2008 08 28 Selva to Alleghe

I should have expected it, that today was another climbing day. When we left our hotel at 8:40, we turned right and climbed 2300 feet in the first 6 miles up to Sella Pass. Along the way and, in fact, the last two days we saw marking on the road encouraging riders in the Giro d' Italia. We are actually riding through the passes of the Giro. Of couse, it takes us four days to do what they do in one day. Pretty impressive.

The ride up to Stella Pass was not real steep compared to what we have done in the last few days, especially in Austria. The temperature was cool and actually got down into the high 40's. I had on arm warmers, leg warmers and a jacket. When I got to the top, my arms felt a little wet so I took off my jacket. When I did so, water was pouring out my sleeves and my arm warmers were very wet. I didn't realize that I sweated that much.

Jeff Near the Top of Passo Stella

Jeff and I split up here because he wanted to take an extra out-and-back on Passo Pordoi, another Gyro pass that added another 13 km and 1000 feet of climbing to our route. I continued on the main route, pausing at a memorial to Fausto Coppi, a legend in Italian bicycle racing. I dropped down to Canazei where I stopped at a cafe and had cappuccino and apple strudel with Peter. I hadn't eaten a very big breakfast because I have been avoiding milk products so this stop was good for me to refuel.

Jeff showed up a while later. He was hungry, so we went to another cafe where he had una pininno. Then we were off again for our second climb of the day up to Passo Fedaia. This was a steady climb of 8 miles for just under 2000 feet. The grade was fairly gradual at an average of 6%. There were some steeper sections, though. Jeff stayed with me on the climb and we stopped near the top and at the top for some photo ops.

The remaining ride was downhill all the way to Alleghe. The first part of the descent was very steep and had a bunch of switchbacks. I had to do a lot of breaking. We went through a couple of well-lighted tunnels.

When we got to Alleghe, we checked into our hotel, Hotek Alleghe ***, we showered and then went to a brew pub that Jeff spotted. We sat outside and had a couple of its micro brews, a cold meat plate with several kinds of fatty meats and cheese for protein, and some French fries for salt. We were soon joined by the pannier girls and Norbert. Dinner was to be much later, so we felt justified to refuel.

Dinner was good. For a starter, Jeff had pasta carbinara. I had minestrone. We both had roasted-on-a-spit young rooster. Desert was birthday cake for Spoke.

Daily Statistics

Mileage	34
Maximum Speed	39.5
Average Speed	9.7
Moving Time	3:32
Elevation Gain	4380
Weather	Sunny 40's to 70's

2008 08 27 Cortina to Selva

We had two major climbs today. The first started right outside of Cortina. The temperature was on the cool side when we started at 8:30, but the start of the climb warmed me up enough to shed my leg warmers and jacket. It was a steady climb that averaged 5.6%. There was a short break at 3.5 miles where we stopped for a few minutes to take a rest. Then the road tilted up again until we reached 11 miles. This was the top of Valparola Pass at 7200 feet. We had climbed 3500 feet.

The views from the top were incredible. There were towering mountains above us and emerald valleys below us. There was an Austro-Hungarian WWI fortress on the side of the road that now functions as a museum dedicated to "The Great War". There also was a huge signboard that depicted where all of the Austrian and Italian battlements were with their artillery. You could easily imagine how the soldiers would fire at each other.

Where the Battlements Were

We went down the other side of the pass into the Badia Valley. We passed through several small towns and at 20 miles, we started a gradual climb. Jeff and I were getting hungry so we pulled over to a small hotel and ate pasta on its terrace. My lunch was thin noodles with fresh tomatoes and basil. Jeff had penne pasta with a sauce that had red peppers and garlic. We know that the next major climb was coming up, so we had to get some fuel in our bodies.

After another 1 km of gradual climbing, we turned right and saw what was ahead of us. Straight ahead was a wall that rose 2000 feet. Fortunately there were lots of switchbacks so the grade wasn't too steep - 9 km at an average of 6.1%. I told Jeff that I would see him at the top and he slowly accelerated ahead of me. I shifted down to my lowest gear and panted my way to the top making one stop to drink some water. It's hard to drink while you are peddling up a grade, especially when you are on a squirrelly Bike Friday.

