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Category: Europe Cycling 2017

Holiday cycling in Europe – Rome to Hamburg

13 May – Krk

13 May – Krk

We made the ferry this morning after waking up a few times in the early morning hours and a very early start. It was raining for hours in the night and I had visions of us pushing the bikes down to the ferry in the rain and dark. However by the time we went out it was just about cleared up, with magical dawn light that made everything look fresh and new.

The ferry was so empty I can list the passengers- one car with two elderly German women passengers, one male foot passenger, us and three mountain bikers with their bikes. For once, bicycles outnumbered cars. I can see why they only run two a day out of season. We were told that in season you struggle to get a seat.

We got talking with the mountain bikers immediately – they are a group of male friends from Slovenia out on a weekend break. They were going to another island (not Krk, but taking a second ferry) to ride their bikes for the day. We sat and had coffee together and chatted for the entire trip (about an hour and a half). They were very friendly people, who could speak good English.

Once in the Valbiska port, we decided to circle the island – first visiting the town of Krk, and then taking an anti-clockwise route around Krk, past Vrbnik and then along the small roads on the east of the island to Čižići, heading north.

Krk

Many of the town that we traveled through seem to be missing a vowel or two!

Krk is quite different to Pag and Rab, it is much lusher and greener, with thick bush. We have been told that the soil has been blown off Pag and Rag by the wind, but Krk is more sheltered. We could see that there was fertile soil here, with some vegetables growing and a number of vineyards. The road around the island was hilly (lots of up and down) and pleasant, never far from the sea.

We stopped and ate an ice cream at Cizici next to a little bay.

Today was the second time we saw other cycle tourists – and the fist time we passed by a husband and wife couple (they greeted us in German).

We joined the big 102 road out of the island as late as possible so we only rode along it for a couple of kilometers before the bridge leaving the island. It was pretty unpleasant in terms of amount of traffic – this is the only road that enters and leaves the island over a huge bridge.
Going over the bridge was amazing. We stopped at a view point half way across and did the rest of the bridge on the footpath on the side. The traffic on the bridge was fast, but the footpath was also too narrow to cycle on, with a railing not high enough to catch you if you toppled. It was a long long way down. So we pushed our bikes along with our feet – tiring!

The other side was also tricky in terms of navigating the road. The traffic was so scary we walked our bicycles for a bit before we could get on a quieter road.

We then traversed the coast on secondary roads, going past Kraljevika – there are oil refineries on the other side of the bay and the whole place smells of oil. Then along a mountainous coastal road past Bakar down below (looks very pretty). We had quite a climb up into the outskirts of Rijeka, and then made our way into the city center. This was not a pleasant drive because of the roads and traffic and we were getting tired and overheated.

Rijeka struck us as an ugly and dirty city. It was Saturday afternoon and there was quite a lot of noise in the main promenade. We hadn’t booked our accommodation, but found a hostel that had been listed on booking.com. It looked terrible from the outside (tatty hand lettered sign, dingy entrance, noisy environment), so we moved on. We began to move westward on the coastal road out of the city, heading to the next town (after stopping at a bakery for some carbs).

Jenny saw a sign for a hostel accommodation on the side of the road about half way there and we stopped to investigate. This was just on the outskirts of the city and the environs were a little quieter. However our judgment may have been clouded by how tired we were at this stage (we did a hard 79km with lots of hills and heat). I guess the foyer was the best looking part of the whole place with a nice receptionist. It turned out to be the (second/third?) worst place we have stayed on our cycling travels. A working mans hostel, filled with men smoking outside. The only working lift was full of graffiti. The lift moved grindingly and slowly up and the lift door couldn’t open on our floor (had to go to level 6 and walk up a level past some potbellied men without shirts smoking in the stairwells. Everything was very worn and tatty and who knows how clean. The wifi connection kept dropping off. Two single beds in a row. It wasn’t even that cheap – only $5 less than the clean and spacious apartment we had the night before!

At least there was a Lidl supermarket nearby so we could get some good food and wine. After consuming these we dropped off very early. Kris woke up in the night to find he was sleeping on a slope (head down) – his bed was collapsing! He climbed in with me and we had a very snug sleep for the rest of the night.

Heading for the Alps

Heading for the Alps

We spent some time in Eastern Europe (Poland etc) on our previous cycle tour and I wonder if Eastern Europe has a Russian sub-culture. This time we went through Croatia. The cost for accommodation is normally cheap in East European countries, and a lot of Croatians do not value life very highly as we experienced by driving on the roads, particularly in relation to cyclists. Some Croatians seem less friendly than Western Europeans. All in all this makes Eastern European countries a cheaper, but unpleasant tourist experience. As per usual I was dreaming a lot as cycle touring provides intense days. After a while in Croatia I was battling a lot of demons in my dreams.

Instead of following the Croatian coast into Italy, we decided to head through Slovenia towards the Alps. We found a marked difference when we crossed over into Slovenia. Slovenians generally tend to give cyclists room and do not take chances with the lives of cyclists.

We are not going past the Declathons that we planned as we are now planning to bypass some big centers. I’m hoping we can nurse our cheap bicycles over the Alps without doing a maintenance stop. (it is no use doing maintenance checks if you can’t buy spare parts).
Our crossing route over the Alps is not that much different, as we approach our target entry point (Bovec, Slovenia) from Slovenia instead of Italy.

14 May – Slovenia

14 May – Slovenia

Today was an easier day – still a lot of hills but manageable at 68.5km. It also got a lot easier once we entered Slovenia.

Kris navigated us quickly out of the urban areas on small suburban roads running north. We did a lot of hill climbing.  The sun was very hot from early in the morning. Eventually we entered a forested area that was pleasant to ride in, but still hard work with constant hills.

Kris had found a small road that crossed the border in the middle of the forest. We were very surprised when the border police would not let us cross! Just before we had been wondering if the border would even be manned. Evidently only Euro passport holders can cross at this small border, all others need to go to the big border (to get a stamp!). This was frustrating as it added 6km to the ride, as well as forcing us onto a busier road for a while and adding another hill climb. Anyway, there was no choice involved so we turned back down the hill to go through the big border crossing.


It seems that EU borders are tightening up now after the refugee crisis, In 2015 we crossed unmanned borders all along between Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Holland. This is the first land border we have crossed on this trip (the other was coming off the ferry), we will see what the next ones are like.

As soon as we had crossed the border, we noticed a marked difference in both the quality of the roads and the behavior of the drivers. The drivers are fantastic, they wait behind you until it is safe to pass, and then give you enough room! Enough to make a cyclists heart happy. Later on we were told that this is a result of public education campaigns, driver training and laws introduced about ten years ago and before that the driving was not so good around cyclists – maybe we can do something similar in New Zealand to change behavior?

The first part of today’s Slovenia ride was a hill climb through forests, but joining a river and riding on a small road (632) along the river valley, passing through small towns.


The heat was building as we rode along and we were both suffering a bit from the intensity of the sun. It was a relief when it began to cloud over and we felt a few drops of rain. There were a few claps of thunder, and it was also okay when the rain increased a bit – nice and cool – we were just on a nice hill decent as it started. However suddenly the heavens burst open and there was a torrential downpour, with the water beginning to flow in rivers over the road. Luckily we entered a small town half a minute later and quickly ducked in under someone’s car port. We only had to wait fifteen minutes or so for the rain to recede – enough time to look at the map and eat our chocolate chip cookies. The rain had come on so quickly that only the tops and fronts of our clothes and shoes were wet. For a little while we were riding in both sun and rain, and eventually just hot sun again. We were dry again in no time.

