September 19, 2022
Vienna to Tulln (Sept.19, 2022)
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We packed up this morning both feeling a little bit stressed. The flat was large with a ton of places to lose stuff so we were concerned we would leave something behind (Who? Us?!). The weather was already looking bad and we had a bit of an argument about what time to leave. Bike touring definitely tests your relationship skills.
We put all our cold weather and rain gear on (heavy cycling jacket, rain jacket, long underwear, rain pants), everything but our Showers Pass cycling socks and our full-fingered gloves. About 10 minutes down the road, in the middle of Vienna, Dave pulls over under an overpass and decides to break out those items too. It was raining pretty hard and it was cold and windy, just the kind of weather you want for cycling out of a big city during busy rush hour traffic. There were many places where we had to wait for traffic signals and every time I put my foot down at a light or intersection, it felt like my foot went into a puddle - but hey, I had my nifty Showers Pass socks on! It could have been worse. Drivers are so courteous and we were on cycleways, even if they were messy and busy. It took us an hour to get out of Vienna onto the Eurovelo 6, or the Danube Trail, which is probably the most popular bike route in the world!
We caught a break as we got out onto the Eurovelo 6; we had a bad headwind the whole way and it was cold but it stopped raining. We were riding into a front so we pretty much hauled all the way to Tulln without a break because we were hoping to beat the additional rain. It was pretty but I can’t say we were overwhelmed by the scenery. It was a short ride and we pulled into our hotel in Tulln - das Romerhof- at 1 pm. Happily our room was ready so we checked in and then rode into Tulln for lunch. We were cold so we split a salad and a plate of spaghetti Bolognese along with a glass of red wine at a little Italian joint.
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Das Romerhof is the perfect little hotel for a one night stay by a cyclist. Tidy nice rooms with a great tub and a very handy room to store your bikes and recharge them. We got good use out of the tub.
We didn’t see much of Tulln but it looked cute; there are some Roman ruins here. We rode to an American-like steak place - yes that sounds super weird, but it was Monday night and we didn't have many choices (Our alternative was the all you can eat Chinese place). Even weirder, it was attached to a movie theater in a suburb and it was packed on a Monday night. Go figure.
What I learned today (about rain gear): getting ready to ride in the morning requires the accomplishment of many little tasks. At first these seem a bit overwhelmingly but you get used to them quickly. Adding rain gear adds a different dimension, more hassle getting my arm warmers on, adjusting my belt pack to the back rather than the usual front so that it can be protected by my rain jacket. Our biggest issue- we learned today- was our new gloves. They are difficult to get on with wet hands and Dave spent 10 minutes trying to get his pinky finger into the slot. Then there is the plastic phone cover that needs to be added (affectionately referred to by Dave as the phone condom). We learned that once he adds his gloves the phone does not respond to touch commands….and on and on. But I will say, the rain gear did protect us and we were warm and dry!
Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 1,294 km (804 miles)
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