June 4, 2024
Day 9 - Trento to Brixen
I was wakened this morning at 7am by the sound of a hallway full of vibrant noisy school children. Clearly they were much more excited about being awake than I was. The first time I yelled at them in angry sounding German (a decided advantage of the language) it resulted in a considerable drop in volume level. However, that group must have moved on and was replaced by another noisier group. This one did not respond to German, so I attempted Italian. This was likewise unsuccessful. Mercifully they did finally move on and I was able to get a bit more rest before heading down to breakfast where I found them noisily eating. At one point one of them dropped all of their dishes on the floor scattering glass all over the place. It was the strangest hostel breakfast ever. There was nothing at all resembling healthy food. Only one type of roll and cheese, the cheese mostly taken, and a large spread of 6 different types of sweets, none of which were very good, including brownies. Who eats brownies for breakfast???
After that sorry excuse of a breakfast, I went next door to the grocery store to buy provisions for the day. I bought a container of delicious cherry tomatoes, some rolls, gummy bears, and two bottles of gatorade (they have Gatorade here!) Oh, and a container of raspberries which I later enjoyed while cruising along the dyke.
The first part of the ride, once out of the clutches of the busy trail in Trento, was to take it super easy at low watts along the mostly flat Radweg to Bozen. I knew after Bozen the gradual uphill would start and continue all the way to the top of the Brenner Pass. I was looking forward to today. I’ve now ridden all of this route before, some in both directions. You might then be surprised to hear that I got bored during the 40 miles from Trento to Bozen. The scenery is, of course, very nice, but after awhile you’ve seen one hill, you’ve seen them all. It was further between Trento and Bozen than I had thought too. I was even getting rather toasty hot, what with the unfamiliar blazing orb in the sky frying me. I may need to apply some sunscreen to my arms tomorrow. Some spots got a little baked today.
I stopped to eat lunch at the little wayside park where I had a stopped a couple days ago to find a hotel. I enjoyed eating my rolls and tomatoes in the cool shade near a picnic bench. No reason to get out and sit at the picnic bench though. I was very comfortable in my padded seat and the hood made a nice table for my food. I even contemplated recreating the magical nap I had two days earlier when I stopped under a bridge to wait out the rain. There aren’t a lot of bikes that can be your easy chair, dining room table, and bed all in one.
After that it was back to boring riding to Bozen along the dyke path through the mountains. In one town I made a detour to the train station where a bathroom was marked as existing. I walked all around the little train station and building next to it, tried all the doors, and never found a bathroom. After striking out there, I tried for the public restroom along the riverside path in Bozen. That one is a pay toilet and frankly didn’t look like it was functioning. Rather than waste $.50, I carried on to the East side of Bozen, briefly getting off course on a poorly signed detour where the path was closed, to a shopping center where I knew there was a bathroom. Upon departure, a guy came over to marvel at the velomobile. I’d tell you the details, but just insert every other story like this I’ve told so far.
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I’ve ridden the stretch from Bozen to Brixen twice headed south, and once headed north. Somehow I have forgotten what it’s like going north and only remember the magic of going south. It is a slow slog going north. It is constant 1-2% grade, and while that doesn’t sound like much, when you are trying to lightly spin the pedals to save energy to climb the Brenner Pass the next day, it is a rather slow roll. It is lovely there all the same. I remember a lot of the route quite well. The castle, the view into the mountains in the area of the Seiser Alm, the many tunnels, the near absence of any towns. It’s more fun headed south though.
Not until a few miles south of Brixen does the Radweg flatten out a bit. It won’t stay flat for long though. Tomorrow flat will be a thing of the past as I spend 35 miles ascending to the Brenner Pass. It is a ride I dread. I hate going that slow, I’ve put a lot of miles in the last few days, and it’s by far the most climbing per mile I’ve ever done. I just hope 44 miles was a reasonable distance for the day.
Two further points of interest for the day: in one spot between Trento and Bozen the path does some awkward zigzagging. There are some bollards after you take a hard left off the bridge. I could not get the right angle to clear the bollards. I was about to get out when a big Italian guy offered to help. He picked up the whole back of the bike with me in it and turned me. Strong guy, and I really appreciated the help. I’ve actually found people in this area of Italy to be quite decent humans. I have now revised my opinion of which parts of Italy I hate to be the parts outside Südtirol. I also encountered some flooded trail in two spots near Bozen. Both were rideable (the front heel bumps got a small bath). I’m surprised more of the trail isn’t under water. Some parts are quite near the river and there has been a lot of rain lately. However, it is nothing like the area near Augsburg which has had catastrophic flooding. Fortunately my friends in the area have been spared, but many people have not.
So my score for today overall is: underwhelming. Nowhere close to the misery of two days ago, but also not magical like Saturday. I’m not sure I can ever meet or exceed the magic of Saturday again.
Oh, and it rained again today. Almost forgot to mention it because at this point it’s normal.
Today's ride: 68 miles (109 km)
Total: 527 miles (848 km)
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