For a break from the biking, we spent Tuesday walking all over Salzburg including climbing the hill to Festung Hohen Salzburg, the huge fortress dominating the town.
A walk through the gardens of Mirabell with all the other tourists;
Bischling Mountain
On Wednesday, we had an invitation to Willie's hut on the Bischling.
We caught the train up the Salzach River valley to Pfarrwerfen Station and then rode the 6.6 km to the bottom of the cablecar going up the Bischling from Werfenweng. This ride is mostly up, nearly 400 vertical metres in the triple chainring.
Still climbing . . . and looking back on the Hochkonig (mountain).
We go up the cablecar with the bikes, one per gondula, and rise another 1000 vertical metres.
It is very clear at the top and we can Glossglockner, the highest peak in Austria, to the left of Richard. Thus Hochkonig, on his right, seems so much lower now.
We then slowly slide down the steep off road track to Willies' hut where Willie and Roswita are expecting us . . . nice big lunch, nice snooze and then a walk across the saddleback. Suz is always on the lookout for dinner . . . she didn't actually pick this one, a bit too poisonous . . .
We ride the remaining height downhill on steep rough gravel roads to the bottom of the cable car. No suspension, no disc brakes and tyres without knobs so I take it easy. The pain that developed on my left shoulder going down did not last. The KTM is a hybrid and so not specialised like the road bikes and the mountain bikes. 38mm is fat for the road but skinny off it. Nevertheless, the compromise was sufficient for smooth bitumen to gravel to cobblestones the size of babys' heads to manhole covers to granite kerb edges when you can only take the one bike. Riding in Europe is surprisingly rough.
Once back on the bitumen, we fairly fly down the remaining descent until we cross the Salzach River. We then continue at a much more leisurely pace along the river all the way back into Salzburg - a 60km day.
