Lockdown Touring

Covid restrictions during the 2020 summer meant abandoning plans for cycling in France, Italy and beyond, and staying within Austria's borders. The plan was to cycle round the country visiting every one of the nine Bundesländer or provinces.

Austria is only a small country surrounded by eight other countries, so it was decided to ride close to the borders and we could sample the influence of those lands just beyond home territory.

We didn't succeed in reaching all nine Bundesländer. Vorarlberg in the far west eluded us. We had plans for a long, long climb to the Silvretta mountain range above 2000m. But crowds of tourists from abroad in the area during the holiday months, and poor weather later, put paid to the scheme.

We did manage two tours: riding along the borders with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy. From home, we regularly ride into or up to the border with Germany too. Only Switzerland and Liechtenstein were missing - part of our "far west" plans.

The two tours provided us with plenty of variety beginning with the wine growing areas on the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian borders, and on the second tour, along the southern border rivers where there was a chance of meeting a wild bear.

Glide along with us around Austria's borders - just click on the links

The wine tour

https://spark.adobe.com/page/A5BoQHwCS0j9w/

Riding the Rivers

https://spark.adobe.com/page/FURIyM049U0VW/

Further, higher...but better?

I can’t believe I’m writing this. For years I have scorned the riders who have whizzed past me on their e-bikes. I have scoffed at people pedalling effortlessly along, on the flat, and particularly uphill. I have mocked the very idea of an e-bike: after a few weeks of training, the e-part of the bike should be unnecessary, shouldn’t it?

A pass on the Austria, Slovenia border

So how come I am writing this? I weakened. I succumbed. I indulged. I bought an e-bike. 

 

And now? Well, some of my old prejudices remain. Sometimes I turn off the power just to prove I can pedal along without it. But only rarely have I slung a leg over my trusty, beautiful Roberts “pedal” bike – just as the guy in the e-bike shop thought would be the case.

 

Remaining prejudices? The beauty of a non-e-bike is the fact that there is just you and the bike. You can travel as far as your legs will keep turning. There is no limit – only your limit. It is so simple. Life is simple. Go on a world tour or a trip to the shops, you are the power supply.

 

Once you climb on an e-bike, you are at the mercy of the battery. You need to think of when you will need to recharge and where you will be able to do this. You have to think about carrying a charger if you are to go any distance – or at least don’t know where you will end up. If you have to recharge en route, this will take up good cycling time. Riding abroad: will the plug fit? Life is more complicated - although you can quickly adapt.

 

Riding higher and further

I have pushed the limits, just to know how far and how high I can go without recharging. I have just scraped home but with the battery indicator on red. Without it, the extra weight of the bike would make riding up the final 5km, 400m vertical road home impossible…even pushing.

 

And there is the other downside. Though these bikes have the latest motor and, admittedly the biggest battery available, they are pretty heavy.  On the flat, it is easy enough to turn off the motor and keep going. Up hill is another story. Any situation where it is necessary to climb or descend steps such as into a hotel cellar for the night, and particularly up steps into some trains, can be a struggle.

Kolm Saigurn, Austria, 1600m

 

The upsides

So, though some prejudices remain, what are the upsides of an e-bike? Living in the Alps, most routes involve a lot of hills. Many rides are more accurately described in meters climbed than in kilometres. Riding up hills is where the e-bike excels. Where once I crawled home at 6 or 7kph, now I whizz up at 16 or 17kph without breaking a sweat. As it is the only way home, it had become a tedious chore.

 

The relative ease of riding up hill has opened up new route possibilities. Seriously long or steep climbs are no longer off-putting. And hilly routes plied frequently, where one is tempted to take a car, become feasible regular cycle journeys.

 

Long distance touring with luggage, has also taken on a new lease of life. Daily distances which over the years had shrunk, can once again be stretched to their former range, and hillier routes can be tackled, without being exhausted at the end of the day. 

 

In a nutshell

So the e-bikes in a nutshell, mean that we can go further, higher and with more pleasure. On the downside, they are more cumbersome, less independent and maybe give less satisfaction when looking back at a completed tour or climb.

 

 

Riding with luggage in Austria's Bucklige Welt - land of 1000 hills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glide the Ride

Some of the bike tours featured on this Blog are now available as "glide shows" with many more illustrations and additional information. Just click on the links to glide along the route.

