Biking Day 2

• Length ridden: 119 km
• Ascent: 1,850 meters
• Rating: 8.0 out of 10 - re-run of a summit, nice weather
• Highlights: reaching the summit at 2,020 meters, reaching the soccer game in time
• Lowlight: the last 20 kilometers, crossing into Area 47 and then that Römerstrasse - also, the axis making that cracking noise
• Map of the day

I was still fresh and relaxed, so by 7 am, I had already taken a shower and had packed up my stuff - and was ready to roll into the wonderful weather. I was tempted to go in for a swim into the lake next to the campsite, but it was still a bit chilly.

At Brixlegg, I crossed the roaring, foaming, river Inn, continuing westward on the scenic Inn Valley bike road, it taking me past churches hidden on the hillside and castle ruins.

At Jenbach, I played with the idea of visiting the impressive building of Tratzberg Castle, but it wasn`t open yet in the morning and I would have spent at least an hour. See, here is where my urge was pushing on was in contrast to the drag of visiting a special place. This time, the push side won, so I took just a quick picture.

It was not long thereafter, just around 9 am, that I got to the city of Schwaz, a silver mining town. There was a majestic church which I entered and I was completely alone. Facing the altar was a comfortable armchair, which I occupied for a few minutes and enjoyed the sunlight shining through the stained windows. It was a very relaxing moment.

Not the first time on this trip - and this is just the second day - I felt I was doing injustice by rolling on - there was so much to be seen. But then, there was so much ahead waiting for me - so after some delicious pastries and a coffee, I left town.

I was now about 30 kilometers from Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol and really pushed for it - I was on quite a roll, overtaking many other riders. I had a quick fast-food lunch there at a Mäki (yes, yet again) and rode around town for a bit - not too long, though. I reminded myself I was on a bike trip, not a city visit.

Leaving this impressive town, I made a rather "interesting" decision. I was still young and wild, so I opted to leave the pleasant bike path following the River Inn and ride into the mountains - high up to a pass I had ridden earlier a few years back, to a pass called Kühtai. I recalled it back then as a grueling ride and it was anything but this time. It was a hot-hot day and going on my nerves was yet again the axis of my pedals, as it started making the noise again, especially under pressure - and it was almost continously under pressure, as the gradient was constantly a high one.

I was not the happiest of all fellows, but then I had already made a decision and it was too late to regret - on top, I would have felt as a loser had I given up (it did occur to me for a split second). Talking about giving up - there was a pack of riders, on their slim road bikes, without luggage and at some point in steep ascent, they got off their bikes and shoved them. I refused to do that and even overtook the pack when they were taking a rest (they did overtake me a bit later on), they showed a thumbs up.

This was my first big ascent after my knee surgery of September 2023 (the previous year) and while my knee luckily did not hurt, I did feel the need to make longer breaks. For the roughly 35 kilometers from Innsbruck to the pass, I needed some 5 hours - no, I am not proud of riding an average of 7 kilometers per hour, but it is what it is. At least I was compensated by wonderful views.

By the time I had reached the summit, it had gotten a bit overcast, which was a welcome change after the heat I had experienced during the ascent. I was quite a happy fellow to be at the top at 2,020 meters.

Gravity took care of my descent and it was one with wonderful views of the surroundings.

I was aiming to get to Imst and thought it would be an easy ride for the remaining 18 kilometers or so. 9 pm was the start of one of the semi-finals of the Euro 2024, which I wanted to watch, so thought of either finding a camping with a TV room or better, a hotel room.

After having ridden nearly 100 kilometers with a pass in between, this last section proved to be a rough one. First, it was nice and even next to the Inn, but then I hit something called Area 47, the largest open-air adventure park in Austria. The problem was that you are not supposed to ride through it and - just like a couple of years earlier on another ride - I had lost track of the official bike road. OK, what if I just stayed there, they do have rooms. After some searching , I found the receptionist, the lowest quote for a room was €150, so did not pick this option. I talked to some co-workers and they gratefully said they would close an eye on me riding through the areal. There were quite some steep ascents and again thought to be just shy of my final destination. I reached a small village, address unknown, found a B&B, but it was booked out. So, I pushed on and it was literally a push. I had to ride steep uphill on a road called the Römerstrasse, which then became unpaved. This is not what you want, after having done a pass of over 2,000 meters, you just want to roll into a bed. It was really very, very tiring and finally I reached a village called Karres. I spotted a modest hotel, the lowest price for a single room was €80, after a €5 reduction. The game was about to start, but I did not intend to pay that much. Opposite the hotel, was a small guesthouse called Gästehaus Winkler, where I ended up staying for just €50. The game kicked off just a couple of minutes of me arriving. I ordered a Radler (what else would a biker drink?) and dozed off multiple times during the match, despite it having been an exciting one.

That day I had ridden some 119 kilometers and had an ascent of 1,850 meters.