The hills are alive...

Continuing east from Venice through the flat country we stopped in Palmanova – mainly because of its star-shaped appearance on maps.me – it was a quaint little town and had great gelati! It started to drizzle so we actually stopped at a half-finished and abandoned house to camp the night in shelter with a great view of the electrical storm.

Despite covering a lot of kms on flat country, the beauty of the mountains was calling again so we headed into Slovenia and north through the Julian Alps and enjoyed some of the sweetest apples we’d ever had (all fallen from the trees of course!). Slovene (Slovenish) seems a complicated language with lots of hard to pronounce words, a fascination for ‘K’ & ‘J’ while missing vowels but we navigated through to a town called Bohinjska Bistrica. Bohinj was more of a village as it had maintained its old fashioned buildings and ‘small town’ nature – no large hotels with hordes of tourists. We enjoyed a typical Slovenian dinner of saurerkraut soup with beans and sausage, dry red corn with fried bits and sour milk, and boiled potatoes with a kind of cottage cheese. Yum!

We also enjoyed a ride out to Lake Bohinj before continuing north to Lake Bled… loaded with tourists however we still enjoyed a swim before heading off through the forest.

Interesting interaction with a park ranger and an earlier than usual start was incredible as the mist was forming over the ice cold glacial creeks. 

We enjoyed a walk up and behind Pericnik waterfall.

Coffee in Moystrana – construction workers were actually working! And it was Sunday!! Became clear that Slovenians are hard workers (both farmers and around personal gardens etc.) They all speak English as well which made travelling so easy. Slovenia was the greenest country we had ever seen, crystal clear water and I’m not sure they appreciate me “complaining” that we couldn’t find rubbish along the side of the road to clean our chains with! 

Pretty steep hills: 10%, 12%, 15%... when was it going to stop!?! Rode up an 18% gradient in the rain to get to the Austrian border. Decided to rest only to check our breaks as the Austrian guard was quite confident in telling us that the gradient down the other side was 23%... while we felt sorry for the cyclists pushing their bicycles up as we passed, it certainly got the adrenaline pumping and the hands (on the brakes) cramping.

Austria was also green…the land of green green grass! Every slope that was flat enough was being used to grow grass. Watching them cut, turn, dry, rake, collect, stuff into barns was exhausting – so much labour involved but we rarely saw the cows as they were inside barns or under the house! The biggest farm was perhaps 100 cows = Tim’s number crunching couldn’t figure out how they make an income = how much govt. assistance?

When not playing in the grass they cast their ‘green fingers’ upon the flowers that decorate every balcony. We admired the displays and the pride that EVERY house had in its garden…we couldn’t find the housing commission areas.

  

We raced up a hill just in time to take a train 8km through-under the mountains (all road traffic takes it) and came out at the village of Bad Gastein = beautiful waterfalls rush down the centre of the town and extravagant hotels and churches with a stunning view down the valley to complete the scene.

Bike paths in Austria were great = well marked and great surface! We made our way to Salzburg with a few detours to see some of the sights.

One adrenaline pumping moment was the morning when we removed the tent fly and had it and the tent drying in the sun. A brief excursion to the bathroom and we came back puzzled as to where the tent was...? Pondering lasted microseconds as Tim realised that the wind had blown our tent over the fence = into a fast flowing river! He went charging off over the fence, removing clothes to rival 'the Hoff' and then jumped in to rescue the tent which was barely floating in the cold river. Amazingly no damage, all parts still present and the only damage was a grazed bum - no photos :(

Salzburg = Home of the Sound of Music! 

House on the lake + Abbey behind

Doe Ray Me

I am 31 going on 32!

Salzburg lakes district was beautiful. Every lake was a surprise and the route the bike paths took amazing. We got to see a waterski show; the red bull world championships of parachuting; a cultural festival. Perfect weather helps make any place special but we loved cycling Austria!

They played music between the beers!

Cycling Swiss Alps and the Dolomites… We Smashed it!

Tired and still stressed from the weekend (and the traumatic kayaking) we set off for Switzerland. The morning was a short ride with a post-lunch relax by a very busy waterfall. We decided we should get riding for the afternoon and even took a gamble on another bike path… bad move! Was steep and gravel – but we did make it across the Swiss border and found a lovely campsite with friendly staff and lots of green grass…not the ‘but its soft gravel’ sold to us by an Italian campsite.

