We had a great looking morning with blue skies to begin our ride heading east from Graz to Feldbach. Such a nice change from the previous rainy days. There is no special reason for us to visit Feldbach except it is a reasonable distance for us to ride in a day. Shortly beyond Feldbach we can connect to the EuroVelo 9, our planned route to head north.
In Graz we stayed at the Hotel Aton although we had originally arranged to stay at another hotel. They contacted us and asked if we would stay at the Aton. We were very pleased with the change. It seems that the two hotels have the same owner who prefers to move everyone to one hotel when the booking numbers will fit. For us, although located a bit outside the inner city, it was a great place to stay.
We started looking for a spare "just-in-case" tire tube on our way into Graz. After checking in several fancy, high end shops, this is the place that had the size and valve type we needed! Interesting shop run by a very interesting guy.
We were in no hurry to leave this morning as the temperature was still single digits - very cool in the morning. We began our ride on a cycle path beside the Mur river. Scott's garmin had the correct route loaded but for some reason was missing the map. Unfortunately, we were close to being on route but on the wrong side of the river and by the time we figured it out we were several kilometres past our turn off to go east. We now had to find another crossing. We did manage to cross over at a dam. It took a bit but we finally got ourselves back on track and were soon following the R49 cycleway to Feldbach.
Crossing the Mur in the morning in Graz. It would have been helpful not to have crossed over the river and instead ride on the east bank. But I did get this nice photo.
The ride began through the residential and industrial buildings on the outskirts of Graz. Then into some hills with a mix of light forest and farming areas. The last portion was primarily flat level riding in the Raab valley through farm land and small communities. The sun became warmer as the day went on and we found this route to be a nice afternoon ride.
Our first climb of the day through a light wooded area. It was beautiful and for a moment took our minds off the uphill grind.
Not sure how this track got into the routing. It is steeper than it looks and would be great fun on a mountain bike. We walked it with both hands firmly on the brakes.
Cute little church from the mid 1800's is completely surrounded by modern warehouses and industrial buildings but it remains intact after almost 200 years.
Our hotel in Feldbach was fitting for the strange day we were having - starting with no record of our reservation, zero internet and our room being located on the third floor (all with 16 foot ceilings) without an elevator. But on the plus side it was run by a lovely older couple who were most anxious to help. Dinner at Pizzeria Fratelli, on the other hand, was a major surprise. We did not expect much from the area in which we were staying but really enjoyed a great salad and salmon pasta with tiramisu for desert.
Tomorrow we join the Eurovelo 9 and cycle through the thermal area of Styria Austria to Bad Waltersdorf.
