We woke up very tired from our hard ride over the mountain and the subsequent climbs to Hartberg the previous day. We hoped that it would be an easier day of riding. Unfortunately, our hopes were dashed as the hills came one after another. We stopped at a bike shop in Hartberg and then at an OBI, (Austrian version of Home Depot) to get some zap straps to mount our underframe triangular bag. When we had two batteries for our e-motor, the one frame bag had to be removed. Now that we have one battery (carried in a small pannier) it frees up space for a much needed bag with tools to be mounted by the stoker position on the bike.
We arrived in Hartberg, desperately needing a room. All of the prior villages had no vacancies. In fact, the previous village had a large hotel that has been converted to a home for refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. A Syrian family warmly welcomed us and told us that we would find success in Hartberg, a few km along. We did- and we got the last room and it is a bike themed room - perfect!
This man is a member of the family who run the Guesthouse in Hartberg. This 6th generation family inn of our 150 years and offers a great place to stay and warm hospitality. Two days ago, an annual week long bike festival with pro racing had just ended. We would like to have seen it, but we would not have been able to find a place to stay.
This area reminds us of Bavaria in the way that birthdays and new babies are announced on the front lawn of homes. We have seen many tall structures with the birthday number mounted at the top. But we enjoyed this one. His family had taken much care to honour (and maybe embarrass) Alex on his 20th birthday
This area is very popular due to the large number of wineries and thermal baths. We sat at a picnic area by the road to eat our lunch and were surprised to see so many people walking by in this small village. This is when we saw this sign telling us that we were in the middle of a special region!
We had our lunch by this monument honouring the young men who had been killed from the two WW's. It was sad to see so many young men from the same family of both generations from the two wars.
Barry is already reminding me to use the 3rd rim brake to help on the descent. Our Seavo is equipped with 3 brakes: 2 disc and 1 rim (for the stoker) which really helps for steep downhills and for parking.
This is one of those moments when you wonder what the heck you are doing this for. Not only was this section of the route annoying because it went through the forest on a rough track, but this hill which required Barry to push the bike was the final straw. Needless to say, we found a way to get to a road and stayed away from the trail.
At the end of the day of riding just before reaching Unterlamm, we were surprised to see a steep climb out of Furstenfeld which went on for kilometres.It wasn't shown as a climb in our guidebook but it was a brute. Combined with the high 30 degree temperatures, we needed a break before carrying on.
There are no stores or provisions available here, so Barry rode a couple of km to Unterlamm and picked up some dinner and local wine to eat on the deck of our pension.
And here it is - a glorious snnset. Somehow, after a shower and a good dinner, you forget about the pain of getting here and you are ready to head out again the next morning.
