September 13, 2011
A Magical Day: Nearly at Linz
It was a magical bike ride today. For the first 50 or so km we were in a gorge. As we leave around 8am this was to start with before the hoards of other cyclists and was at first with mist swirling around us. We were on the northern side and could look across the river to see the steep cleared fields amongst the trees on the other side with their huge farm houses. I think Heidi would have lived in one had she been Austrian. At Niederranna we stopped for a coffee. We were now in Austria and the coffee was a little dearer than in Germany, 2.10Euros and not as bitter. From here the gorge has narrowed and there is forest on either side of the river, we were riding on the treppleweg were in centuries past horses had pulled barges upstream. We just watched the mechanical monsters ploughing their way up. We came to 'meander at Schlogen' where the river does big loops on itself. It is narrow at this point and there is only room for a track on one side. You have a choice, you can take the radfahre across to the other side or another ferry 4 km down stream from where you can bike on the northern side again. We took the first option and it was a good choice as the remaining 29km to the little town of Aschach was right on the river through beautiful forest, in the now golden weather with little streams tumbling down the river to reach the Danube on their way east.
There was a pleasant surprise for us for us at Ascach, we came upon a bike shop. I had broken Kens bike stand a couple of days ago and the very nice man was able to fit a new one 'Happiness is having a bike stand'. From here the valley has widened out again and there is no longer the spectacular scenery of the gorge part, it is pleasant agricultural country. The Southern Route turns into a major road and we needed to take a ferry across to the North and the charming little town of Ottensheim. We had planned to go on to Linz, another 9km, but we had found the bike shop we needed and this place looks lovely and it is so much easier to find accommodation than a big city like Linz. We have had a massive beer,a sleep, a shower, done some washing and are about to explore the place and see if the wifi they say they have really works.
Today's ride: 73 km (45 miles)
Total: 2,257 km (1,402 miles)
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