Biking Day 3

• Length ridden: 119 km
• Ascent: 1,016 meters (just like the highest point in Hungary from sea level)
• Rating: 6.5 out of 10 - do not like when my ride gets interrupted
• Highlights: riding on the empty panorama road and the village of Flirsch
• Lowlight: Arlberg Pass having been closed for cyclists
• Map of the day (to Sankt Anton)
• Map of the day (from Arlbergpass)

In the morning, I got a nice breakfast, which was included in the price of the accommodation and for sure I made sure to fill up my belly.

It was yet again a nice, sunny day and just after 8 am, I was on the road again. Soon I found a huge bakery called Bäcker Ruetz with long lines and had filled up my pastry supplies for later on.

My host warned me of a potential road closure, oh boy, it sure impacted me. You see, in this mountainous region, there are only a couple of roads, one was being reconstructed, the other was closed due to a land-slide and the third was a motorway, not accessible for bikers. There was a sign proclaiming this, asking riders to use the train. No way, I said and pushed on. I saw other confused cyclists trying to figure out which way to go, but at that time in the morning, there were hardly any locals to ask. I spotted a Renault dealership and as I had worked at that company earlier, I thought this might be a help. The person at the counter explained there was indeed a detour, it involving a very steep climb. I found it and it was truly steep. At the pace of a snail, I made the roughly one kilometer to the top - where there was a road leading in the right direction. These way quite some traffic on it, but the silver lining were the wonderful views.

Around 10:30 am, I reached the town of Landeck, another city where it would have been prudent to stay a day or two - but in my case it was just a couple of minutes.

Following this, I reached the second closure of the day, namely to the Arlberg Panoramic Road. It had not less than 2 barriers and I was contemplating what to do next. It would be stupid to cross the barrier, riding uphill and being sent back to where I had started. I also did not want to back-track, something I dislike doing. So I decided to take the chance, cross the two barriers and started riding on this empty patch of a very scenic road.

Yes, it was scenic and a wonderful ride, as I was there all alone, having the entire stretch of the road just for myself. Later on, I must have taken a wrong turn, as I was now riding downhill - at least for a while. At least no need to back-track, that is already good news. For a while, I had to merge into heavy traffic, the flag-man jokingly said that most drivers probably won their drivers license at a lottery. At the village of Flirsch, I turned my back on the heavy traffic and rode through this remarkable village, with many wonderful buildings decorated by beautiful flowers.

I munched on the goodies bought at the bakery earlier and rode on. It was so that I reached St. Anton am Arlberg and was wondering when the real climb would begin for the pass.

It was then that the news of the third road closure of the day reached me and this was the most severe one. You see, the Arlberg tunnel is being reconstructed and all traffic has to cross the pass road, including trucks, lories and buses (note on the side - there was such heavy rainfall later in August that even this one crossing had to be closed ; with the Silveretta road also being closed for repairs, for a short while, there was practically no direct crossing between Tyrol and Vorarlberg...but my story was in July). So with the maximum penalty of €5,000 (supposedly), it was strictly forbidden to ride your bike there - and minibus taxis were set up, taking you up the pass for €7. Oh well, I could have known, if I had done some research - but did not. For a while, I was playing with the idea of somehow sneaking past the control, but then it would not have been a pleasant ride with all the traffic. I found a taxi driver, he was of Turkish origin and we laughed off the differences between Turkey and Austria - and I told him about my recent experiences in Georgia. He let me out at the top of the pass, where I realized I had forgotten my baseball cap, bought in Georgia, back in Sankt Anton, but did not vote to tide back for it.

The pass was surprisingly Balkan-like, there were stands offering all kinds of useless magnets, flags, balsams made of some mountain animal. Worse, the weather had deteriorated, it even drizzled a bit. I ate a hotdog at a stand and chatted with a bus driver from Italy, who was on a 4,000 km long journey through Europe with his clients. Back then, I did not know that my trip would be almost as long.

I was a bit cross at my bike trip having been interrupted, you see, I am a "hygienic" rider, or name it whatever you want, during the bike ride, the only means of transportation I readily accept is a ferry boat, as it is hard to swim with your loaded bike (though probably not impossible, have not tried it yet). A year back, in 2023, I took on a 50 km-long detour when I found out bikes were not allowed to cross, despite a van driver offering to haul me across a kilometer-long bridge with a motorway, but I thankfully declined.

With Tirol behind me, I was now in Vorarlberg. It dried up quickly and now I was surrounded by wild mountains.

In the afternoon, I reached Bludenz and took a rest there.

In the evening, around 7 pm, I got to Feldkirch, which a pretty border town to Lichtenstein.

I thought of riding further, but was quite tired and started looking for a place to stay. A hotel with reasonable prices was booked out completely, it was so that I found a campsite called Waldcamping.

Here I pitched my tent, took a shower and watched the game in the non-assuming TV room of the campground. I rode about 119 kilometers - and slept rather well once the game was over.