Day 4 - Roppen to Prutz - Wobbling Over the Alps - Tandem Tour - September 2022

September 6, 2022

Day 4 - Roppen to Prutz

Heart

Comment

It had rained overnight. Not much, but enough that the scent of wet grass was in the air. We sat over our breakfast in the downstairs dining room of the pension and watched the wind shaking the leaves on the apple trees outside. It looked like it was going to be a challenging day for bike riding.

This pension had a 1000 checkout and we were feeling a bit pushed. Rich performed a small operation on the bike so that we could access our lowest gear, we loaded up, and rolled off in our rain jackets at 1001.

Despite the grey sky, the views were still magnificent.

The route continued the up and down behavior we saw yesterday afternoon. Short, sharp climbs, followed by steep downhills. Repeat again and again. It was tiring but we managed to find a rhythm.

The river here is wilder and more like the mountain rivers we know from the Sierra Nevada in California. Except for the light blue-green tint of the water.

We arrived at a point where the canyon narrowed, and things got complicated. First a steep, twisty drop to a very narrow railroad underpass.

Then a really steep climb. Rich was going to try to climb it until we saw the 18% sign. Nope. On a loaded tandem, it wasn’t going to happen.

What goes up…yes, we had an 18% downhill on the other side, ending in a 90 degree turn to another narrow underpass. We walked that one, too!

In between, the views were amazing.

The valley widened out a bit and things calmed down. We spent some time riding along the railroad tracks. Rich likes it when trains go by!

We were actually happy to ride alongside the highway for awhile, since it kept the grades low. And provided some handy toilets.

And then, the weather started to improve! We saw blue sky ahead as we passed Imst and worked our way up the valley.

We noticed wooden stakes hanging on the sides of houses and sheds, but couldn’t figure out what they were for. Any Austrian farmers out there to enlighten us?

We worked our way westward toward Zams, enjoying the beautiful scenery and cursing the path designers for all the up and down.

In Zams, we were confronted with a path closure. No obvious detour was indicated, so we pushed through to see how real it was. It turned out to be really real, with hot asphalt being slung around and the entire width of the road blocked.

We waited for a few minutes to see whether we could sneak by but it wasn’t going to be possible. Since Dodie and Steve weren’t around to help us push through, we turned tail and found another route into Landeck.

After an apple and nuts lunch in downtown Landeck, we made the big left turn to head south along the now much smaller Inn. We had some stiff climbs leaving Landeck, but we stayed in the saddle and ground our way to the top of them all.

We had several river crossings on old bridges that gave us great views of the river and valley.

Meanwhile, the weather was looking a bit more threatening. We gotout the rain gear in anticipation.

The rain never rose above a refreshing sprinkle and we soon put the rain gear away. We climbed up to a dam, crossed it, and the riding got easier. Almost flat and good, empty roads.

Our run into Prutz was uneventful and we checked in to the lovely Hotel Post. The tandem went into their spacious bike/motorcycle garage and we went into the pool.

Later was dinner at Restaurant Pizzeria Felsenburg, followed by a couple of glasses of Grüner Veltliner in the hotel bar. We should sleep well tonight!

Nice view from the restaurant. It’s a shame about that crane, though.

Today's ride: 43 km (27 miles)
Total: 238 km (148 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	7
Comment on this entry	Comment	1

Scott AndersonSo great to see you two on the road and with all four cranks attached. And you do pick the euphoric destinations! Now I want to bike from Roppen to Prutz (with a stop in Zams) myself, just to say I’d been there!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago