Into the Mountains to the ski village of Ried: Lots of ups and downs

September 29, 2011

I have been feeling nervous about going over the pass into Italy. The weather has been so good surely it couldn't last. Perhaps I wouldn't be fit enough to ride (or push) my bike up the steep bits. And would we be able to find accommodation. I have a fairly vivid imagination so could see years later someone finding two frozen bodies with their faithful bikes at the top of the pass with a tent half put up in an attempt to shelter them. I have an unfortunate way of dealing with things by putting them out of my mind so had avoided looking up the weather forecast. Last night I decided to bite the bullet and looked it up. There is going to be good weather until at least next Wednesday ! Regarding my fitness Ken said 'You have just ridden over 3000km why ever you think you will crap out now I don't know, we can just go slowly'. I booked this hotel last night for what was to be our first day of fairly strenuous climbing. Now all the worry has gone!!

Today has been fantastic lots and lots of steep difficult ups and then downs and absolutely spectacular mountain scenery. The river is wild with rapids and we saw brave people on rafts. On the way through one stretch we met a young man on a bike who stopped and asked us where to go for extreme kayaking. I am sure we looked just the pair to ask! I had seen somewhere in last night's town so directed him back, I can't imagine anything worse myself except to climb the sheer cliff faces all around us. It is amazing to me how many people live up this narrow valley. Every part of usable land is in production and cows are contentedly eating their rations in barns or ringing their bells in the high pastures. Often I thought a cow bell was another speedy cyclist ringing their bell to get past me. Yesterday I was thinking it would have been nice to take a day off, hire a car and drive up to some of these high villages. But now we are there and it's much better on a bike. Last night we slept with our curtains open and when we woke in the night we could look across the valley to a village on the high slopes that had its church floodlight.

The route we are on now is the Via Claudia Augusta - it was created by the Emperor Claudius and was the first real road across the Alps connecting an Adriatic port with the Danube. Ken has been on the look out for groves made by (or made for) ancient wagon wheels and found some.

Tomorrow we will be in Italy and once more I will need my good friend Jan to help me out with the language.

I have a Pfaff sewing machine too - a rather later model - this was in the foyer of our hotel last night

These stakes are driven into the ground and used to dry grass for hay - not much used now but we have seen them in use

Today's ride: 59 km (37 miles)
Total: 3,359 km (2,086 miles)

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