View of the Switchbacks (That's me in the lower left)

Jeff was waiting for me at the top of Passo Gardena at just under 7000 feet. We went across the road to the pass sign and took some pictures. This seems to be a tradition in Italy because we had other cyclists stop for the same reason. I took a picture for a woman cyclist from Florence and she took a group picture for us.

Paul, Cynthia, Steve, Me and Jeff

The views from the top were just as spectacular as the previous pass. The mountains are very steep and they tend to rise to craggy peaks. They look like monster cathedrals with large bases and towering steeples.

We mounted our bicycles again and rode downhill all the way to Selva Gardena. Our hotel, Hotel Krone *** is in the middle of town. Our room is small, but we have a fantastic view of the green hillside above us with a gondola lift taking people to the top of the mountain. As it was in Cortina, Selva is centered on winter skiing. There are lots of shops selling ski gear as well as hiking gear.

Gondola from Our Hotel Room

Happy Hour was at 6:00 with dinner following at 7:30. Jeff and I had lasagne, salad from the salad bar and frog fish (we don't know either). Jeff had ice cream for desert while I had macaroon cake. Our meal wasn't the greatest but it was OK.

Daily Statistics

Miles	36
Maximum Speed	41.1
Average Speed	8.8
Moving Time	4:03
Elevation Gain	5700
Weather	50's to 70's and sunny

2008 08 26 Cortina

This was our last rest day. After eating from a huge breakfast buffet, I decided to laze around town. I caught up on internet stuff, cleaned my bike, walked up the pedestrian mall, had pizza and beer for lunch (good, crispy pizza with capers, anchovies and olives) and beer, and read. Jeff went for the optional ride and reported that it was difficult but had great views. It was also part of this year's Giro d' Italia. There was writing up and down the road surface with riders' names. He ran onto a herd of cows, had a few difficult ascents along with their screaming descents, took a run on the bobsled course and arrived back at the hotel at about 3:00. Here are some photos from his ride:

Dinner tonight was the hotel's great buffet. Here are some pictures of it:

2008 08 25 Obertilliach to Cortina

I really slept well last night. It must have been because of the exercise, the altitude (5000 feet) and the quietness of our location. We got up at 6:30, had breakfast at 7:30 and were on the road at 8:30. The weather was clear and cool hovering around 50.

We started by climbing out of the valley we were staying in for about 6km. Then we had a fast downhill for 9 km into a different valley. This valley was wide and flat compared to yesterday where it was narrow and hilly. We turned onto a bicycle route and rode along a river for several kms. Along the way, we crossed into Italy. This was a non-event. There were no border markings on the bicycle route so we had to look to our left on a parallel road to see the old border crossing buildings. We rode over to the road and Jeff took some pictures.

Entering Italy

The bicycle route continued for a long ways. It was fairly flat. We saw hundreds of cyclists riding in family groups. Maybe it was a holiday in Italy, because nobody seemed to be working. The shops in the villages along the way were open, though. We stopped in S Candido/Innichen for a snack - chocolate filled pastry.

Family Cyclists

After a while at about 36 km the bicycle road turned to compact gravel. It was easy to ride on for the most part. We had the option to ride on the main highway, but we decided to keep on the gravel. The trail turned into mountain bike single track for a stretch of about 1 km. There were several muddy, slimy spots as well as some very short major downs and ups. I walked through a couple of these but Jeff powered over them.

The Mountain Bike Trail

The trail ended shortly before Durrensee/Lago di Landro. We stopped at a restaurant at the lake for lunch. The outdoor patio overlooked the lake and it was warm enough to eat there. I had the house macaroni while Jeff had a huge salad. We ate with Ralph and Larry. Cynthia and Steve arrived while we were eating. Steve and Jeff negotiated for our extra loop going up to Tre Cime. I eagerly volunteered to ride along with Cynthia along our main route to Cortina. (My legs were toast).

We had two more climbs. The first was towards Tre Croci Pass. At the top was the picturesque Lago Misurina. The last was over Tre Croci Pass. Neither one was very difficult or long although they both had some 12% sections. The final downhill was steep and fun. I was held back by some cars, so I couldn't go very fast.

View after the First Climb abd a Shot of Lago Misurina.

When we got to Cortina, our route to the hotel took us through the main shopping/strolling street. There were lots of upscale shops along the way.

