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Published: August 7th 2007
The following day is quiet and peaceful in the morning. We set out on the same route. As we left Mattersdorf again, the same two older men who had been sitting on a bench by the side of the road at the edge of Mattersdorf just before the field where we took the video of the approaching storm, were there again. We had a lengthy conversation which started the day on a pleasant note.
We do not make our day´s mileage plan because of a constant noise in Ray´s bike. It sounds like something rubbing on the front wheel fender. We stop three times, first to clean the wheel, fender - then to take off the front fender - then thirdly we take off the rear fender and find the problem to be a leaf stuck in the fender of the back wheel. We met some fellow cylists from Hungary en route to Neusiedlersee.
As it was again a warm day, we decided to camp before evening so we could go for a swim in a pool by our campsite in Purbach. By the time we had set up the tent and were ready to swim, the storm clouds
Morning Leaving Mattersburg
These two fellows on the bench (you only see one clearly on this photo) were there the evening before as we passed by before the start of the storm (before we headed back to Mattersburg)were gathering. It was another onslought like the day before. This time, Ray was able to take a video of Andrew holding onto the tent. Ray thought Andrew should just give up on the tent, since a woman had come up to them and warned about branches falling as they had during the previous night´s storm. Andrew stood by the tent until the winds subsided to gale force. They both got completely wet, although the inside of the tent stayed dry.
At one point Andrew in a Candide/Polyanna way said that he thought the clouds were getting brighter and he would stay by the tent, whereas Ray only thought that this would be because of the near continuous lightning and they should both go for cover.
(time for a plug for the tent - Andrew did a lot of research before purchasing this tent for the trip - a super light double vestibule tent from Mountain Equipment Co-op, it has two windows even! - it is a wonderful tent and even keeps dry and stays down in a gale!)
The campsite director offered the two campers, the only non car campers, a key to an inside room
One vehicle train
Interesting slogan on wall of factory. for the night. There was even water on the floors in the building which was on the windward side of the storm. The winds stayed quite heavy into the night. One tree on the campsite fell during the night and would have landed on someone´s car had he not moved it.
But the next day meant the arrival in Vienna! A very friendly Viennese woman on a bike staying at the campsite for the summer, spoke to us before our departure about her and our lives and about the excitement to come from a month in Vienna.
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