From the Inside Out

We’re spending one more night in Steyr, so our ride today started out along the Enns river and took us through some beautiful mountains, valleys and small towns.

What a view!

We ran across the largest jacknife in the world — pretty funny!

The village where we stopped for lunch

Another lovely view from the trip today

The church in Reichraming, our turn around point

The ride was supposed to be relatively flat today, but flat in Austria means something entirely different than it does in Texas. It was a challenging ride with many steep ramps. My legs were tired from all of the climbing yesterday, so I finished my ride at 18 miles. Gary rode 35 miles.

Our evening entertainment was an Apple Streudel cooking lesson in a local food and wine shop in the town square area. Our instructor made the first batch while giving tips on how to make the dessert, then she recruited volunteers to make the second batch. Gary stepped up and helped make some of the magic happen.

We were on our own for dinner tonight, so we stopped at a casual snack shop. We’re getting a little tired of the formal dinners that are part of the tour, and it was nice to just grab something simple and basic. For the most part, the food we’ve sampled is good, but I’m not a big steak, pork, or fish lover, and those seem to be the trendy items on the pre-selected tour menus. They need to add a little more variety in the options, but overall, it’s been good, and it’s definitely MUCH better than our trip to Israel.

Tomorrow, we leave Steyr and travel to Freistadt, a small town in the Upper Austria region with about 7,500 residents. We’ll also cross the Danube river and have a picnic lunch. It should be a fun day. Just say a quick prayer for my knee. It started hurting after my ride today, and I’m a little nervous about how it will hold up tomorrow. I don’t want to miss the ride, so send it some good vibes!

Sunday brought us perfect cycling weather in the form of sunny, blue skies and pleasant temperatures. It was a fantastic day to ride! Our journey would take us to Steyr after a 42-mile ride through the countryside and many small, quaint Austrian villages.

Again, the scenery was amazing. It is so much fun to journey off the beaten path, visiting villages and seeing sights that you would never have the opportunity to view on a typical vacation. We traveled a combination of country roads and bike paths which really gave us an opportunity to see a different side of Austria.

Our first stop was in Viechtwang, where we took a short break in a local cafe. A few of the locals were there enjoying some drinks, and they began to chat with people from our group. They even joined us in a sing along to one of the German songs about cycling that we learned a couple of nights ago. It was a memorable experience.

Part of our group in the cafe

We stopped in Adlwang and had a great lunch outside on the patio of one of the local restaurants. The ride today had a good number of climbs (hills), so it was nice to relax and take a long break during lunch. My legs were burning. We don’t have these types of climbs in Texas, so it was a huge challenge for me to make it over them.

Church in the middle of no where — took the opportunity to snap a photo and take a break during a steep, brutal climb

After lunch, we had about 12 miles to go until our final destination. This is what we saw when we got there. Our first view of Steyr — gorgeous!

Group photo with our new cycling buddies

Steyr, where two rivers — Steyr and Enns — meet in front of St. Michael church. This is the view from our hotel room. It’s stunning!

After dinner, we went on a night tour around the city with our guide who dressed in the part of the night watchmen who protected the city in days past. She took us to various parts of the city and pointed out highlights and interesting historical facts about the city. It was a great way to end a fabulous day.

I guess God was busy doing more important things because he didn’t have time to work on my request for sun in St. Gilgen on Day Three. The rain was constant, and the weather turned cold, really cold — in the 40s for most of the day. Once again, I opted for the warmth and dryness of the van while Gary decided to rough it with a few other riders.

Even though I didn’t ride, it was still a fun day. We traveled the same route as those brave souls who endured the bad weather, and we met up with them for all of the break points and for lunch. It was just like riding the course, but without the mind-numbing cold and brutal rain — win! Here are a few highlights from the journey to Gmunden.

Great views even in the rain

Our first regroup spot of the day in Ebensee where everyone grabbed some coffee and warmed up for the next leg of the ride

Outside the diner in Ebensee

The lake in Traunkirchen where we stopped for lunch

Arrival in Gmunden, more gorgeous views

View of the lake from our hotel room

Cycling tips and lessons before dinner

Dinner with a view!

Well, the rain didn’t stop. It continued for the better part of the day. We met our group early in the morning to determine whether we would continue with the ride or take a shuttle to the next location. About half of the group decided to take the shuttle and avoid the weather. The remaining die hards donned their cold weather gear and hit the path to our next destination. You can probably guess which group Gary and I joined, but I’ll tell you just in case. Gary braved the cold rain, and I took the shuttle. It was a tough decision for me, but I don’t have any experience riding in the rain. We also thought the weather would clear by noon so we could ride with the rest of the group after lunch.

On the way to the hotel, everyone stopped at IKO Bike/Corratec (one of the largest cycling shops in Europe) for a little shopping. The group split up again after visiting the shop — the cyclists continued in the rain and the smart, dry ones got back in the shuttle for the final journey to the hotel in St. Gilgen.

St. Gilgen is located on Lake Wolfgang. It’s surrounded by mountains, and it’s a beautiful, peaceful place to visit. I wish we were staying here a few more days. The view from our hotel room is stunning!

After lunch, we met up with the rest of the riders, and since it was only misting lightly, I decided to go with them for the afternoon journey. We cycled a few miles before stopping at Eisl for a tour of their sheep farm. It was an interesting experience, and it ended with a great sampling of the products they produce including milk, yogurts, and cheeses.

Eisl Farm

Explaining the milking process — see all of the sheep peeking through the fence to grab their grassy lunch?

Sheep hanging around outside before the rain storm

By the time the tour ended, it was pouring again. Another wave of the storm was passing through, and it was more brutal than the first with wind, hard rain, and lightening. It ended the ride for all of us. A few people rode back to the hotel, but most of the group joined me on the shuttle.

Our second day of riding wasn’t ideal, and more rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. I’m praying for sun, but we’ll see how it goes. I didn’t mind the shuttle today, but I don’t want to spend two days on it. I want to ride, and I don’t want to get wet while I’m doing it. Unfortunately, it seems mother nature has other plans.

The day ended back in our hotel where we had a pre-dinner German lesson. We even sang a couple of songs in German — not bad, eh? Or, as the Germans say, “Gut” or “Wunderbar!” In case you are wondering, that means good and excellent. Now you know some German too!

Aundre teaching our German lesson

Ready for some dinner, bitte!

We woke early on Thursday — the time change will do that to you — so we grabbed a quick breakfast and went exploring again. This time, we decided to make the trek to the Fortress perched on top of the hill overlooking Salzburg. It’s an interesting place to visit, but the best part is the view from that location. As you can see below, it’s amazing.

After exploring the fortress, we met our tour guides and got prepped for the afternoon ride. We added our pedals, ensured the bikes had a proper fit, and did a short test ride before meeting up with the entire group for lunch at a local restaurant.

We began our 11-mile warm-up ride through the heart of Salzburg after lunch. Salburg has the most extensive bike paths in all of Europe. It’s terrific. The ride took us along the river and through a couple of small neighboring cities. The views were great. The scenery is so beautiful here, and biking along the paths gives you an opportunity to see parts of the country that you would never see if you were in a car or train. You also get to ride with the locals because there are tons of people who cycle here. I’ve never seen to many people on bikes. It’s really neat.

It was a great start to our trip. The only down side was that it began raining after dinner. When I’m cycling, rain is not my friend! I’m more of a sunshine gal when I’m on my bike. Pray for sun!

And, as always, you can see more pictures in my Austria photo album.