We paused at the town of Ilirska Bistrica – the supermarkets were closed being a Sunday afternoon, so we got some water and a bun at a bakery. We had a debate as to whether we very should take the smaller or larger road on our final stretch to Pivka, eventually opting for the smaller (the 404). Another hill climb awaited us either way. It turns out we made the right choice. The hill climb was not too bad, as the road was very good (and the drivers so considerate), we just cruised along in our lowest gears. We had some lovely long gentle downhill runs on the other side, and then a nice meandering ride through idyllic hill country with small towns an their red church steeples.


We did book our accommodation today to make sure that we found somewhere nice, we are staying on top of a pizzeria and pub in Pivka (Rooms Herman). The restaurant is very nice and was buzzing with families eating a late Sunday lunch when we arrived at about 3pm.
We went down to have pizza and beer once we had washed ourselves and our clothes. We tried our first Slovenian beer – there are evidently only two main breweries in Slovenia. The one brewery (Union) has just begun to market unfiltered beer, which is evidently proving to be very popular. We tried both the light and dark versions and found them to be very drinkable. The pizzas we ate were huge and utterly delicious. Then we just walked back up the steps to our room.

15 May – Easy day to Idrija

15 May – Easy day to Idrija

Today was essentially a half day ride and afternoon rest. We traveled from Pivka to Idrija – only about 55km, arriving around 1pm. The weather was overcast and cool the entire morning, adding to the ease of the ride. There was only one hill climb, the rest of the time the route was pleasantly undulating.

We left Pivka on a fairly busy road with lots of trucks heading for the highway. Once we were past the highway we stopped at a Lidl to buy some juice and from then on we were on roads with less traffic. Most of the time the highway was on our left, and we passed through small little towns nestled into the green landscape.

Towards the end of the journey we were traveling through forests, with the sounds of a chainsaws every now and then and some logs lying at the side of the road.

We had a huge downhill run through a gorge just before the town – it was about 4km long and we were applying our brakes on the many many switchbacks – which we suspect we will pay for later.

On entering the town we stopped to admire the Idrijca river, known for the clarity of its waters.

We found our accommodation early (Guest House Barbara) and went for a leisurely walk around town.

Walking up to castle

View of town from castle window

Idrija sits on top of the second largest deposit of mercury in the world and mercury was discovered here in 1490. It is listed on the UNESCO world heritage list for its mining activity.

However we declined the opportunity to go on a tourist tour down the old mine, opting instead to sit outside the guest house restaurant and enjoy some beer and an excellent pizza. Happily, they stock beer from a nearby craft brewery (crazy duck), the IPA was good. We also had more of the Union unfiltered beer. The hotel owner is very friendly and provided helpful suggestions for our upcoming route.

In the afternoon we rested our sore legs and caught up on the blog. For dinner we tried the Idrija specialty dish that they have been making for more than 400 years – žlikrofi – it is a dumpling made of dough and stuffed with potato and served with a special sauce, very tasty, with a larger range of flavour than ravioli.

After dinner we walked down to the river again, buying an ice cream cone along the way, and were delighted to see a large number of trout feeding in the shallows under the bridge.

16 May – Stunning ride to Bovec

16 May – Stunning ride to Bovec

Today we did a breathtakingly beautiful route in our tour, from Idrija to Bovac (82km), at the start of the Julian Alps.

The road was mostly flat or downhill, especially for the first part of the ride that followed the Idrija river (route 102) to Tomlin.

Road and river scene

The river is crystal clear and obviously a popular fly fishing attraction, as we saw a number of fishermen with ostentatious gear on the side of the road and some in the river.

fly fisherman

fisherman in river

The green vistas across the river were so pretty I kept on stopping to take photos.

The weather started out overcast and pleasantly cool, though after lunch (when we hit the hills), we did begin to suffer a bit from the heat again. It is good we are not trying to do this in mid-summer! We had a few more uphills working our way up to Bovec.

We got our first views of the Alps.

first glimpse of the Alps
On coming around a corner, we came across lake Isonzo and paused to admire it’s unusual blue colour. There were a number of children in kayaks on the lake, making a very idyllic picture.

Lake Isonzo – note kayak in background

From here on the river also had this unearthly blue colour – we saw more kayaks tackling rapids with an instructor.

