August 7, 2012
Day 80: Gesause National Park to Grossraming, Austria
It rained hard in the night and also featured high winds. Our tent proved secure, and it is always fun to be in a good shelter when the weather is raging outside. In the morning it was all over, plus we could pack and cook inside the shelter, so to that point the day was great.
While eating our oatmeal we were able to chat with Thomas, the boy in the next tent, who was from Klagenfurt, which is in the extreme south of Austria. The town is quite close to the southern border, with Slovenia. Thomas talked about the language mix near his home (with lots of Slovenish), and the connection he felt with the Slavic spirit, though I think his mother tongue is German. For two kids from Vancouver Island, I can tell you, this was all very exotic.
Our day deteriorated rapidly, though, from that point. Not only had the Ennstalradweg signs mostly disappeared, but the traffic free way also was non existent. Instead, it was a fairly high speed highway, with no shoulder. What’s more, hills were now common. If you are cranking slowly up a hill its hard to keep a very straight line. With cars and large trucks whizzing by, this is not so cool.
Finally, (while I am grousing), the stunning scenery of the open valley with distant mountains and the alpine meadows and houses had been replaced by very close forested walls. We like forest, but it lacks that certain wow factor.
After lots of hours of fighting the cars and the hills, Dodie especially had had it. Still, the nearest camping was quite distant. We began to eat what cookies and fruits we had, to avoid bonking before reaching the nearest camping. The planners of the bike route obviously thought we would enjoy some extra exercise, so they sent us up something called the Erbsattel road. This is a pass from which other, even nuttier people launch hikes higher into the mountains. We more or less pushed the bikes straight up 10 or 15 km. Grrrph. up A little later the signage directed us onto a hill so steep that I barely could push my bike up. I left it at the top and went back for Dodie, who had made it about ¼ of the way. At this point she balked, maintaining that this road could not possibly be the right one, and that we were being shot off the wrong way, even higher into the mountains. This was not actually the real Dodie, but exhaustion talking. It got basically fixed by two plums and two macaroons.
Eventually the road did descend, and after a bit of further upping and downing arrived at Grossraming. We found the camping place, which is run by the municipality. Two cyclists already there explained that one can go up the hill and to city hall to pay, but that seemed fairly optional. Meanwhile the place offered a covered deck with tables and power. We actually set up our tent on the deck, making for a mega luxurious arrangement.
The two others were serious cyclists from Dresden, who are planning to cycle South American next year. This made for a super amount of chatting fun sitting at the tables through the evening.
With the hills, today seriously challenged our strength, all of which was needed to actually reach a camping place. Tomorrow might be more of the same, before we return to the good old, easy, Donau.!
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Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 3,731 km (2,317 miles)
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