Photo gallery
Lisa and her sleek bike from France
Photos (C) Caroline Schwarz
Nowhere does the density of bicycles seem to be greater than in front of universities. We picked four students and asked them about their little, personal bicycle stories.
DIAMOND TOURING BIKE
CLAUDIA
Cultural studies
A fire in her apartment building three years ago brought Claudia and her bike together. 'Clear out everything - from the basement to the attic' was the landlord's announcement at the time. And there it was, leaning between scrap and clutter: an old Diamant touring bike made in GDR, abandoned, stripped down to the frame, no handlebars, no saddle, no wheels. “I still somehow saw beauty in it,” says Claudia. So she grabbed the metal skeleton, moved it to a self-help bicycle workshop in Berlin and rebuilt it with a friend. Today the two of them actually always travel as a duo. On the way to university, the library or to visit friends. A day without it - there must be storms and snow.
For Claudia, cycling is much more than just getting around between A and B. It is a way to leave the microcosm of your own neighborhood, to feel part of the city and to see more of it than what lies between your apartment and the university flies past behind the glass window of the S-Bahn carriage. Sometimes she just drives around without a destination. Or deliberately takes detours on familiar routes. A nice café, a cool record store or a second-hand shop – such discoveries are often only made from the saddle's perspective.
Claudia is currently writing her master's thesis on the subject of flamenco culture. Cycling also helps a lot with this. To clear your head. Headphones on, Paco de Lucía – the grand master of the flamenco guitar – put on the music and set off. When Claudia goes to Seville to do research in the fall, she will probably hardly use public transport there either. »I studied there for a year. I bought a bike three days after I arrived.” It’s now waiting for her at her former roommate’s house.
PEUGEOT RACING BIKE
LISA
Rehabilitation education
Well, Lisa hasn't really warmed up to her new racing bike yet. The loss of his predecessor still hurts too much. Parked it at the S-Bahn station, connected it - the next morning it was gone. In situations like this you find the big city somehow annoying.
When Lisa talks about it, it sounds a bit like a good friend had emigrated to another country. She and the bike – painted light blue and decorated with angel stickers – had been a team for twelve years. Countless memories. Long bike tours or the daily way to school through the Brandenburg province. “Actually, it had no value at all and didn’t even have a gear,” says Lisa. Personal value is often only recognized afterwards. And so she still rummages through the lost property offices to this day.
The new bike is also a real vintage gem: a Peugeot men's racing bike, probably from the 60s, imported from France and bought via eBay classifieds. Lisa's first bike, which she bought 'in one piece'. Before that, all bikes were home-made, with old frames from scrap or flea markets.
She drives longer distances at least five times a week. To university, to an internship, to a part-time job. Enough time for new memories. And maybe the beginning of a new love.
FREESTYLE BMX
TORBEN
Biotechnology with a focus on brewing
Aunt Dieter is tough. Manual on curb (drive the rear wheel over an edge), tabletop (lay the bike flat on its side during flight) or 180°/One-Eighty (180 degree rotation in the air around its own axis). And after every jump and trick: the hard landing.
Aunt Dieter – that’s what Torben calls his BMX bike. It is now his fourth; He has been freestyling with him for six years.
However, the whole thing started much earlier. At 14, when his friend came around the corner with such a cool thing. Instantly hooked, he had to have one too. “I threw away all the Jugendweihe money on BMX back then,” he remembers. For longer distances, Torben can choose from a whole fleet of bicycles. Depending on your life situation. If you go to the bar in the evening - then folding bike. “You sit on it and immediately have a smile on your face,” says Torben. If you go to university – then mountain bike. He avoids buses and trains. The involuntary 'cuddling' is not his thing. But the feeling he always feels when cycling: the end of the day begins synchronously with the first turn of the pedal. »You come out of university, get on your bike and immediately feel like you're on holiday. You can strip it all away – and just have fun.«
FELT MOUNTAIN BIKE
PHILIP
Economics
Philipp arrives at the photo shoot somewhat damaged. He had a bad fall the evening before. Man and bike – sometimes it hurts. “I like to race down stairs or a hill every now and then,” says Philipp. That's why he likes his bike: because it can take a lot. The bike has been Philipp's vehicle since the first semester. At the time sponsored by Mom, as a gift to start your studies.
Ok, so he usually prefers to take the train for the long journey to university. But there is still a lot of cycling: to his two jobs, to friends and three or four times a week to the rehearsal room of his band Fightball.
These sports apps will get you fit!
Cycling/jogging/walking
Naviki
You can use the app to display suitable cycling routes and save your own routes.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
Komoot
Cycling and hiking tours can be easily planned with this app (voice instructions, photos, offline maps, information about road surfaces, etc.). You can give each other tips using the comment function.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
Runtastic
With the help of GPS you can record your speed, distance and time while jogging, cycling, hiking etc.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
Zombies, Run!
It couldn't be more motivational: In this app you run away from virtual zombie screams and basically for your life. So: put on your headphones and – escape!
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: €3.59
Bike Repair
Here you will find more than 100 English-language instructions for bicycle repairs.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: €2.26, €3.59
football
Football live ticker heart racing
With the app you are always up to date on all important football games worldwide.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
FTBpro
A must-have for all football fans, because here you will find news, transfer rumours, fixtures, tables, goal alarms and (live) results.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
My Football Statistics
Here you can create your own football statistics and thus keep an eye on your own career.
Available for: Android
Price: free
Fitness/yoga
Daily abdominal muscle training
With the help of helpful videos, you get a short and effective abdominal muscle workout every day.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
LOOX fitness planner
Here you will find 300 free training plans from more than 100 experts such as personal trainers and sports doctors. Ideal for personal goals such as losing weight, building muscle or increasing fitness.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
workout trainer
This app creates a training program tailored to you. The individual exercises are accompanied by texts, photos and a virtual trainer.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
Nexercise
Community-based fitness app against your weaker self: You compete against your friends when it comes to “good shape” and can compete with them using statistics.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: free
Yoga Everyday
For beginners. Various 15-minute sessions with verbal instructions and a flowing pace.
Available for: iOS
Price: €2.69
Yoga.com Studio
300 poses and breathing exercises. The global, social yoga community “Inspire” makes it interactive. Whether beginner, intermediate or advanced – you are guaranteed to find a program that suits you here.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: €2.34, €3.59
Quizzes
Sports Quiz!
There are more than 500 photos stored here - you have to guess which athletes can be seen in them. Ideal e.g. E.g. for all those who are well versed in football, basketball, tennis, athletics or boxing.
Available for: Android
Price: free
Football God – The Quiz
2,000 questions in five categories – German Bundesliga, European leagues, national teams + tournaments, quotes and miscellaneous.
Available for: iOS
Price: €1.79
Related articles:
Photos (C) Caroline Schwarz Nowhere does the density of bicycles seem to be greater than in front of universities. We picked four students and asked them about their little, personal bicycle stories. DIAMOND TOURING BIKE CLAUDIA Cultural Studies A fire in her apartment building three years ago brought Claudia and her bike together. 'Clear out everything - from the basement to the attic' was the motto back then