Unfortunately Kris’s front wheel began to play up, making his cycling harder. We believe that the generator (that powers the bicycle lights) on the front wheel is faulty and this is causing more friction on the wheel.

Interesting castle on the hill here – Kris’s wheel already playing up

Bovec is a lovely little town, but the bicycle shop was a disappointment. We thought we may replace the wheel, but they only service bicycles on the weekend and they had no spare parts.

Our accommodation is on the bottom floor of the house, but none the less has a small balcony where we can sit and look at the mountain.

Our accommodation – Apartments Skok

Mountain view from our balcony

We enjoyed some beer and our usual bread/cheese/tomato combination while watching a glider circle around the mountain peak. Later on we went for another walk into town to eat an ice cream.

17 May – a big climb and a number of repairs

17 May – a big climb and a number of repairs

Today we traveled a total of 68km from Bovec in Slovenia to Villach in Austria, including a lightning detour into Italy.

The morning started with an ascent along a shaded valley (part of a nature reserve) with the sun peaking through the alpine trees. We slowly worked our way up the valley. On both sides the huge granite mountains rise vertically from the valley floor, like giant jagged teeth. Strips of snow started appearing.

Our ascent gradually steepened and we passed through the first alpine village advertising rooms for hire – “zimmer frei”.

After that our ascent steepened and we did a bit of bicycle pushing.

We were on wooded roads, but could see the mountains peaking through to us all the time. We couldn’t really take good photos as the sun was shining from behind the mountain.

We paused at a small village near the top to refill our water bottles from a public water trough. Kris checked with a little old lady in a headscarf that the water was safe to drink. From here there were clear views to the south over the valley. We could see how far we had climbed, we ended climbing over 700m.

The road continued to rise, taking us over a bridge, past an old fort that straddled both sides of the road, and soon after that the Italian border. We were a little worried that they may not let us over this small border post (after our experience on the Slovenian border on 14 May), however they didn’t even stop us to look at our passports. There were a few Italian border police standing around but they just watched us ride through.

After the border, we had a steep downhill run – down towards a large lake.

We rode through a little tunnel with little s-bends making it dark and portholes on side – at least letting some light in through greenery on the outside of the portholes. We also passed lots of motorbikes with trailers and sidecars just after this tunnel – the motorbike with trailer having to slowly navigate a sharp bend, then we rode past the lake.

We passed through some strange derelict towns with old mining infrastructure and ruined houses (Cave del Predil), and no one about.


From there on we had a gradual descent into Tarvisio – a busy little town and the place where we planned to join the Alpine Adriatic cycle route. We stopped at the small supermarket and ate an entire kilogram of yogurt ice cream outside (maybe too much??).

From there we found the Alpine Adriatic cycle route – a very popular and well publicised route. Suddenly we were cycling together with many others, many people out on day trips and some on longer tours like us. The road was wide and well surfaced and easy – at this point Kris’s bike suddenly broke a spoke. When we stopped we found that there were actually three spokes – unusually all on the left side of the rear wheel. Kris deftly undertook the first major roadside repairs of the trip.

Note the wide, two lane bicycle path!

Then we continued on the Alpine Adriatic cycle route – we realised we had crossed the border into Austria with just a sign on the cycle route.


Once again the whole cycling experience changed again as the infrastructure improved – with mostly off road cycle paths available.

We made our way through a combination of tarred and gravel off road cycle paths, and village roads into Villach (a larger town and our destination for the day).

We saw a large cycle shop and Jenny urged Kris to replace his front wheel that has developed a turning resistance before we got much further into the alps. After consulting the bicycle technician we decided to change the wheel to one without a generator. Kris replaced the wheel outside the shop, using the same tire. We also swapped Jenny’s broken front light for Kris’s good one (now without power), so the whole procedure took a long time.