Czech Mate

From Dassau to Vienna through the Czech Republic, following first the Elbe, avoiding Prague and then cross country to Breclav and to the Danube.

https://spark.adobe.com/page/CNEd5IQcdh4pv/

Lacets de Montvernier

The tortured, twisted road once taken by the Tour de France, with 18 hairpin bend over just four kilometres as it climbs up a cliff face. A "must do" ride for your bucket list.

https://spark.adobe.com/page/Mo2oGd4uakIAm/

A Lot of Good Reasons

The River Lot is not one of the best known among cyclists who love riding in France. But it has much to offer. Ancient towns, beautiful scenery with plenty of tiny, quiet roads, good wine and food.

https://spark.adobe.com/page/Jfb4TnUZ212z6/

The Wall

The wall that until 1989 divided East from West Germany was 1300km long. Much remains of the walls, fences, and watchtowers which was fortified by mines and booby traps, to prevent citizens leaving the DDR to live in the west.The wall divided villages, crossed rivers and cut a swath through woodland. The Grüne Band bike route follows the wall from the Baltic to the Czech border. An adventurous ride through modern history. 

Click the link for the Glide Show along the trail

https://spark.adobe.com/page/vpXB0Rmic8FgI/

Lacets de Montvernier: a twisted tale

St Jean de Maurienne. French Savoie Alps: outside the Hotel St Georges, under an awning sit a group of men. Not old but no longer young. They are drinking beer and the boisterous conversation includes mention of heart rates, watts of power, gear ratios, descent speeds. Each can cap the story of another.

Similar conversations in different languages are in progress in the bars of other hotels around the town.

St Jean would be an undistinguished town if it wasn’t for the Tour de France which often passes through or finishes here. For St Jean de Maurienne lies deep in a valley at the foot of some of the most mythical cols in the world of cycling: the Madeleine, the Galibier, the Glandon and its brother the Croix de Fer.

St Jean de Maurienne is one of those towns like Le Bourg d'Oisans (Alpe d'Huez) that in summer attracts men with bikes keen to pitch their skills against the mighty climbers like Quintana, Froome and from the past like Pantani, Coppi, Merckx and more. Everyone wants to prove themselves man enough to take on the Galibier.

Lacets de Montvernier - ticking off a bucket list climb

But there's a more modest goal here too – one which has fascinated many since the Tour took it into its stride in 2015. The Lacets de Montvernier are a short sharp climb which would hardly cause a ripple in the Peloton if it wasn’t for the fact that in the space of four kilometers there are 18 hairpin bends.

The Lacets, or Laces in English, rise up an almost vertical cliff face. They look as if they were designed as a challenge to show what is possible rather than to build a road that would be of practical use.

Looking down. The best view is from the neighbouring rocks

They were one of those bucket list climbs that needed ticking off. From below they look quite impressive but as you ride up, there isn’t much to see – sometimes a bend just above your head, sometimes one or two further down. The views of the mountains around are much more impressive. The famous photos are not taken from the road itself but from the surrounding rocks.  

Riding up, there are beautiful views of the surrounding peaks

Reaching the top  is a bit of an anticlimax. You are riding between meadows towards the village of Montvernier. But for more great riding, keep going and head for the Col du Chaussy. The road rises steadily. Has very little traffic. Passes through woods, along a ridge with a vertiginous drop on one side and a great overhanging rock on the other. The road passes though high meadows with big mountain views before breasting the col at 1533m.

Continuing on you can join the road to the Col du Madelaine or turn around, cruise back via Chatelet and take a seat outside the St Georges and join the conversation.

Czech this out for a great ride

The Elbe (Labe in Czech) from Mêlnik

 Are there good reasons for a bike ride across the Czech Republic? Yes, definitely. For a start, excellent beer is a third of the price in neighbouring countries and overall the cost of accommodation and eating out is also less.

But that isn’t a good enough reason. If you are of a mind to explore the less-well-cycled areas of Europe, Czechia (it’s formal name) is a great choice. There are a host of bike routes that are very well signposted. These include four Eurovelo routes: 4, 7, 9 and 13. These follow quiet roads and are merely part of a huge network criss-crossing the whole continent.

 

Signposting for cyclists is very good

(Beware! Once you begin to follow a Eurovelo Route and see signs for a city you have always wanted to visit, but which is 3000km away, the temptation is to scrap all your plans, just follow the signs and keep going.)

The roads in the Czech Republic aren’t bad. Some are very good and some are rather patchy. However just about every town lies in a sea of cobbles and arrivals and departures are usually a bumpy affair.

 

Town centres like this in Litomêríce are usually a sea of cobbles

The Elbe Bike Route along the river which rises close to the Polish border, passes north of Prague and continues right across Germany to Hamburg, has some lovely smooth surfaces and some pretty awful, rough, irregular stone sections. The whole river ride is some 1400km.

 

The Elbe bike trail is, in some, places uncomfortable riding

Although the minor roads are generally pretty good and the signposting is excellent, cycle touring doesn’t seem to be very popular. Once east of Prague, you are a bit of a rarity. 

