To Mühldorf

September 22, 2021

Well I tried shouting “iPad, Write Journal!”, but nothing happened. So I guess I’ll have to do it the old way.

The day begins well when Rachael realizes she slept through the night without having to get up to go to the bathroom. I’m awake when she gets up and remind her to duck her head on the way there, but then close my eyes again. The next sound I hear is from her complaining about the tiny coffee she just purchased at the cafe around the corner, because she was too impatient to wait for our 7:30 breakfast. I didn’t even know she was gone!

Rachael did well to make it through our stay in Dorfgastein with her head intact.

It’s good she went out early though, because it gave her a chance to test out the weather. It’s only 42 this morning - the coldest we’ve seen since leaving Utah last spring - but she says there’s no wind and it’s surprisingly comfortable. We decide there’s no need to wait around for the day to warm up, and step out the door at 9. For a minute we have misgivings though when we see a few small snowflakes precipitating down on us.

We’re committed though - our host is at the door seeing us off, and it would be too embarrassing to step back inside now. As we leave, she tells me to refill our water bottles at the public spring, the best water around.

The best water in Gastein she says, so I take it for granite.

It’s a beautiful ride for the next ten miles as we bike east along the Gasteiner Ache. Roads are quiet, gradients are easy, what little wind there is is at our backs. All is good except for the knowledge of the stiff climb up to Bad Gastein that awaits us at the head of the valley. We’ve been thinking about this climb for a few days, and it doesn’t help seeing it growing larger and appearing more daunting as we approach it.

Continuing our way south along the Gasteiner Ache.

It’s mostly overcast when we start out but an occasional break in the clouds gives us hope for improvements.

Rounding a bend, Bad Gastein comes into sight for the first time. From here, the climb up there doesn’t look too intimidating yet.

Continuing south, with the sweet sound of GoPro instructions in my ears. Way more interesting than that trite old Julie Andrew’s tune.

Extraordinary precision, measuring elevation to the nearest millimeter. I wonder which part of the sign it pertains to.

Crossing one of several larger streams flowing into the Gasteiner Ache.

When it comes though, the climb isn’t the terror we braced ourselves for. It’s stiff enough alright, climbing 600 feet in less than a mile and a half and topping out at 14%; but there are a few breathers mixed in and reasons to stop along the way to admire the views. In retrospect yesterday’s climb away from Schwarzach seemed worse. We’re definitely glad for Susan’s advice to break these climbs into two days though. And we’re especially glad that the weather has held out for us - this would really be no fun at all in a cold rain.

About midway on the ascent to Bad Gastein, looking back down valley. It was essential to take a photo from somewhere in here, so of course I had to stop climbing for a minute.

Belle Epoche hotels and mansions line the valley walls in Bad Gastein. Really have to stop for them too.

And this is definitely a must-stop. The Gasteiner Ache plunges through the center of Bad Gastein in a series of cascades that cumulatively drop about 340 meters.

The enormous Grand Hotel de lÉurope, built in 1911, was at that time deemed the most modern building in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Passing through town we keep a fair pace for the next three miles to Bockstein, the terminal for the train that will take us through the Tauern Tunnel. We’ve done our homework and studied the train’s website and generally know what to expect. The southbound train leaves hourly at twenty minutes past the hour and bikers are advised to arrive 20 minutes early.

We arrive at five minutes of and I’m confused about where the ticket office is - it’s not at the station. The train has just pulled in though so I ask a worker briskly walking past it and he points to the booth at the far end of the parking lot; so I bike up there and crowd to the front of a queue of cars. The booth is vacant though. It’s waiting for the man I just spoke with to walk up - he’s the agent, and apparently rides the train and mans booths at both ends all day long.

So that’s one thing to note. Another is to not ride onto the long train of cars where the automobiles drive on, which I considered at first but would have been very embarrassing. just follow the bike icons painted on the pavement and look for the car with all the bicycles on the side. And another is how to load your bike. It’s easy once you understand, but confused us at first. You hang your handlebars atop a pair of curved hooks, place your rear wheel in a slot on the floor, and secure the frame with the strap hanging there.

And, most importantly, note that the bike car is only seasonally a part of the train. The last run for the year is at the end of September. I don’t know if they’ll let you on with a bike in other months.

The Autoschleuse Böckstein - Mallnitz transports vehicles through the 8370 meter long Tauern tunnel. If you’re driving a car you enter here, drive to the front, park your vehicle, and get out to board the passenger car.

We left the Raven back in Portland, so we’re taking the bicycle car instead. Note that this car is only included on the train between May 1 and September 30; so if anyone has hopes of boarding soon, Scott & Pat, you’d better hustle.

We just manage to squeeze our two Bike Fridays in.

It’s a good thing we arrived so close to loading time, because it’s quite cold out. We wouldn’t have liked waiting an hour for the next cycle. The train ride itself goes quite fast, and about ten minutes after departure we emerge at the other end. It’s cold here too, and very windy. Before dropping off the edge of the earth we decide to bike into nearby Mallnitz for lunch, where we find a cafe open that serves us up two delicious ham and cheese omelets. 45 minutes later, warmed up and filled up, we put on all our layers and bike south out of Mallnitz.

A last look back at Mallnitz before the Big Drop.

This descent! It’s al downhill for the next five miles, dropping about 1,600’ before leveling out at Obervellach. It’s a beautiful, thrilling descent. The whole way down I feel an intense gratitude to be having the opportunity for an experience like this once more, as well as for the fact that our brakes are working well again. Lost helmet or not, we definitely did the right thing by stopping in at Vogl Bike back in Salzburg.

We stop for the night in Mühldorf, a tiny village on the way chosen because it’s the right distance for the day and for tomorrow’s plans. It’s a nice place, has a spacious room with a ten foot high ceiling, and a decent restaurant that is surely the best meal available in town.

Too easy, right? How about this: Where’s Rachael, #2.

Video sound track: Gypsy In My Soul, by Marian McPartlnd

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Bob KoreisAs always, a wonderful music bed for your video.

I miss Piano Jazz on NPR.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Bob KoreisI miss that program too, and was sorry I didn’t listen to it more regularly. I just read the Wikipedia article on it, which lists the guest artist for every show of the entire run. It’s an amazing who’s who list.
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2 years ago

Ride stats today: 32 miles, 2,300’; for the tour: 1,391 miles, 48,800’

Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 1,391 miles (2,239 km)

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Lyle McLeodIt would be hard not to really like the ride down from Mallnitz! They must have changed the train schedule in the last few years. The bike car was still in use in October back in 2017 when we took it. This is the sort of thing that would catch me out for sure! It would be a very long detour.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Lyle McLeodWe’ve had 9/30 as a milestone date for this itinerary ever since we conceived of this journey. I wonder what would happen through if you just showed up with a bike later. It doesn’t say anywhere that bikes aren’t permitted, just that there’s no special car for them. I’ll bet you could talk your way into wheeling it into the passenger car or chaining it to the railing of the auto car.
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2 years ago

Ann HutchingFollowing your adventures from “lockdown level 3” in Auckland, NZ . Our 2018 tour included the Alpe Adria route. Bad Gastein is particularly embedded in memory as my navigation error, in hopes of a short cut, took us from the centre but down to the highway. Their was no way out but to return to the start of the climb and do it again. But what an exhilarating ride the next day! Keep safe ,
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Ann HutchingOh, my gosh. Climbing to Bad Gastein twice? What a nightmare! I hope at least you had decent weather for it. Thanks for following along though, Ann. Nice to hear from you. I sure hope you Kiwis make it out of purgatory soon!
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2 years ago