Day 23 - Fussen to Telfs - 9 1/2 Weeks - Copenhagen to Lecce 2019 - CycleBlaze

October 11, 2019

Day 23 - Fussen to Telfs

It's a Beautiful Day

It's been three solid days in the saddle with limited, read 'no', energy for blogging away at the end of the day. So here goes a four day catch-up.

We must be mountain people because after 3 weeks of mostly 'rain on the plains', our first morning in the mountains is crisp ... and clear.

It is a beautiful day!

We set off south into the Alps after an interesting whistle stop tourist visit in Fussen. We rode along the Lech river for a few km's and were surprised to find that we were already in Austria. They sure don't let the Germans have many of the mountains.

We were following the Via Claudia (VCA) bike trail that start a little north of here in Augsburg and continues all the way to Venice. It supposedly follows the ancient routes the Romans established and maintained over the years.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, save to say it is idyllic alpine countryside with green pastures, grazing cattle and goats, impressive glacier capped mountains ... and brilliant blue sky and sun. I think I even heard Julie Andrews singing from time to time.

The VCA goes over Fern pass and into the Inn valley, the central valley that runs east west through the Austrian Tyrol. It's not a particularly high pass, but the south side is pretty steep, and the VCA route is mostly gravel with some sections of reasonably steep single track. 

We originally thought that we might take the road (it's a B road, not an autoroute) but were surprised at the level of vehicle traffic on it, and the complete lack of shoulder. So up, and down, the pass on gravel and single track on a loaded 35 kg touring bike!

Very happy to have our TT Silk Road bikes and 2" tires ... and most important, hydraulic brakes. The bikes were rock solid on all of this.

We arrived in Telfs (about 30 km east of Innsbruck) a little after dark and checked into rustic but clean and friendly pension. Showered, end of ride bevy and a short stroll into the main town where we found a very nice Greek place to refuel. A great end to a long, challenging but oh-so good day.

Song of the Day, what else ... Beautiful Day by U2. 

It was a great day of biking in stunning surroundings and blue sky. This song was just going through my head all day.

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leaving Fussen in bright sunshine ... yeah!
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beautiful blue sky and no wind ... it's a beautiful day!
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Beautiful alpine villages approaching Reutte just across the Austrian border from Fussen
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Kirsten's first conversation with a curious animal today
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More beautiful riding and gradual climbing (with a few small descents) between Reutte and Lermoos
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Pulling into Lermoos where the Fern pass climb starts
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... our lunch stop in Lermoos ... very nice sunny patio with several other bikers. Note all the bikes here. K's and mine are the only non-eBikes.They are now the norm in Germany and Austria. Even school kids are on them!
Heart 0 Comment 2
Glenna Jefferiesand people wonder why the forecasts call for rise in energy consumption....basic human power needs every assist!
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5 years ago
Lyle McLeodTo Glenna Jefferies‘Cause people are intrinsically lazy!
Nobody ‘needs’ an e-bike, but if it gets you out if you wouldn’t be otherwise, that’s good
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5 years ago
Interesting bench for a rest stop with Fern pass in the background
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... and yet more perfect alpine pastures
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There were a few small lakes at the base of Fern pass
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... this guy waddled out of the lake and straight over to Kirsten for a chat
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Nearing the top of Fern Pass. Mostly gravel road on the north side
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...just about there, one more rest before the final push
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At the summit of Fern Pass (on the bike trail). The autoroute is snaking across the hill below. The bike trail (gravel and some sections of single track mixed with old rail bed took a route down at the top left of the picture
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Getting ready for the descent
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There were a few board walk and single track sections near the summit
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... a little steeper than it looks. We are thankful for hydraulic brakes
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...also thankful for the wooden guard rail!
Heart 4 Comment 2
Glenna Jefferieswould be fun on a nimble x-c bike!
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5 years ago
Lyle McLeodIt was still pretty good on our G-Wagon’s
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5 years ago
... most of the ride down was like this ... nice hard pack gravel road
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... with a few short tunnels through old 'guard posts??'
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There were several of these old towers / turrets on the way down
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... looking back up to the tower
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once on the south side of Fern pass we were gradually descending through beautiful alpine valleys
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fading light of the day as we approached Telfs riding along the Inn river
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Great dinner at a lovely Greek restaurant about a 5 minute walk from our pension in Telfs
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... end of the ride bevy (from the honour bar fridge) in our room!
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Ken MeuseAustria was all that I had hoped for and I see you had a great time though this area too. We hiked from Scharnitz to Berwang with Abhi. The sleepiest villages were the best. Sunshine seems to be better than rain too. Keep truckin’
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5 years ago

Today's ride: 106 km (66 miles)
Total: 1,529 km (950 miles)

Rate this entry's writing Heart 5
Comment on this entry Comment 4
Glenna JefferiesOne of your days that could actually sucker (hole) us into joining you sometime!
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5 years ago
Lyle McLeodBeer can do that to you 😉
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5 years ago
Rachael AndersonGreat job! Looks like it was challenging with the gravel.
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5 years ago
Ron SuchanekWow, beautiful!!
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5 years ago