Elbe Lateral Canal

The Elbe Lateral Canal (ESK) is a federal waterway in Lower Saxony between the Mittelland Canal (MLK) and the Elbe. The 115-kilometre canal runs from Calberlah west of Wolfsburg (MLK-km 233.65) via Uelzen to Artlenburg in the district of Lüneburg (Elbe-km 572.97). The Waterways and Shipping Office for the Mittelland Canal/Elbe Lateral Canal is responsible for managing the ESK.
The canal was planned in 1965 under the name North-South Canal. On May 6, 1968, the groundbreaking ceremony took place at Artlenburg.
After eight years of construction, the Elbe Lateral Canal was opened on June 15, 1976 by the then Federal Minister of Transport Kurt Gscheidle, the Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg Hans-Ulrich Klose and the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony Ernst Albrecht. The main purpose of the canal construction was to create a connection between the Elbe and the Mittelland Canal within the Federal Republic of Germany, because the original connection - the Magdeburg waterway junction - was in the GDR during the division of Germany.
The construction was also used to create an obstacle for armored troops in the east-west direction. The canal embankments were created as a barrier for tanks coming from the east, from the west the embankments towards the east can be driven on in certain areas. Some of the bridges were or still are equipped with explosive shafts, and there were or are anti-tank obstacles in the underpasses.
Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe-seitenkanal

The service paths along both banks of the Elbe Lateral Canal offer wonderful, relaxing cycling for miles.

I like to cycle along the Elbe side canal. There are sand / gravel paths on both sides of the river, but they are easy to drive because the ground is quite firm and there is not too much loose / coarse gravel lying around.
The canal itself is fairly straight, but the surrounding landscape is mostly very beautiful and in some places you have a very wide view.