In 2016, Robin Klinkert, 38, had a dream come true: the opening of his own bike park in Elstra in the beautiful West Lusatia. The desire for a career change, the opportunity for self-fulfillment and, last but not least, his home brought him back to the “Wachstumsregion Dresden”. For its visitors (whether young or old, beginners or professionals) this means: An incomparable feeling of "flow" (= downhill fun) on four varied routes with different demands, embedded in the wonderful local West Lusatian nature!
The sun is already high in the sky, the temperatures are pointing towards 25 degrees. Robin Klinkert sits calmly on a tree trunk directly at the lift in his Black Mountain bike park in Elstra. He enjoys the short period of rest. A little later it goes back into his mini excavator and off into the forest. “We are about to open this season and there is still a lot to do on the tracks. It could happen, that I am in the forest until 11 p.m.” says Klinkert, who is clearly looking forward to the opening scheduled for April 28, 2018. All day in nature, the smell of fresh wood, even hand-making, a huge step after 12 years as a development engineer at Audi AG in Ingolstadt, the USA and working in the office on a laptop.
Once to the USA and back
His professional path began during his studies at the HTW Dresden in the "International Production Technology" course. An industrial internship brought him into contact with his future employer, where he also wrote his thesis and successfully completed his studies in 2004. This was followed by two years at Audi in Ingolstadt, before moving to the United States for five years.
Against his own "gravity", he is now helping his visitors to take off a little, very successfully. Last year, enthusiastic cyclists of all ages came to Schwarzenberg from large parts of the Federal Republic, the Czech Republic, Poland, even from Austria and Switzerland.
Skip hurdles
In 2014 the decision was made to venture into self-employment. But the dream of having your own bike park was associated with some hurdles. Can the project be partially realized through funding? What permits are required? These were just two of many questions to which Robin Klinkert had to find answers. The way back to the safe job or giving up was never an option for him. “I kept saying to myself: I want that, so I go through the project, no matter what!” With this attitude, Robin Klinkert managed to open the park in trial operation at the end of August 2016 after just over a year of construction work. And since then, the routes have been constantly maintained and developed.
There he worked as a link between the automobile manufacturer and his customers, in order to promote the technical development of the vehicles. During this time the idea for the bike park also came up. “I've been on my bike for as long as I can remember, I've raced for a long time, including in the United States. I have been building my own routes since I was 14 years old. Nevertheless, the own bike park was for a long time more or less a kind of dream.“ But at some point the job dissatisfaction became too big and the drive to build something of your own just got bigger and bigger.
Against the gravity
Robin Klinkert has never regretted this step. For him, the feeling of being "at home" was one of the most important points for his return, along with the entrepreneurial perspective. His family and friends naturally welcomed him with open arms. “But also leaving very good friends back in Ingolstadt was part of it. That was not always easy.” He adds: “People are rather comfortable and shy away from changes, taking the step into uncertainty, with all the consequences, so it wasn't easy for me in every situation.”
Promote ideas
One of the biggest weaknesses for Robin Klinkert was the support from the administration and those responsible. “The bike park is a real unique selling point for the region, which has enormous tourist potential far beyond the borders of the region/ state. Nevertheless, I felt more or less left alone over a large part of the planning and implementation phase!” Klinkert also sees this as the starting point for the project “Wachstumsregion Dresden”. The better support of the self-employed and their innovative ideas so that even more such projects can arise in the region. “A well-connected contact person who not only transmits phone numbers that you can find yourself on the web, but also supports you in complex processes. That would be my personal wish for all initiators of visionary projects!” He also sees the development of rental prices in the region as problematic, since the spread between income and rental expenditure is becoming ever narrower.
In the meantime, Robin Klinkert is standing on one of his wooden ramps, which he built over many hours. Behind the jump it is three meters deep. He has a slight grin on his face. Everyone who dares to jump over the ramp has the same grin to overcome gravity, whether here in the Black Mountain Bike Park or when returning to the “Wachstumsregion Dresden”.
Interview and text: Peter Glumbick