The Alps Part 2 (Sept 5-11)

Sleepy towns, rainy days and missed climbs, but it is still the Alps.

We decided to try to extend our stay in the Alps because the first part was so good (see previous blog). We had a choice to meander around the Innsbruck region or to head straight east through the Alps towards Slovenia. We decided to head towards Innsbruck with stops in Kitzbuhel and Garmisch, two skiing meccas, along the way. Although we had a great time biking through the valleys and along lovely rivers, we found ourselves wearing down a bit, for a few reasons:

1) We both were getting antsy about staying in small villages with nothing to do and being in bed watching the US Open by about 9:30 every night;

2) One of the big climbs we anticipated, from Matrei to Kitzbuhel, became nothing more than a bus ride when we were told that the secondary road was closed due to rockslide and the main highway was too narrow for our comfort, requiring us to take a bus the 60 kms over the pass we had wanted to climb;

3) For the first time, rain interrupted our plans three times. We lost one day to a downpour in Brixen, another ride on the day we were to go from Garmisch to Innsbruck (it rained instead), and finally we had intended to leave our bags behind and try to climb, on our bikes, a ski hill in Innsbruck. Unfortunately the path was hard-packed earth and it rained the entire night before, leaving nothing but mud puddles that our bikes could not have maneuvered.

We did have some lovely rides, specifically out of Kitzbuhel on the way to Ubersee.

Kitzbuhel itself was a highlight. We were there on a lovely day and got to take a cable car to the top of the horn and had some great views. We spent a few hours with a group of British ex-pats, making their living mountain biking and skiing. The city itself was lovely, and it was a great stop.

By the time we got to Innsbruck, on a rainy afternoon, it was clear that travel fatigue had set in and perhaps an afternoon apart would not be a bad thing for both of us. Alice spent the afternoon unsuccessfully trying to buy a new outfit and Peter wandered, preparing to lose that evening at poker at the local casino. A great dinner and accommodations helped a bit, but the rain overnight negated any benefit, given our excitement about trying to climb one of the local ski hills.

All in all, this part has been underwhelming, though the weather has played a significant role, as has general travel fatigue (it has been 2.5 months after all) and a lack of the climbing we were hoping to try one more time before leaving this fantastic region.

The Alps Part 2 grading:

• weather -C- (rain, the threat of rain, and a bit chilly)
• landscape - B (fantastic, but it somehow felt further away than in the previous section)
• cycling challenge - easy to moderate (a disappointment as werer looking for a few more climbs
• physical and emotional response (B-) ( we were a bit lackluster, and wondering where the next adventure and challenge lay for us. Not here, we think...)
• food - A (Austrian restaurant fare feels like home comfort food; especially warming as the weather cools)
• accommodations - A (Gathaus settings, smaller hotels, good breakfsts and good sevice)
• other people - B (We met Uwe, a fellow cyclist, several times in one day as we leap frogged eachother on a similar route. And the British ex-pats in Kitzbuhel were a pleasure and very helpful. We also met a woman from Hong Kong, a British couple and a young man from Fort Lauderdale, all on the train from Garmisch. Nice to speak English with others who speak English)
• entertainment - C The cable car ride up Kitzbuhel Horn was lovely as was the view. The only other form of entertainment, besides watching the US Open, were the memories of us bickering a few times, leading to our 'day off' in Innsbruck)

Overall Grade: C+ (maybe meandering in order to extend our stay in the Alps without a plan of what to do or where to go was not the best route to take, so to speak...)