August 4, 2023
Klagenfurt am Worthensee -> Leoben
Tapping Out
I woke up around 2:00am. A bad thunderstorm was passing, and the lightning was bright enough to see through the curtains and my closed eyelids. The thunderstorm continued for almost an hour, and it must have passed at some point because I did fall back to sleep.
When I woke up for real, it was almost 8:00am. The Chinese bike tourist was already long gone. He had told me last night he wanted to be on the bike by 7:00am. Again, way more hardcore than me. I ate my leftover hardboiled eggs and semmel rolls. I also had a bar of Marzipan.
By the time I was out the door it was about 9:30. I was running low on cash, so I stopped at an ATM on my way out of klagenfurt. Of all the european countries I've visited, Austria seems to have the most places that only take cash. Having a couple hundred Euros on you seems to be a necessity while travelling here unfortunately. It had rained all night, and the rain was still pouring down steadily as I left.
I was wearing my waterproof kit, so I was staying dryish. Unfortunately, the temperature had dropped significantly overnight, and it was now a cold rain. The high was supposed to be in the low 60s, cold when you have the wind blowing on your wet rain jacket. Within minutes I was out of Klagenfurt and riding through the Austrian countryside. The bike path followed the top of a levee, and I noticed that the river beside me was about a foot from breaching the top. The river was a raging torrent of debris and brown sediment. About 10 miles from Klagenfurt, I came across my first flooded section. The river was breaching over the levee top and flowing over the bike path, flooding an adjacent corn field. There was about 3 inches of water flowing over the bike path as I rode. Eventually I hit a section of bike path that had been officially closed due to high water. I had to take a detour through a small town.
My plan for the day was ambitious: I had booked a hotel in Leoben, almost 100 miles away from Klagenfurt. I figured it would be raining, so I woudn't want to stop much. However, what I didnt account for was the rain slowing me down. Riding in my waterproof jacket and pants made me ride much slower than normal. I had to avoid exerting myself too much, or else I would just become drenched in sweat. I stopped at a shell station for some food and hot coffee about 30 miles from Klagenfurt and had a hard time leaving the warm, dry eating area. I pressed onward nonetheless.
As I was riding, I passed the town of Friesach. The bike path went right along the edge of a medieval moat surrounding the old city wall. A sign at the moat said that the castle and city wall dated to the 1200s. About 5 miles past Friesach my nice, separated bike path suddenly ended. It was raining hard enough for there to be standing water on the roadways, and I watched heavy trucks and busses hydroplane on the road, spraying water high into the air as they plowed through puddles. I did not want to ride on the non-existent shoulder of that road, so I turned around and headed back to Friesach. Thankfully google maps had shown me that there was a direct train connection from Friesach to Leoben. How convenient.
I headed back to Leoben and sook refuge at a Turkish kabob shop. For 5 Euros I got a Doerner wrap, and was able to charge my phone for a while. I cycled around oldtown Friesach, only to find most buisesses permanetnly closed and boarded up. A sad sight for such a historic city.
I then hopped on the train from Friesach to Leoben. The train was mostly empty, so I had a whole table to myself. I watched warm and dry from the inside of the train as the rain pounded down on the surrouding countryside.
I arrived at Leoben, hauled my bike off the train and out of the station, and started towards my hotel room I had booked for the night. It was a small guesthouse, 3 Rabens. Because I had emailed the day before, I got a special "last minute discount" the room was only 48 Euros, only slightly more than a hostel room.
I rode through the rain, stopping at a Farmers market vending machine. Here i bought some homemade fruit gummies that were outstanding. The owner of the guesthouse checked me in, and was nice enough to do a load of laundry for me, as all my clothes were soaked.
Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 2,073 miles (3,336 km)
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We wish you some nice dry days with the right amount of sun to come!
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