The next morning had threatening rain so we had a slow start but raced off as soon as we saw the sun. After a lot of motivational encouragement for each other (ok, mainly Emily needed this!) we began the ascent of the Maloja pass (1815m). Not sure what we were worried about as it was short and no trouble at all. Despite the drizzly forecast we made the most of the sun and continued cycling alongside some beautiful lakes arriving in the ‘tourist mecca’ Sankt Moritz. Everything in Switzerland seemed to be PERFECT and Sankt Moritz is no exception – it is gearing up to host the ‘World Alpine Ski Championships’ in Feb 2017. Our luck with the weather ran out here and we managed a good deal at the Swiss Youth Hostel… Dinner, breakfast AND hot shower… YES!

We stupidly keep thinking that each bike path we take (rather than road) will be better than the last. The following day 30km of path turned to un-rideable gravel hills! As we finally made it to asphalt road it started raining yet again. Determined to keep going we began our ascent of the Fuorn pass (2149m)… interesting feeling so cold and wet on the outside but burning hot on the inside from the effort (both of us in lowest chain rings both front and back!). Numb fingers and glasses constantly fogged by the steam that we were breathing. To top it off, as soon as we hit the highest point of the pass we had a freezing cold downhill ride (about 20km worth) to our campsite = hot shower!

The next two days were brilliantly sunny and we enjoyed the easy downhill riding all the way to Bozen/Bolzano – a strange italo-germanic town where everyone thought we were German. Not wasting any sunshine time we continued on through to the Dolomites. Our campsite 6km from the top of the Gardenia pass (2136m) was beautiful – and an ideal starting point for the final ascent the next morning. Valparola pass was our highest (2168m) and thankfully by this point we were like a ‘well-oiled 2-person, mountain-cycling machine’. We barely noticed the Falzarego pass before the downhill into Cortina. Here we jumped on another bike path (how many times can we make this mistake?!?). Despite being gravel, this one had a hard base and had no crazy-steep hills. We were particularly keen on taking the path as we knew we would find a secluded campsite and the path certainly delivered! – Dinner (and breakfast) with a view!!

All taken by your riding one-handed photo professional!

Through the Cimabanche and Misurina passes without even realising (ok so they were not that high!... we’re not that pro yet!!) Misurina town and lake were idyllic! Problem was that no one around was capable of taking a photo of us that met Tim’s high standards in photo quality… Oh well! Tim attempted to take some video while we were speeding downhill 1000m in altitude to Lake Santa Caterina (don’t worry – both collarbones are still currently intact!). We got stuck in a ‘no-man’s land’ area between road and bike path but found the Museo dell’Occhiale in Pieve di Cadore. This was fascinating for both of us as it included everything from the history of spectacles to eye disease and even funky glasses worn by celebrities like Elton John.

We had a major adrenaline rush riding through some high-speed tunnels before finding a beautiful campsite in a riverbed… yes, ok after our near wash-away experience you’d think we would’ve learnt (especially as it did rain during the night) but this one was similar to a Central Australian riverbed with only a trickle of water.

After our successful hills riding we were pretty confident that we could cycle south just as fast as catching a train to Venice. Over 100km and one day later we rode into the campsite at Mestre (mainland near Venice). Wandering around Venice was indeed fascinating… and full of tourists! We fitted in a boat trip to Murano where we were able to observe two very different kinds of glass-blowing… one based on blowing a vase and shaping the glass and the second mixing in coloured pieces and forming a drinking glass. Beautiful city and the sun was perfect for plenty of photos! I even persuaded Tim to sit (yeah really!) to enjoy pasta and wine for dinner beside the canal near the Rialto Bridge.

Slow start using wifi to complete some ‘travel admin’ this morning. We’re off to ride east towards Slovenia and into Austria.

North out of Rome

Exiting north of Rome we expected the worst in traffic but were pleasantly surprised… the most annoying part was Italians trying to use round-abouts. They stop in the middle of the round-about to let cars in… ??? We don’t stop for no-one!

Our first stop was only 25kms away from the centre of Rome and was an idyllic crater lake. We spent the afternoon swimming and sitting in a shady beach (our first in Italy). A litre of delicious ice-cream and we sped north further that afternoon. Passing some more roman ruins – these ones were cutting into the rock cliffs and great that the amphitheatre is still being used! Then onto another lake for the night.

The next day we went hunting for some thermal springs that we had been told about… not sure why as it was 40degrees! We managed to find them – they were cold not hot, but we passed on swimming anyway as they wreaked of sulphur! We moved on to find a respite out of the sun… Italy is in Europe but it rivalled some of Alice Springs January days… bloody hot enough to become soggy with sweat while we sat in the shade. Fortunately we moved on that evening to another campsite beside a lake.