We arrived at Hotel Majoni ****, parked our bikes and checked in. Jeff was still on the road coming in from his Tre Cime climb. When he got here, he reported that it was extremely difficult but worth it for the views. Our room is large, clean and comfortable. It comes with free internet.

View from Tre Cime

We had Happy Hour at 5:30. It lasted for an hour. To kill time before our 8:00 dinner, we walked up and down the main shopping street. Our dinner was a buffet. It had all sorts of antipastos, salads, fruit, meat, seafood, pasta, etc. There was too much to explain. Jeff and I grazed and came away happy.

Daily Statistics

Miles	45
Maximum Speed	41.4
Average Speed	10.4
Moving Time	4:18
Elevation Gain	3000
Weather	Sunny to partly cloudy. Temps low 50's to mid 70's

2008 08 24 Lienz to Obertilliach

Thunderstorms from yesterday were all gone. We awoke to some fog in the mountains, but it soon burned off but it was a little cool. Leaving our hotel, we retraced the last 5 km our our route from two days ago and then continued on the bicycle path alongside the river all the way to Oberdrauburg. An interesting note, along the bicycle path there was a signboard with several bicycle tools that people could use to make repairs. We were wondering how long these would last in the States.

Bicycle Tools and a View of the River Along the Bicycle Path

We now began our first climb of the day for 6.5 km. It was a moderate climb, somewhat like Tunnel Road but slightly steeper. We dropped down to Kotschach were we stopped for a brief rest as we caught up to some of the earlier starters at a roadside cafe.

The Roadside Cafe

Then it was off to Lesachtal, a remote unspoiled valley with a small population. It was here that we began a series of climbs. The valley is narrow with high mountains on both sides. It contains many small villages, farmland with hay and areas famous for beef and lamb. The weather was in the 60's and 70's with clear skies and very little wind. The topography of the road reminded some of us of the Pacific Coast route with many ups and downs - down into corners and up the other side. Some of the ascents into the villages were quite steep.

We stopped in the small village Birmbaum for lunch which turned out to be pretty good. I had chicken pieces that were in a rich cream sauce. There were vegetables in the sauce, too. Speatzle was my side dish. Jeff had ham Cordon Bleu with fries.

We peddled on after lunch and stopped a few times for pictures. Jeff is taking most of the photos because he is faster and has to wait for me. While he is waiting, he takes pictures. He also stops for photos and catches up to me. It doesn't seem to wear him out, though. One highlight of our day came when we stopped in a village where they were having some kind of celebration. They had a portable beer hall set up with a band and dancers. Jeff got a good video of the dancers doing woodmen's dance. You will see this on our website later.

The Beer Hall and the Dancers

We arrived at our hotel shortly after 3:00. The Hotel Gasthof Unterwoeger*** is a huge gasthof in Obertilliach at 5000 feet elevation. It is furnished with a lot of stuffed hunting memorabilia and has the feel of an alpine lodge. Our room is large and comfortable. Dinner was in the hotel. Jeff and I had the same thing. We started with salad from the salad bar. Then we had a clear soup with three kinds of dumplings. Our main course was lamb with string beans wrapped in bacon and risotto. Desert was three kinds of ice cream.

Daily Statistics

Miles	44
Maximum Speed	37.8
Average Speed	10.4
Moving Time	4:15
Elevation Gain	4785
Weather	Clear and cool to warm

2008 08 23 Lienz

Today was one of our rest days. Even though we didn't have to get up early for breakfast, Jeff and I couldn't sleep past 6:30. While having our buffet morning meal on the first (2nd to Americans) floor overlooking the town square, we watched the very dark clouds move in. This reinforced my decision to not ride today. Jeff, on the other hand, decided to do the optional ride. He set out around 9:30 with Rose, our ride director's wife. He was a little intimidated by her riding skills, but he managed to keep up with her. When he returned after 30+ miles and 3800 feet elevation gain, he was in high spirits. It was steep and hard at first and then went past small villages and hay farms. They were cutting the hay on steep hillsides. He couldn't understand how the tractors could stay upright. The end of the ride was downhill back to Lienz. He got a little wet in the middle of the ride, but it was mostly dry.

