Austria to Italy

Day two was even better than day one! First we fueled up with a delicious and hearty Austrian breakfast buffet at our hotel before setting off along the bike path up river to Landeck.  The weather was perfect - sunny with some puffy clouds and temperatures in the mid 20's. We stopped for morning coffee break with the requisite Appel strudel on a nice patio before starting up a new narrower valley heading through a corner of Switzerland, back into Austria for a 5km climb with 11 switchbacks, before crossing into Italy and over the 1550m Reschen Pass.  Gorgeous lake at the top with a half-submerged church in it. Then it was down down down the bike path through some picturesque little towns with narrow, crooked streets, through forest, fields, and apple orchards to Oris. A 115km day in all. Walked down the road for pizza e birra before climbing into bed exhausted.



Approaching Swizerland



Bucolic climb near the top





Kevin on the lakeside path



First dinner in Italy!

On the road in Austria

Gutentag from Imst!  One day down and the second about to begin.  Had a very enjoyable, and mostly flat ride yesterday along paved bike paths through farmers fields and little Tyrollean towns along the river Inn. The weather was mixed and the temperature was perfect. The only minor glitch, other than the one flat tire (easily fixed) and the low speed crash (only hurt my pride) was the hour we spent at the end of the ride trying to find the recommended hotel based on a crude hand drawn map.  In the end we were successful and were rewarded with an excellent dinner at a nearby restaurant which only cost us 20 euro each!

Today we're going to follow the old Roman road, the Via Claudia Augusta, all the way over the mountains to Bolzano Italy.  Should be fun! 

Photos to come when I figure out how to post them using this iPad :-)

-Mark


Piero at Munich airport



Scenes from the bike path




Delicious Tyrollean dinner with spaetzle!



Mark's departure

Here we go again! We are very fortunate to have the ability to set off once again, this time to Europe. Mark is en route tomorrow, bike box in tow, for Innsbruck for a wee bike ride with friends, final destination, Venice. I am meeting up with him in Venice on the 17th. For some reason I had little desire to ride the 500 km with 3 very fit men. Go figger. Hills have never been my forte. If you want to see some of what he will be riding, google "Passo Pordoi". I'm glad I chose to miss the fun.

Packed and ready to go