This morning the sun shone on the snow-covered peaks outside our windows. There were clouds around, but the sun was shining through. The breakfast was what we have had every day since this trip began—a buffet assortment of meats and cheeses, breads and rolls with butter and jams, corn flakes and a granola, some dried or fresh fruit, yoghurt of several varieties, a hard-boiled egg, juice and coffee. Once, in Salzburg, scrambled eggs and bacon were also available, but aside from that there has been no variation—a good and hearty and predictable breakfast.
The first 30 kilometers of our ride were downhill. We followed a road that paralleled the river running down the valley we were in, or we were on a cycle path alongside the river. At one point we hooked onto a marked cycle path, R8 to be specific, and followed it for miles, assuming it was going our way. However, when the signage actually labeled the direction of the path, we realized that in following it we had turned away from our southerly route some 5 miles before. So we turned around and headed back, wondering where we would have ended up had we not seen that sign. Having returned to our planned route, we ascended a pass and it started to rain.
Arriving at the top we briefly considered stopping there for the night, but decided to keep on going, and descended carefully. At the end of the day we stopped at a guesthouse (gafthof, small hotel) in a village at the foot of that descent. The guesthouse was comfortable, and slightly unusual as it was also not only a bar and restaurant (not unusual) but a butcher shop (fleischmerei) as well. The receptionist directed us to where we could put our bicycles for the night, and at first we thought that she had told us to leave them in the slaughterhouse part of the building. Fortunately that was not right, and they spent the night in the garage next door…
The mountains here in Austria seem to be a series of east-west parallel ranges, each separated by a valley with the river which has carved it in the middle. What this means is that if you are following a river you spend days traveling in a gradual uphill or downhill direction, with awesome mountains on each side. However, if you are traveling south (or north) as we are, you go from pass to valley to pass to valley. The roads go precipitously uphill, then downhill, then cut across a valley to begin the process again. Yesterday we went over one of the highest roads in the country—climbing to the top then descending into a valley. Today we went over two more ranges—climbing up then racing down. And as we head south there is at least one more range looming on our path. It is the range separating Austria from Italy and Slovenia, and depending on what route we choose we will at the top of the pass enter one or the other of these countries. All of these ranges seem to be considered as part of the Alps, so our crossing will be multi-faceted, not a simple up and down.
The rains kept away for part of the day, but began as we climbed out of one valley. When you are straining to carry yourself, your bicycle, and all that you have stuffed into your packs (panniers), a little rain can be a cooling blessing. But on the other side, going downhill, the same can be an irritant or a danger. And we had both today. Rain on the up and rain on the down. I guess in life the same thing can happen, the same experience can be interpreted as either a blessing or a curse, depending on the circumstances or the viewpoint or the attitude. Which makes the Apostle Paul’s faith more remarkable as even from the darkness of prison he could write, what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel… And because of this I rejoice…(Philippians 1:12, 18)
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