21: Salzburg to Murau
Trip Start
Apr 02, 2008
1
23
47
Trip End
Jul 20, 2008
Murau,
Austria
Monday, April 21, 2008
Distance; 121km (on bike) 35km (on the bus, sob) (Radstadt to Tamsweg)
Best bit: snow shining in sun on high rock
Worst: falling off bike
Animals: Llama (yes, strange but true), pheasant, squashed mouse
The high Alps overlooking Salzburg are quite intimidating when you get up close. The sides are sheer rising vertically from the valley floor. Roads, somehow, squeeze in a zig zag fashion through cracks between each peak. I climbed steadily from Salzburg winding through the valley floors, the gradient getting increasingly steeper as I neared Radstadt. With huge walls of rock looming and seemingly no way through it was amazing how always at the last minute a road would appear which avoided one needing to go over a peak, and instead let you "step to one side" to get through. By the time I reached Radstadt I had onlyone more pass to climb, and then I would have "cycled the Alps". It was not to be. I dithered. There were 3 tunnels to go through on the last climb, the road was busy and narrow, there was ice and snow. I spoke with 3 locals who all said "bad idea!" At Radstadt with a heavy heart I stuck bike on bus. My first regret of the holiday.
As the bus did the last climb for me, my face pressed against the window like a fish in a bowl, I realised that I had missed a monster climb. Steep and long. People were skiing beside the road at the peak and the road was narrow. Never the less.... !
Hoping back on the bike I headed east and, surprise, the heavens opened. I tried out my new uber-fashionable orange poncho, which meant I was wearing 2 layers of waterproofs, and this kept me dry for about an extra 45 minutes. But then everything started to fill up with water. As I entered Murau my front wheel skidded on an old wet rail track and bike and I parted company. My poncho landed over my head as I sat in the middle of the road, so for a few seconds everything was bright orange! I retrieved the bike and decided this was as good as any place to dry out and call it a day.