Pictures Along the Ride

While Jeff was riding, I wandered around town looking for an internet cafe. I found one, but it was too smelly for me to use. It was Saturday, so there were lots of people in town for the farmers' market. It wasn't nearly as interesting as other markets we have been to.

The Stadt Market

Jeff and I went for lunch after he cleaned up from his ride. We grabbed ready-made sandwiches from a deli/meat market. After that, we had some apple strudel with whipped cream and vanilla/rum sauce. We couldn't eat any more so we took my laptop to a hotel next to ours and used its wireless connection. Even though we hadn't been on the internet for four days, we were able to get everything done in 30 minutes. When we got back to our room, a loud and long-lasting thunderstorm moved through. There was lots of noise and lots of heavy rain.

Happy hour was at 6:00. We discussed the next day's ride and which restaurants would be good for diner. Tonight's dinner was on our own. Jeff and I went to the Goldener Fisch. We were joined by Paul, Ricardo, Karen and Jay (another J from Dallas). I had local trout with boiled potatoes. The trout was cooked in butter and had a very crispy skin and it was done just right - very moist inside. Jeff had wiener schnitzel. We both had a green salad and local beer.

We were in bed by 10:00.

2008 08 22 Fusch/Ferleiten to Lienz

Today was the "Big Climb Day", up and over Grossglockner Pass. The ride's start was 80 km from our hotel, so we were to be shuttled to it with our bikes via bus and trailer as soon as the bus was loaded. This was so that we could miss some of the traffic up the hill. The target was 6:00 to start loading. We got up a little after 5:00 to get packed. When we got to the loading area, we found out that the bus had mechanical problems and would be late. So it was off to breakfast. The alternate bus finally arrived and we left the hotel after 7:00.

We arrived at our start at the toll booth at Ferleiten at 9:00. There are toll booths at both ends of the pass and they charge 27 Euros per car. The expense doesn't seem to bother people because there were hundreds of cars, busses and motorcycles going through. Bicycles were free.

The weather was cool and sunny at the start. This didn't last long, because we immediately started to climb the 12% grade and our internally generated heat warmed us up. I shed my thin jacket first, then my leg warmers and finally my arm warmers as I ascended.

This was an amazing climb. The first summit, Fuschertorl Pass, was at 8 miles and the final summit, Hochtor Pass, was at 12 miles. The grade was at 12 - 13% with relief at each of the 17 numbered switchbacks. There was one section at about 9% that felt like it was level. We started at around 4000 feet. The first summit was a little over 8000 feet and the second summit was a little higher. My Bike Friday gearing was much too high so I had to make several stops along the way to catch my breath. My average speed was only 3.9 MPH. Jeff was a lot stronger and had to wait for me at several points. That was good because he took many photos of the gorgeous scenery as he was waiting. Norbert and the van were stopped at the side of the road near the first summit offering us bananas, water, chocolate, etc. along with encouragement. I almost put my bike in the van for a ride to the top, but it was already full with other riders. So I cycled on and am glad I did.

Me Struggling up the 13% Grade and a Shot of One of the Switchbacks

There were an amazing number of cyclists on the climb. They ranged from racer-types to tourists like us as well as people on mountain bikes. I saw lots of middle-aged cyclists dressed in their club jerseys. There were also lots of busses, cars and motorcycles polluting our air with exhaust fumes.

It took us around 3 hours to reach the first summit. We then dropped down about 500 feet to Fuscher Lacke where we had lunch. Paul from Las Gatos was riding with us from here on to the finish. Our lunch was grilled wurst with French fries and a salad.

Our Lunch Restaurant with its Whistling Marmot

When we got outside, the wind was howling. This made the ascent to the second summit much more challenging, especially when the wind was in our face. We negotiated the first short tunnel and continued on through the second tunnel and the summit. We stopped here to take several photos to prove that we made it. Norbert was parked here in the van.

Jeff, Me and Paul at the Summit

We now had a screaming decent of 24 km. I was warned that the rims on my Bike Friday had a tendency to heat up and blow out my tires if I used my breaks too much. I was worried about this so I let it fly, passing several cars along the way. I stopped a couple of times to let Jeff and Paul catch up to make sure we didn't make any wrong turns. The road leveled off approaching Dollach-Grosskirchheim where we took the R8 bike path. This was an option if we didn't want to ride on the main road. It was a relief to leave the busses, cars and motorcycles behind.