We found the Tourist Information in the middle of the town and got some maps on the cycle routes before going into the attractive pedestrian shopping street for some food. Jenny was feeling exhausted and light headed after a very long day and badly in need of something to eat. Then we made our way to the accommodation which was a youth hostel. A very friendly woman greeted us. This was one of the best youth hostels we have stayed in – everything was very clean and new looking. Except for the wifi, which was which was not really working, we had to sit in the common area near the entrance for sporadic data.

18 May – Riding along the river Drau

18 May – Riding along the river Drau

Today was essentially a rest day, as we did a short flat ride (48km) from Villach to Spittal, all along flat cycling paths alongside the river Drau.

We had a leisurely start (9.30am) after a good breakfast at the hostel. We were interested in observing a school group of German or Austrian adolescents (mixed races – Indian kids – all speaking fluent German). They were very polite towards us – good kids.

River Drau near the start of the day’s ride

Some of the paths were beautiful wide tarred path, on other places they were unsealed. However almost the entire route was separated from the traffic and well sign-posted, so Kris had a real break from navigating as well.

I liked this mermaid bike route sign

Crossing the river alongside hydro turbines

Kris had to make an emergency stop for this snake lying in the middle of the road, Jenny almost rode into the back of him. She just managed to get the camera out for a picture before it disappeared into the grass alongside the river.

Jenny was told off by a passing cyclist for parking her bike in the middle of the path – it was actually just posing for this photo!

It was muggy and Kris rode with his scarf over his mouth to avoid swallowing too many flying insects.

Pit stop

Roadside ornaments for sale

We arrived in Spittal around 1pm and headed to the tourist information for more information on cycle paths. Then we looked around the town a bit, ate some snacks and had some beer at a local restaurant/bar. The proprietress gave us a taste of every beer on tap, about five beers, before we chose one each.

Spittal castle

Crocodile sculpture Sittal

Our final choice of Austrian tap beer

We headed out to our accommodation around 4pm. We have a spacious apartment, that includes a kitchen and a washing machine – it is a real luxury to put our clothes through a wash with detergent after a few weeks of hand-washing. Across from our accommodation is a huge Alpine mountain, with a very challenging ski slope – however we were told that this has been unavailable during the last season due to a lack of snow (the climate change theme comes up yet again).
Kris made some good food on the stove, using up some dried tomatoes we had been carrying since Italy. We then spent quite a bit of time planning our route for crossing the Alps in the next few days – Jenny became very anxious after reading Internet accounts on the crossing and did not sleep well.

19 May – Alpine valleys and a memorable evening

19 May – Alpine valleys and a memorable evening

Today was a long but beautiful 75km ride, along two alpine valleys. We started out continuing our route along the Alpe Adria cycle path to Obervellach, where we left that route to continue along the Moll river towards Winklern and the Grossglockner pass.

Jenny was still hesitating about crossing at Grossglockner, and was discussing turning back the next day to do the Alpe Adria route instead, as it crosses through a tunnel on a train. However we had booked accommodation on the way to Grossglockner, so we continued. We met a German touring cyclist who had just crossed the day before and that was encouraging.

Kris also had his first flat tire on this day – on the front wheel that had just been replaced.

These Alpine valleys are really stunn when we first got to the pub, but switched over to standard German when they spoke with us.ing to ride through – following the river through green fields sprinkled with yellow and red wild flowers, dotted with little villages topped with church spires. And the ever present hills and craggy snow capped peaks in the distance. Most of the route was off the road on bespoke cycle paths, as we have come to expect in Austria.

Some of the cows are wearing cowbells!

Typical scene with house and wildflowers

Notice the neatly stacked firewood in the foreground

the Grossglockner pass.

Our accommodation was just off the when we first got to the pub, but switched over to standard German when they spoke with us. bicycle path – a recently renovated old gasthaus – Gasthaus Aspeling.
The bathroom was unique – to be fair they called a “wet area” – it was basically a cupboard with a toilet, basin and shower all squashed in. Not so easy for Kris to wash clothes. Downstairs was a pub, that served basic “street food”.

