CSaddo

Und ich bin ein wiener! Having stayed in a gasthof that was effectively someone's spare room, I was on the road by 8:15am after a breakfast that included some very tasty hausgemacht marmelada. After 5 miles I was feeling great, 10 and a half hours in hand and 130 odd miles to cover, mathematically it all seemed very doable. Then I was reminded why, despite typically being able to comfortably average 18-20 miles an hour, I have never been able to make it to Manchester in a 12 hour day.  Hills (and not knowing exactly where I'm going)... This part of the country is still a bit lumpy and while the general theme for the first 1/3 of the day was downhill, there were regular sections of 300m or so, seemingly designed to destroy what remained ... read more

Cycle paths in Austria vary greatly, from beautifully smooth tarmac that closely follows the main road, to gravel roads at an incline of 16% that take you into a forest for half a mile or so. I wouldn't have gone anywhere near them had the polizei not pulled me up on the bundestrasse 15 miles short of Millstatt, telling me there were radwegs and this road was not for me. I disagree... I didn't make up any ground today, though all things considered I did reasonably well to only lose 5 miles. Regardless of how much of a pat on the back I want to give myself, I still have well over 200km to ride tomorrow so it's a bit irellevant. I cannot not mention the mountain I went up today, as while the climb of ... read more

I know where I am and I'm still 45 miles behind schedule. Turns out yesterday was more like 55 behind, so some gain today. Went over the Passo Stalle into Austria as on the map climbing 1,000m over 17km seemed reasonable, until after 5km I still was yet to do any climbing and had if anything gone downhill. Once it got going, my god! Beautiful though. Finished after sunset, following the Drau River. 250 miles left in 2 days...... read more

Very lucky with the weather today, even with snow at the top of the Stelvio. That is one long climb and bitterly cold descent. Took a different route to planned after that as there was no way I'd be able to get over the Monte Giovo before sunset, and couldn't afford to lose another 2 hours. So I went via Bolzano and am now somewhere about 15 miles NorthEast of there. Nothing much else to say really other than 3 days left, planned stops are out now and it's just as far as possible each day... ... read more

Thinking I'd done myself a favour, I took advantage of the semi-rest day by stopping as planned in Iseo after 4 hours of cycling. It would appear that breaking with routine is not the way forward as I appear to have been taken slightly ill. My first day in the Dolomites was going to and still hopefully will be, the hardest thing I've ever accomplished (certainly on a bike), however after a night of sleep interrupted a bit to often by trips to the bathroom, I'm not feeling spectacularly confident. Vediamo :)... read more

Once again my iPad has served no purpose other than ballast, which is not incredibly desirable. I am well ahead of schedule today. 35 miles to be exact, brought about partly by fear of my ride on Sunday (want tomorrow as easy as possible) and partly due to a miscalculation of distances between towns. Rode about 125 miles today, in perfect weather through lots of farms. Very picturesque, however stopping meant being bitten by all sorts of bugs, so there's not a great many photos. Only 60 miles tomorrow :)... read more

Possibly the most pleasant 200km cycle you could ever wish for, excluding the semi-arctic conditions at the French/Italian border. The day didn't exactly start well, with my petit dejeuner consisting of half a breadstick and a glass of jus d'orange, however from that point on (particularly after my croque monsieur at 25 miles) things couldn't have been much better. More long gradual descents on perfectly smooth roads and beatiful climbs alongside lakes and rivers, all watched over by a not too overpowering sun. Having lunch in Barcelonette, only 21 miles (granted 11 of them uphill) separated me from Italy. The sun was out and things were looking rosy, my recent run of bad luck with Italian weather looked to be at an end. Over the next 90 minutes however, a familiar story began to form overhead. ... read more

Considering the weather report and what happened overnight, I have to consider myself a little bit lucky today with only a few spots of rain falling for the entire duration of my ride. Sure it was windy (enemy #1) and occasionally directly into my face, but having passed a river that had broken it's banks in Sommieres and being diverted in another town as roads were under a foot of water due to the overnight rain, I'll not complain. 75 miles or so today and a 5 o'clock arrival, meant I had a chance to actually look about the town and run some errands before gorging myself in a restaurant. My bike received some long overdue attention and now steers freely again, despite the mechanic astutely observing that my "balls are not round anymore". You might ... read more