September 4, 2014
To Grien
The first 10km of our ride was beside a very busy road that takes you into Linz, we felt fortunate that we had a safe cycle path to do it on but it was of course very noisy. We arrived on the opposite side of the river from the main part of the city and choose to view it across the river - there were about four or five cruise liners tied up and we saw one on the move going up stream. This would take a long time to do the 100km to Passau as it had a swift current to contend with and several locks to go through. Leaving Linz you ride through a park for around eight kilometers - people are walking dogs, roller blading, Nordic walking, running , cycling and generally making use of this really great facility. Then comes the huge industrial area, thankfully on the other side of the river but not pretty.
We had a choice we could continue on the North side of the river or cross on a dam to the South side and detour to the town of Enns. This was what we decided to do - not a good idea. Enns itself is a town with a pretty square and a magnificent tower set on a hill well above the Danube. Getting out of it was a nightmare and we trailed around amongst a really massive industrial area. We were very glad to get to the North side of the river and follow what was a very pleasant route to Grein. I had been a bit worried because we saw and talked to lots of cyclists all except us being on tours with their accommodation prebooked. Would there be anywhere for us? But actually when we got to this lovely place there was lots of zimmer frei. One of the things that is interesting in this part of the Danube is the flood protection. In Grein itself there are concrete walls at about waist height but there is also provision in the time of a flood to add another layer - all very high tech.
Today's ride: 81 km (50 miles)
Total: 1,867 km (1,159 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |