-year-old smelled strongly of alcohol, so that a test showed a value of almost three per thousand. The accused was taken to the Hofheimer Wache to have a blood sample taken; his bicycle was secured as a precaution and temporarily. red
The window of the restaurant was smashed with a manhole cover
Sulzbach. On Saturday, between 2.17 and 2.23 a.m., unknown persons smashed the window pane of a restaurant “Am Sportplatz” with a manhole cover. Two perpetrators then climbed through the open window into the inn and ransacked cupboards and drawers. The perpetrators then fled undetected. The police estimate the property damage at several thousand euros. Witnesses are asked to contact the police on 0 61 96 / 20 73-0. red
driver with 5 per thousand stopped
Bad Soden. A police patrol noticed a driver on Saturday around 11:15 p.m. on the street “Am Dachsbau” due to her unsafe driving style. The 36-year-old’s breath alcohol test showed a value of 5 per thousand. The woman from Bad Soden was taken to the Eschborn police station to have her blood drawn and her driver’s license was secured. red
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