Orchids along the Bike Path and a View of the Bike Path

The asphalt bike lane turned into a packed dirt bike lane, but it was easy to ride on. We stayed on it a little too long because when we got to Winklern, our route sheet was not specific on where to go to get back on the main route. We made a wrong turn and didn't realize it until we had ridden 3km down the wrong road. Turning back, we got to Winklern, stopped at a market for fluids and got back on route. Our last climb of the day - 3.5km at 7% - started here. Norbert was waiting at the halfway point offering us refreshments. The chocolate bars were really good.

Me, Norbert and Ricardo Halfway up the Hill

We made it to the top. The rest of the way was downhill and level. After the downhill, we rode on bicycle paths all the way to the hotel. The path was picturesque. It went through corn and sunflower fields and along a river.

The Bike Path and Our Hotel

Altstadthotel Eck is a small family-run hotel right on the main square of Lienz. We were the last to get there at 6:00 and there was nobody at the reception desk. We saw which room we were assigned to on a list, so I grabbed our room key and carried our luggage to it. It's a nice hotel with clean, comfortable rooms.

We quickly showered and joined the rest of our group at the hotel's outdoor restaurant. The weather was still warm and I was comfortable in shorts and a shirt. Jeff and I decided that we wanted to eat local Tirol specialities. We had a clear soup that had dumplings with herbs in them. We also had a salad and gnocchi with a spinach and cheese stuffing. Both were very tasty. So was the beer. The restaurant was right on the square. Being Friday night, there were lots of people strolling around. In the middle of the square, there was a band and dancers performing Austrian dances. It was a very colorful, pleasant evening.

Bedtime was at 10:00.

Daily Stats

Mileage	53
Maximum Speed	43.3
Average	3.9 up and 9.2 overall
Moving Time	05:44
Elevation Gain	6848
Weather	Sunny 50's - 80's

2008 08 21 Bad Mitterndorf to Radstadt

It was the normal morning routine with a typical Austrian hotel buffet - lots of bread, cereal, cheese, cold meat, yogurt, coffee, juice, etc. This time we had a good melon.

Jeff and I were off at 8:15. It was a little cool and fog hide the mountains. Our morning route meandered past  cow pastures, small villages, rivers and streams, and farm land. We saw a ski jump, a castle (Trautenfels), and horses and buggies carrying vacationers who didn't have the energy to walk. We followed one of the cycling routes for several miles. Part of the time, the routes did not allow cars, but a lot of the time they did. It's not so bad, though, because they are narrow roads and most cars avoid them. We stopped a few times to take pictures. We made a conscious decision to sight-see instead of hammer. The route was pretty flat, so we made decent time anyway.

The Castle

The temperature was rising as we progressed. We were also getting hungry. So we found a market and bought bananas. Jeff saw a church in the market's town that he wanted to look at, so we slogged up a short hill to check it out. Back on the route, we got to the 48 km mark and found a bunch of our tour mates sitting in a patio of a nice looking cafe. We sat down just as they were leaving. They said that the apple strudel was the best in the world. We needed some real food first. Jeff had some wurst while I had a bowl of goulash soup. Then we had the apple strudel with lots of real whipped cream. It was very light and and had lots of flavor.

 

The Restaurant  and Jeff's Church

It's a good thing we ate when we did because we started to climb right away. It was a gentle rise at first and then it became very steep for a mile. Near the top, we stopped to catch our breath at an old mill that had a water wheel (not working) alongside a raging stream. After cresting the hill, we could see that we were in real Austrian alpine country. There were enormous mountain peaks surrounding us, beautiful green alpine meadows and several ski areas.

We went through Ramsau which is a famous ski resort and then started a steep decent. Before we went very far, I noticed a small herd of buffalo in a meadow next to the road. We stopped to take pictures of them and the surrounding countryside. Jeff decided to take some wildflower photos. He got down real low and poked his camera through a fence. I heard him shout and saw him jump back. I thought the he got a bee sting. Instead, he got a shock from an electric fence wire that looked innocuous. No harm though - just an adrenalin rush. He said that it was much stronger than the electric fences in Oregon which made me wonder how many times he has done this.

