September 13, 2021
To Salzburg
A Cycle Blaze Rendezvous
I woke early, anticipating what was sure to be one of the highlights of the tour – a meet up with fellow CycleBlazers Scott and Rachael Anderson. We had plans to meet for dinner tonight in Salzburg, but there was also the remote possibility that we might run into each other as our routes merged in the town of Tiesendorf.
It was another glorious day in Bavaria, with blue skies and moderate temperatures. The day started with a lovely downhill run to Bernau am Chiemsee where I picked up a dedicated cycle path adjacent to Hwy 305. Although cycling alongside highways is not my preference, the traffic was fairly light and it was a somewhat welcome relief after the yesterday’s gravel roller coasters. I was able to keep a fairly good pace and was hoping to arrive in Teisendorf around lunchtime.
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I took a short detour into Bergen for something to eat, settling on a banana I found at the ice cream store. The clerk was quite puzzled – and I wasn’t sure if it was for sale or was intended for some type of banana split. At any rate, I gave him my twenty cents and shortly was on my way. Twelve miles later I reached the highest point of the day – from there it was a quick four mile descent into Tiesendorf.
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As I rolled through town, I spotted some loaded bikes and orange jerseys. It was Scott and Rachael, enjoying a pastry at a street side table. Unbelievable! We all were all incredulous. Vivien George met the Bike Fridays while I went reeling into the bakery for a treat to go with my sandwich. During my lunch, our conversation flowed easily from introductions to story-telling, finding camaraderie and common ground across a range of topics. Eventually it was time to head to Salzburg – but our conversations continued over the next ten easy miles to the Austrian border. We each had separate missions that needed attention, so we bid farewell until dinner this evening.
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My mission was to find Radsport Wagner and have them look at my disc brakes. I’d chosen the shop as they seemed to be familiar with Shimano components. Not only was I concerned with drag on the rear brake but there were sporadic grinding noises coming from the front disc. The mechanic Jan was super – he tightened up my brake housings and considered both discs to be in fine shape. He said not to worry if they make grinding noises, especially after doing a lot of downhill braking. The heat warps the disc a bit, but they realign themselves and all is fine. There was no charge, so I made a small contribution to their coffee fund and headed for my hotel.
Scott and Rachael had chosen a great Italian restaurant close to our respective hotels. To my surprise and delight they revealed this was my birthday dinner – their treat. And what a wonderful birthday present it was. We stuffed ourselves with shared antipasto, mains, and then shared two desserts –all the while keeping up a lively conversation. Thoroughly stuffed, we left with plans to cycle together tomorrow, at least as far as our routes diverged.
All things considered, it was one of the most extra-ordinary days I’ve experienced on a bike.
Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 102 miles (164 km)
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