When we went down to drink a beer and for some food later in the evening, we began chatting to three local men who were enjoying a wine together.
They looked very Austrian – one was wearing a Tyroler hat, waistcoat and braces – he later offered us some snuff – Kris accepted and was gifted the snuff tin at the end of the evening. Hubert had a pony tale and a baseball cap and paid for some of our drinks. Another friend had a bald head deftly covered with a baseball hat and was wearing shorts – he shared a discussion with us on the nature of humanity and entropy. Later on the bar maid/ waitress joined us and eventually Kris joined them outside for a closing smoke to end the evening. We discussed human nature, the universe, politics and friendship. Then we went to bed totally satisfied and happy to have shared a wonderful evening with new friends in Austria.

PS – We conversed without thought of language switching between German and English as the thoughts flowed. Our friends were speaking a dialect particular to this valley when we first got to the pub, but switched over to standard German when they spoke with us.

By this time Jenny decided the Grossglockner pass would be fine.

20 May – Heiligenblut / Approach to Grossglockner

20 May – Heiligenblut / Approach to Grossglockner

I am sitting here checking out the Internet, with a good wifi connection, a view of the Alps out the window and my Austrian Herbal Liqueur beside me (Rossbacher – Die Osterreichische Krauterspezialitat) – this is the life!

We just rode up the valley – only 21km – from Stampfen to Heiligenblut and then onto the Grossglockner toll gates.

Jungfernsprung waterfall

Heiligenblut is a stunningly beautiful little town with an iconic tall church spire that stands before the mountain peaks. There were lots of shops and businesses catering for ski-ers – all quiet now – apparently buzzing in the season.

Heiligenblut with church spire

Heiligenblut – further along the road

The last 4km of our route, out of Heiligenblut, were already on the Grosglockner high alpine road and a steep climb. Our gasthaus is just before the toll gates to get onto the alpine nature reserve and crossing.

Official start of the road

This sign promises a 12% climb

View of Heiligenblut from the start of the climb

It is expensive for cars and motorbikes to go through – but bicycles can go through for free.

Our room is beautiful and large and comfortable, paneled in wood. It is also centrally heated, as it has begun to get quite cold outside – we are already quite high up. Heiligenblut is at 1,305m and the Gasthof is at 1,690m.

Gasthaus just before toll gates

Later:
Hubert, our friend from the pub from the night before phoned and came out to see us with his wife. They took us for a preview ride on the high alpine road to see the glacier – in the car. We won’t be riding past the glacier on our route over the pass – so this is an unexpected bonus for us. Because they live locally they can go onto the road for free, and they sweet talked the toll gate lady into letting us through too.

It became colder and colder the higher we got and it began to snow. The temperature at the glacier was around 0.5 degrees, and snowing. We got out of the car to have a look around from the viewing platform. Hundreds of people visit here in summer – it is the second most visited attraction in Austria.

Looking down at glacier meltwater

Looking up valley towards glacier through falling snow

We saw on placards and heard from our hosts how the glacier is receding – it used to come right up to the viewing platform.

Frozen waterfall

Further down – Historic Larch tree – estimated to be 500 years old, was growing at 1,600m when it was felled in 1997

21 May – Grossglockner crossing

21 May – Grossglockner crossing

Today we crossed the Alps at the Grossglockner high alpine road – the highest paved alpine pass in Austria at 2,504m (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grossglockner_High_Alpine_Road). We left just after 11am and arrived at our accommodation in Fusch at 4pm – having only traveled 37.7km. We pushed the bikes up a lot of the way.

We had planned to leave early, around 8.30am, however we were told that the road was not open to bicycles at this time, as it was still too cold and icy at the top. We decided to wait for it to warm up before setting off. This was frustrating as we had eaten a good breakfast and were all packed up. We sat in our room until about ten when we came down again only to be told to wait until 11am. We vacated the room and sat downstairs in the gasthaus working on our computers.

