October 10, 2021
To Lermoos
What a day! Cold, confusion, and cops; a tunnel trespass and a double pass.
I’d successfully crossed Reschen Pass and the next challenge on the Via Claudia Augusta is Fern Pass. The two-lane highway over Fern Pass is narrow, shoulder-less, and very heavily trafficked. Not recommended for cyclists. There is an alternate route, but it is essentially a mountain bike route – 90% unpaved on RWGPS. Fortunately, there are shuttle services that will transport you over the pass between Nassereith and Biberweir/Lermoos in either the north or south direction.
Once I’d decided to head north along the Via Claudia Augusta, I went online to book my shuttle ticket and saw that the only option going north left Nazzereith at nine am, requiring an overnight in Nassereith. I booked my ticket, knowing it would be a long day from Nauders to Nassereith. To complicate things further, the shuttle driver called and indicated his preference for shuttling me this afternoon, rather than tomorrow morning, as he lives in Lermoos. Since I was the only one going north at that time (about 90% of VIA cyclists travel north to south), I agreed and was to give him a call sometime this morning to finalize details on time and place to meet in Nassereith.
It was 55 miles to Nassereith, so I wanted to get an early start. But it was very cold this morning and there was a long downhill ride to Martina near the start of the ride. It had warmed up to just 38°F (3.3°C) by 9:30 when I had no choice but to get going. Clad in all my cold weather gear, I was a bit overdressed for the short uphill out of Nauders, working up a little sweat before the big descent to Martina – a drop of 1260 feet over almost 4 miles with ten hairpins. There was little traffic, so the ride was not too stressful, but the cold was biting. At 20-25 mph, the wind chill drops the "environmental temperature" to 15-20°C, well below freezing!
I crossed the Inn River into Switzerland at Martina and called Klaus, the shuttle driver, and arranged to meet him in Nassereith at 4 pm – now the pressure was on! After Martina, the route continued on the highway through a series of one-sided tunnels – solid concrete on the west side and pillars on the east, or river, side. I would have stopped for pictures, but it was a little unsafe, and also cold. After a brief flirtation with Switzerland, I was back in Austria and shortly thereafter left the highway for the small roads and bike paths that I would ride the remainder of the day.
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There were wonderful views and lots of interesting sights along the way, but I rarely took out my camera as it required stopping and, usually, taking off my gloves. I was forced to stop at one point when a small herd of cows was ambling toward me – they passed quietly, under the watchful eye of their two herdsmen. The ride criss-crossed the Inn River several times, going back and forth between shade and sunshine. And oh how I looked forward to the sunny side!
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Though I was making okay time, I figured it would be close getting to Nassereith for my appointment with Klaus. I stopped for a quick bite to eat at a sunny roadside spot, but otherwise tried to just keep pedaling. At about mile 26, the route once again crossed the Inn River, this time at a dam. However, the route appeared to be blocked as there was fencing across the path. I checked on the other side and found the same thing – fencing, with no apparent way through. I proceeded onto a spur road, which had an arrow directing me toward what I thought was a detour. However, I ended up at a busy highway junction with nowhere to go but through a tunnel.
I rode across the junction, with cars honking as I passed across an on-ramp. I then decided that the safest way through the tunnel was on foot, on a narrow sidewalk barely wide enough for me and Vivien George. The cars sped past, often honking, as I trudged on – getting quite warm in the closed confines of the tunnel. There was no end in sight, and I was unsure when or where the tunnel would end. I was completely shocked and utterly dismayed when I passed a sign on the tunnel wall indicating I had traveled 710 meters but still had 6,245 meters to go!! A 4.3 mile tunnel and I’d gone less than half a mile! I knew I’d never make it to Nassereith in time - I'd be in the tunnel for hours.
I kept walking while I pondered what to do, taking great care not to slip and fall into the speeding traffic. It was too unsafe to turn around, so it seemed that I was "tunnel committed." I did see a pull-out up ahead where I could stop and consider my options, but as I did so an orange and white van with flashing lights swung into the pullout and backed up toward me. Luckily DiDi, the driver, spoke English – I’d been spotted by security cameras and he was there to give me a ride through the tunnel. But first we had to wait for the police.
Vivien George was loaded in the van, crammed in next to the weed whacker, and soon the police arrived. After a short conversation with DiDi, I was allowed to get in the van and we had a police escort through the tunnel, though no flashing lights. Once through, I was given a stern lecture from the police about the dangers of cycling on the “forbidden roadways” and let off without paying the usual fine. Didi dropped me off at the nearest bike trail leading to Imst, and I was on my way. I’d avoided five miles of cycling around Landeck, making up the distance traveling 50 mph in a van. I was back on track for my meeting with Klaus.
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I was in great spirits heading toward Imst, nestled in a rolling up and down through mountain-ringed meadows in the afternoon sun. As I approached Imst, I noticed that my route to Nassereith bypassed the town and went through the forest, a shortcut that deviated from the signed VIA route. The shortcut looked like a lot of shade, gravel and climbing, so I winged it and decided to track the VIA route. I did not avoid climbing or gravel, but there was more sunshine, so it all evened out in the end.
I arrived at the designated meeting place at 4:15, looking for Klaus. He arrived a few minutes later and loaded Vivien George into the trailer and we headed over Fern Pass. Trying to make small talk, I commented on how cold it was – at which point Klaus rubbed my cheek and said he could keep me warm tonight!!!
Needless to say, that didn’t happen – he dropped me off near my guest house in Lermoos and after wandering around a bit I let myself in with the key code, took a hot shower, and enjoyed my uneaten sandwich for dinner.
It was quite an eventful day on the VIA!
Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 862 miles (1,387 km)
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