As My Dearly Beloved Said on Her Strava Post: The Rain Was Biblical
Bishofshofen to Bad Gastein
“Today was another short stage, with a steady climb in the middle and a little kicker at the end”. Hmm. Before we left home I’d set up a template for each days ride with the name of the stage, the map and elevation profile. When we arrived in Salzburg I added a short descriptor to set the scene for the post. This one would have been fine were it not for the atmospherics we experienced.
Here’s a happy snap showing the delight we experienced for having arrived at 1:30 at our accommodation for tonight and being told “no problem” when we asked if we might check in 90 minutes early.
Okay. Before I go any further here’s the map and elevation profile for today’s stage. As you can see, we’ve finished quite a fair bit higher - 320 metres - above the level where we started.
I like soup, but not quite as much as Di does, so I grabbed one of the great sandwiches on offer, along with a delicious cake thing that was too appealing to pass up. (If you look closely at the photo you might be able to tell that it was actually pouring outside at this point.)
My Strava feed tells me that the temperature varied between 5.4 and 11.2 degrees Centigrade. I think it would have felt coldest when we crossed a gorge where water was thundering through below bur actually colder when we went higher and were in more open country. Here’s a a couple of photos Michael took at the point where the deep narrow gorge was. I have to say that they don’t look very cold - just happy - so maybe I’ve got that wrong.
Dianne and I were caught on the hop this morning so we didn’t end up riding with Michael, Louise, Jane and Duckworth. Because I arrived late yesterday in Bischofshofen Dianne and I missed the discussion about a departure time for this morning. Consequently we weren’t ready when the time for leaving rolled around and that’s why you won’t see photos of us all together. I’m sure the day will come … perhaps tomorrow?
Here’s a photo of Jane that Michael took a good distance into the ride …
… and one of Louise in the same spot …
Although it’s clearly still wet, the rain must have eased off for them at least a little bit at this point because you can’t actually see it bouncing off the bitumen!
I want to backtrack for a moment to the beginning of the day, when Louise, Di and I went out to pick up some breakfast at the Backerei Bauer in Bischofshofen. The first is of the gasthaus directly across from the place where Michael, Louise, Di and I were staying and where we had lunch. Thankfully, as it was nearing 2:00 pm and I probably wouldn’t have time to peruse the menu and order, Di had the presence of mind to order for me a gnocchi dish she new I’d love. It was perfect. If you’re ever in the area I highly recommend it:
The other photo I had to take before we left was this one …
This is the local primary school! As a former teacher I thought it absolutely brilliant that the local kids are getting an education in such a grand building.
So, back to the ride. This may sound a bit silly, but I feel like the best and worst part of the ride was when we went through a long tunnel just past the halfway point of the long hill you can see on the elevation profile. (Look closely and you can see a little spike standing out.) It wasn’t at all dangerous: we were protected from the traffic by virtue of being on a completely separate cycling path with a barrier between us and the traffic. The “best” thing about it was of course that it was completely dry in that tunnel and it went on for a long way: perhaps a kilometre or more. The worst thing was the thunderous noise reverberating when there was any traffic anywhere within the tunnel. I found it most unpleasant and was glad to be out of it, despite the rain falling very heavily when we emerged.
About eight kilometres later with a third of the journey still to go we were starting to feel like it would be nice to have a break from the weather and a feed. Thankfully a place appeared like magic. They had a “goulash zuppe” that was right up Di’s alley as she is a big fan of soup, and even more so when it’s cold and wet outside …
I like soup, but not quite as much as Di does, so I grabbed one of the great sandwiches on offer, along with a delicious cake thing that was too appealing to pass up. (If you look closely at the photo you might be able to tell that it was actually pouring outside at this point.)
Not long after we left that café I took a couple of photos of Di riding away from me during the one brief moment when we didn’t have any rain falling (apart from when we were in the aforementioned tunnel of course) …
As I sit here writing up our day, Di has been treating me to something special …
It’s good to see via WhatsApp that Jane and Tony have finally made it to their accommodation for the night. And they are doing it in style!
Like Michael, she has got some good photos of the raging brown waters crashing and bashing their way through one of the gorges that slashes across the route to Bad Gastein …
.. as well as a couple of good character studies; one of her brother Michael …
… and her partner Duckworth …
Is that a rueful half smile Jane has managed to tease out of the phlegmatic Duck? Hmmm. Not quite sure about that.
I’ll finish with a couple of other photos I took when we got to our accommodation. The first is of my bike at rest, fairly well cleaned by the abundant rain after having gotten quite dirty with from the long stretches of gravel in the first part of the ride. The packs are soaking wet on the outside but everything is nice and dry inside …
… and the final photo is of the long-sleeved jersey I was wearing under my rain jacket today, now hanging up drying …
This was a gift from our friend Harry who lives in Seekirchen, and unexpectedly presented Dianne and me with pieces of cycling kit the day we arrived in Salzburg. Once again, many thanks Harry. This jersey, worn over a woolen baselayer and under my rain jacket was the perfect garment for today’s ride.
Oh my goodness, what shocking weather. Such a shame as the scenery looks stunning
ReplyDeleteTell Di her playing is way better than at at Wild Rose!
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ReplyDeleteOn this june 10th it also was bad more north. I'll cross my fingers for you.
ReplyDeletePete here. When I woke this morning and saw your headlines of rain was keen to get to the end of our day read your blog. Reminds me of the day we had 70mm of rain on the Nullarbor. All I can say is you both remained stoic about the days ride. While carrying 25kg on the bike 30kg if you include food is a chore especially if there’s hills it does provide absolute independence. We would not choose to ride in those conditions. If you have a stonking tail wind can make the most of it like we did for almost a week! Tough blocking headwind just ride 25km for the day. Yes but you have to camp and be self sufficient with cooking. Let’s hope you get more favourable conditions tomorrow 😊
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