The proprietor made a number suggestions about taking a bus or train out and at one stage showed Jenny a video-cam of the conditions at the top.
But we were determined and these suggestions fell on deaf ears. At around 11am, and having been down a few times to talk with the toll-gate people, the official said we could enter the pass under on our own risk.

We were off like a shot as Kris was in a real hurry to make up for lost time – we now had a more limited window of warm midday hours. It was quite warm at this stage and we just set off with one extra layer (polypropylene vests and pants), which was quite enough. We also wore our high-viz vests as advised on the advice for cyclists at the toll gate.

We pedaled up in our lowest gears and soon came to the circle that split the route to the glacier from the pass over the mountain.
The Heilegenblut town with its church spire changed from a doll house village to a village viewed from an airplane.


We enjoyed stunning views as we traveled up the switchbacks. Each switchback has a sign with it’s number and height, so you can track your progress. The wind was sometimes helpful pushing pushing us up the hill when it was behind us on some switchbacks and sometimes opposed us.

The landscape around us changed as well. We started with the native pine trees – these pines lose their needles in winter because it becomes too cold – they are different from our pines with soft needles.
Then we were surrounded by green alpine grass. This gave way to brown grass that had heaps of snow scattered all round.
This was a wilderness we were not accustomed to. – stark white and dark contrasts in the landscape.
We decided that Kris would take the photos as it was we wanted to avoid stops and Kris was moving faster.
As we approached 2000m altitude through switchbacks and continual changes in road direction the wind started hitting us hard from all directions.

The landscape changed to snow with a dark road and streaks of rock peaking out in places.
We paused to put on another layer of clothing. Jenny had a couple of blocks of chocolate and some sweets along the way to keep her energy levels up.


The wind speeds were increasing, it was freezing, and we had to brace against it.


Then we were in the clouds and we could only see a bit of the road ahead. We could not distinguish mountain from sky.


Our hands were getting numb – we just had our long fingered cycling gloves on. Kris lost feeling in his small fingers but Jenny was losing feeling in all her fingers. So Kris stopped, angled his bicycle to lean against him. Jenny stopped next to him and placed her hands under his clothes on his warm stomach. Kris then put his hands over to keep the wind out. We leaned together for a while as life returned painfully to our fingers. We repeated this procedure another two times on the way up.

The height of the snow on either side of the road increased from around 2m to around 4m in places. Once we were surrounded by snow like this, the wind actually eased a bit as we were sheltered by the snow.

Despite everything the road surface seemed fine, not too icy and we didn’t feel in immediate danger of slipping. Motorcyclists had passed us, so we knew that the road was now open to bicycle and motorbikes.

At last we reached the top – a tunnel with a display advising the temperature was 0.1 degrees. Some motorcyclists had stopped to take photos and one agreed to snap this photo of the two of us.

We had been a little apprehensive about the tunnels at the top, but they were not that bad. There was no traffic coming through when we were in the tunnel and it was not too long or dark.

After the tunnel we had a bit of a downhill run – pleasant with no wind – we took it nice and slow and careful. Then another little uphill – a slog at this stage. Then a second tunnel.

Before the final uphill we spied a tourist exhibition place and stopped to put on another layer of clothes. To our delight, there was a cafe that sold warm food. Jenny just about inhaled a hot chocolate and apfelstrudel, followed by coffee. Kris had soup, followed by more soup. In these situations Jenny always craves sweet stuff, while Kris craves salty.

Outside cafe

Jenny put on yet another layer for the final downhill run, as you wind chill when you are not exercising.
Soon after this cafe, we descended out of the clouds and the stunning mountains re-appeared on either side.

We didn’t have to pedal at all for about the last 20km as we descended back into a green, living world. Fusch is at 817m – so the descent is more than 1,500m. We literally rolled up to our accommodation where people were sitting outside eating and drinking in the sun.

The water bottles we had opened to drink from on the mountain were indented due to the air pressure difference, and everything that I took out of the pannier was still icy cold to the touch.

The Decathlon Hoprider 300 bicycles came through.