Alpine View

We continued down the hill thinking that we had done all of the climbing for the day. My altimeter reading, though, was about 1500 feet shy of the day's estimate. We found out why shortly after we reach the bottom of the hill. There was another climb before we reached our hotel. This one started gradually and then kicked up to 12% for 2 km's. Then we had a sort, fast downhill to our hotel.

Hotel Seitenalm is a family resort hotel. It is huge. There is an indoor pool (probably for the winter guests), a sauna, a kids petting area with farm animals, a fenced area out the deck from our room with goats, rabbits and chickens, several restaurants, etc. Our room is a small double. It's very clean and has a good shower.

Our Hotel Terrace

We had dinner tonight on the outdoor terrace. It was sunny and warm when we started, but dark and cool when we finished. Most of our group had to go to their rooms for extra clothes. The dinner was pretty good, though. I had prosciutto and melon, a clear soup with parmesan bread sticks, salad from the salad bar, chicken with pasta and biscotti with cream for desert. Jeff had the same starters. His main course was seafood with garlic mashed potatoes and vanilla ice cream for desert.

Daily Statistics

Miles	49
Maximum Speed	39.6
Average Speed	10.9
Elevation Gain	3641
Moving Time	04:32
Weather	50's to 80's and clear

2008 08 20 Bad Ischl to Bad Mitterndorf

Our morning schedule is now set. We are up at 6:00 with breakfast at 7:00 and bags out to the van at 8:00. Then we can leave for our ride.

Today we woke to cloudy skies. So we packed our rain gear for insurance. Our ride started out on bicycle lanes and country roads. The bicycle road network in Austria is fantastic. Most of the time we share the roads with walkers and sometimes cars, but they have little traffic and they go through quiet villages, forested hills and alongside lakes. Today was no exception. The first lake we came to was Hallstattersee where we rode for several kilometers until we came to a bicycle/pedestrian ferry to take us across the lake. As you can see in the photo below, lakes are surrounded by steep hills.

The ferry took us to Hallstadt, a World Heritage site. Jeff and I decided to park our bikes here a walk around the town. One highlight of the town is the Bone House at a Catholic church. Apparently, grave sites are rented in the graveyard. When families no longer want to pay the rent, the bones are dug up. Skulls are cleaned and dried in the sun, polished and decorated with designs. The the skulls and bone are stored in the Bone House. Here is a photo.

When we left Hallstadt, it started to sprinkle. After about 5 kilometers it started to rain. We put on our rain jackets and continued on. After another couple of kilometers, we reached the climb of the day - 1.5 km at 18%. Soon after I saw a sign that read 23%, I decided that I had enough pushing my heavy Bike Friday and continued the climb by foot. Jeff kept going and barely beat me to the summit. The road leveled out but the rain increased. We put our rain pants on at this point.

After a short, steep downhill, we entered Bad Aussee where we stopped for lunch. We ate with Steve and Cynthia Hammer from Tacoma. Our meal was potato soup with sausage and a toasted ham and cheese baguette. Not real good, but filling.

We put on our wet clothes and continued on. Jeff and I took an option from the route and visited the village of Altaussee and its lake view. Jeff took some photos, one of which is below.

We got back onto the route and made a wrong turn which gave us a few hundred additional feet of climbing. When we ended up twice in someone's back yard, we knew we were lost. So we retraced our side route and got back on course.

The rest of the ride was uneventful except at the point where we gave up on the queue sheet and used the marked map instead. We got to the hotel last, which is a first for me. We had enough time, though, to shower, wash our clothes and hang up our wet rain gear to dry out. It stopped raining as soon as we got to our hotel - Hotel Kogler****.

It was a beautiful ride, though. Even though we put on extra mileage, we enjoyed it a lot.

Our route rap/happy hour is now at 6:00 and dinner is at 6:30. This was by popular demand. Dinner tonight was good, but not as good as last night. We started out with a pate with bread, avocado mousse and shrimp in a sweet and sour sauce. The next course was a consume with thinly sliced dough that is between a pancake and a crepe. For our main course, I had a vegetarian plate. Jeff had spaghetti with turkey schnitzel.  Dessert was a plum baked in a flour/potato dumpling with crumbly sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Route Summary

Miles	45
Max Speed	33.9
Average Speed	10.3
Moving Time	04:22
Total Ascent	2821
Weather	50's and moderate rain