INTROWe recently met Sebastian König, a creative mind behind the Cycle.hausen project from Görlitz, and he showed us a beautiful place near his home in Görlitz - the Königshainer Berge.Do you know this area?If you haven't been here yet, you should definitely explore the beautifully wooded region with the striking granite rocks and vantage points of Upper Lusatia - preferably with a veloheld.iconX gravel bike and Sebastian's expertise, of course.
Dear Sebastian, how did you discover your love of cycling culture? I think that started with my green 12-inch Puky.
The freedom and curiosity to discover new places have always been there.
Only the radius has changed.
My time as a bike courier and long bike trips shaped my understanding of bike culture.
Perhaps I should also mention that my stepfather had a small store for MTBs in the basement in the 90s.
Just like at home today, the bikes were kept in the cellar, hallway and living room. Why should you definitely come to Germany’s easternmost region to cycle? Phew, where do I start?
Firstly, there is the versatility of this region, which you can experience within a fairly small radius.
Topographically and scenically, it offers almost everything.
Secondly, with Poland (PL) and the Czech Republic (CZ), we have two charming and exciting neighboring countries to discover.
You can put them together as you like in a small experimental kit, and there is always a pinch more adventure than in other regions. You organized the perfect veloheld Gravel Spartakiade for us.
Do you actually do this for a living? Thank you very much, it was a great pleasure for us.
It’s nice that the Spartakiade went to Görlitz this year.
Perhaps this also supports my previous answer.
Yes, my wife and I decided a little over a year ago with our Circle&Round office and became self-employed.
With our Cycle.hausen project we want to unite as many facets of modern touring, bikepacking and cycling culture in general under one roof, or in our case Cycle.hausen, a small town in the cycling cosmos.
On the one hand, this means organizing our own events or those of others and doing so in a regional context wherever possible.
However, we also aim to anchor cycling culture with all its possibilities here in rural areas and to highlight opportunities.
This should also result in products “made in Oberlausitz”.
This region needs more (especially internally) colorful cyclists. With all this work, do you still get to cycle just for yourself? That’s a good question and something that’s actually really bothering me at the moment.
It’s definitely a new experience to have to ride a bike and balance it with family, timelines and the weather.
It’s also less romantic at times.
But there are actually moments on every tour and every scouting trip that you can enjoy, and that is also immensely important for the track and for me.
Apart from that, I really enjoy the haphazard laps with the kids.
We would like to thank Sebastian for this wonderful day in the Königshain mountains and we will certainly see you again soon at an event organized by him!
