August 21, 2014
Over the Fernpass
Hear we sit outside the Gasthof Lowen drinking coffee and eating apple Strudel. We are high high in the mountains and are waiting for our shuttle to take us over the last part of the Fernpass. The road is very busy and the off road track almost impossible for loaded bikes, so this is the much better option. We have a booking for 1pm and Reutte is 30km from Biberweir where the pick up is. The bike line book showed a nasty number of arrows indicating steep up hills and the dotted lines of unpaved tracks, we were therefore unsure how long it would take but thought being us it would be a long time. It has meant however we have an hour and a half before the shuttle arrives.
At first we thought that we might be able to take the road but this clearly would have been suicidal so it was the track for us. Actually it was only the first 8km that were really hard and involved quite a lot of pushing. We came on the most wonderful fortifications at Klause complete with a museum - as far as I could gather it had was part of the Fort Claudia important on this Roman route through the alps.
After these first 8km things moderated a lot and we were going through many small towns that would have been humming in the winter ski season, they had lots of accommodation and ski lifts going right down into the town. This is some of the most precipitous mountain country we have been in, with occasional little fields intensively farmed with cows and grass. Our ears became accustomed to the sound of cow bells. At one little field a cow had just given birth and the farmer arrived post haste with a trailer like a horse float to round up he cow and its calf and cart them off - not an easy job!
When you get to Lermoos you are in a high basin surrounded by peaks, there are what look passes going over the Alps - one of them was ours the Fernpass. Here there were again lots of holiday makers, all of the active variety striding out with back packs on or taking to the trails on mountain bikes.
We finished our apple strudel and as the bus was almost due to arrive a group of about 8 Italian cyclists arrived. Only 4 of them were taking the bus the others just off loaded their luggage and bravely cycled on. The bikes were secured into the trailer and we piled into the mini bus and off we went for about 8km up over the pass in this very precipitous country. We were dropped off at Schloss Fernstein and after a quick look around we were off. I had fondly imagined a smooth downhill ride all the way to Imst. This wasn't the case we were mainly on rough tracks and as cycle route designers are prone to they couldn't resist taking us up into the forest. Really though it was a nice ride and we loved watching the countryside change as we came down from the heights and felt the temperature rise a bit. We were pleased to arrive in Imst and I asked the lady in the Information there for a hotel that was downhill from the information not up hill.
All in all a great day that I would recommend it but I do suggest that if you are doing it take the shuttle for that short portion over the pass as the reports I have heard of that part don't bare thinking about, apparently the track is in bad order and almost impossible on loaded bikes.
Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 1,104 km (686 miles)
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