Not to break the pattern of our trip north we rode quite speedily (a 100km before lunch!)… and ended up camping beside another lake! We then woke up to some lightning strikes that hit so close that we huddled in the tent and Tim pondered the electrical conductivity of titanium tent poles compared to the nearby trees. The rain paused briefly and we packed up in record speed to ride on. 

Arezzo was a pleasant surprise – lots of old buildings and a restored fortress. We were worried when told that the old town was steep hills… not for us! Explored the town with no problem. North up a lovely farming valley looking for a lake but had to settle for a river to camp near (behind an abandoned bowling alley)

Up over a mountain pass and whoosh down 20km of lovely winding downhill… swerving to miss a friendly serpent as it played chicken. A butcher for lunch meat and then a long ride looking a suitable fireplace… where do the picnic sites go when you actually need one! We washed our sweaty riding shirts with the goal of resting while they dried… no such luck as a thunder cloud developed immediately after washing to generously give us and the shirts another rinse. We were amazed at locals riding in the rain… we never ride in rain at home… in Alice we just wait until the next day and it will be sunny!

We decided to avoid Pisa to stay in the mountains and a more interesting route. Our first big fail!! After 6km of 10+% gradient in 35deg with humidity and a promise of 10km more… fluid loss and exhaustion fortunately didn’t cloud our choice to turn around and find icecream and an alternate route… these mountain backroads weren’t cycling friendly! Hence we made our way anyway to Pisa.

Pisa = Funny angled tower… nice restoration job and some impressive marble rocks. Annoying tourists taking photographs pushing it upright and bloody cyclists getting in the way wheeling our overloaded bikes through. We actually liked Lucca better (20km away) with a big wall around the city with quaint buildings and city streets.

Cinque Terre drew us as it has the reputation of being one of the world’s great coastal walks. We road into Levanto and took a x1 day National Park and Train pass to explore the 5 coastal towns that make up the Cinque Terre. It is an amazing place, beautiful sea views and cliffs that have had terraces for farming built up the sides. Despite all the signs telling us to respect the farmers’ land either side of the track, we were disappointed to find that in parts, the farmers themselves had not pruned their olive trees or maintained the terraces. Some of the worst farming we have seen in Europe likely because there is more money in tourism. Also a pity that the terraces had become overgrown with blackberries… enough that the sea view was blocked completely. Another disappointment was that the ‘world famous’ trail was half closed, reading the guide books it has been like this since 2001. That said, the views we did managed to see were spectacular. Most impressive was the coast north of Cinque Terre where national park policy hadn’t got in the way of building walking tracks and bike paths.

We decided to head straight north. This involved a fair climb up over the mountain range into the Po river valley. We had an enjoyable WarmShower stay with Giovanni in Pavia who gave us great advice to head north along bike paths that followed the canals up to the ‘Lakes District’. This was the flattest, smoothest riding we had done in a long time. We waited for a tourist info office to open and decided on a route past three small lakes before Lake Como.

After experiencing near bushfire disaster in Sardinia, it was time for another ‘almost’ natural disaster. We set up the tent in sunny blue sky weather beside an idyllic creek in the cover of trees. As we settled down to sleep we thought we heard rain but the tree cover protected us from getting wet. Fortunately we put the tent fly on as 2 hours later it was bucketing down some of the heaviest rain we had experienced. Soon our idyllic campsite had been flooded and the tent became a waterbed. We thought this was the worst however after Tim finished digging drainage trenches, he then noticed the creek had risen dramatically! We quickly prepared for a quick escape should the creek burst its banks. Thankfully it didn’t and we got some sleep despite being slightly wet.

The ride into Como showed the extent of the storm. The ride north along Lake Como became sunny and more spectacular as we went. We found a hostel to wash/dry tent and sleeping gear. The next day was ‘Postcard Perfect’.

We then rode north around the lake to Colico and met Fulvio, another WarmShower host. He wasted no time organising for us to join him and his friends for drinks. This turned out to be a very late night – especially the 18km ride home at 2am. Next morning we were up to experience the river. As Tim and Fulvio kayaked down the rapids, Emily decided never to kayak a river again. Lunch was spectacular! At a restaurant that had 2 dishes on the menu: Pizzoccheri (black-grain pasta in garlic, oil cheese base sauce) and Sciatt (deep fried cheese balls)… We didn’t feel like dinner.

After much study and debate over which pass to cross we headed north into Switzerland.