That does not mean that some of a bike tourist’s special needs are not well catered for. Hotels and guest houses have secure, safe and dry accommodation for valuable bicycles. They are also happy to accept reservations made the night before by telephone - without the need for giving credit card details. Most of the time, English is the best option for non-Czech speakers.

 

Quiet roads, beautiful woodland, rural scenery and small villages make it an attractive destination

If it is a culture you are looking for as well as a day in the saddle, there are some lovely old towns which may not be quite as glossy as those along the Elbe in Germany, but which have their own charm or points of interest. Kutná Hora and Terezín are both worth a day’s stop in themselves. Brno and Breclav are less well-known cities worth a look.

 

The old town of Kutná Hora has a beautiful cathedral 

Prague, of course, is a destination in itself and one worth avoiding if you don’t want to get caught up in a host of hen parties, having to fight your way through the crowds on the Carlsbrücke and having to pay through the nose for just about everything. 

 

Cobbles welcome you to every town

The Czech Republic is a country that the ubiquitous Bikeline books have not yet comprehensively covered with long distance tour ideas, maps and books. This means you can be out on your own, forging your own route, not one of a crowd, and feeling a bit like a pioneer. It’s a good feeling and Czechia is a good, safe place to experience it.

A way into the Czech Republic is along the Elbe from Germany, from, for example, Dresden. (The former East Germany is a good introduction to cobbles.) The river cycle trail runs direct through Bad Schandau to Dêcín across the border. From the other direction, there are Greenway routes from Vienna which lead direct to Prague. 

 

Leaving for Austria from Breclav you come across the "platten" paving of the Iron Curtain era  

Tips and Links

Biking across Czechia – our story: https://spark.adobe.com/page/CNEd5IQcdh4pv/

For detailed bike routes, planning and directions download the free app: mapy.cz 

For the Elbe bike route, there is a free guide available from tourist offices or on line

https://www.elberadweg.de

Danube Deviations - head for the hills

Heading for the hills, on the Ötscherland bike trail

 The Danube bike trail from Passau to Vienna is hugely popular. In the summer the bikes go by in flocks. Bikes of every type. Riders of every age. It is a wonder to see. Cycling as easy as it can be.

But it can be a bit tedious. It’s a big river and there are only so many gigantic cruise ships to gawp at. It’s a wide valley and the hills are sometimes rather distant. And where there are attractions, like the abbey at Melk, the cruise ships are double parked and the trail is clogged with their passengers. 

 

Cruise ships double parked beside the bike trail at Melk 

It is great to see so many people enjoying their bikes. But the gaggles of cycling groups, all with matching bikes and day bags, out on their first bike tour experience, are so concentrated on following the wheel ahead, it is best to give them a wide berth.

 The Danube bike trail can at times become a bit tedious - it isn't often as empty as this

So if all this is spoiling your fun, leave the Danube and head for the hills. On the south side of the river, in the province of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) there are a number of great bike routes which follow rivers flowing down to the Danube. And you don’t have to ride up to enjoy the ride down. 

From Sankt Pölten the Mariazellerbahn, will take you and your bike to the pilgrim centre, Mariazell. The two-and-a-half hour journey itself is worth taking and the town with its lovely basilica, has a special atmosphere. Leaving on the Traisental Radweg is a true treat. Almost entirely on tiny roads or bike-only asphalt trails, it swirls down a serpentine road, and then climbs before it launches you into a wonderful descent back to the start. It is so well signposted you can’t get lost. It is about 88km to St Pölten, but continues another 20km to Traismauer on the Danube.

 

Along the Traisental bike route

Not had enough? Ride across country on the Pielachtal bike trail to Melk and a short way up the Danube. At Pöchlarn is the start of the Ötscherland bike route. This climbs 656m over a stretch of 62km. The first part rises gently but after Gaming a steady but do-able climb brings you to Pfaffenschlag from where there is a beautiful run down to the lake at Lunz.

 

The river Ybbs has beautiful green waters

From here, the trail along the river Ybbs through to the old town of Waidhofen is as good a route as you can find anywhere. Steadily descending, it is a broad, smooth asphalt trail running through pretty villages and along the turquoise green of the river. After Waidhofen it isn’t quite so idyllic, but it is easy to follow to Amstetten and the town of Ybbs on the Danube.

 

Göstling on the Ybbs Bike trail

The scenery is farmland and woodland, lovely but not extreme in any way. It certainly is a lot quieter than along the Danube and you will have had an opportunity to stretch your legs a bit on the uphill stretches and cruise down the descents.

Niederösterreich is justifiably proud of these trails, and the many more that link to and from them. They have a good range of detailed maps available for free in the tourist offices. The building of the province’s cycle network has been financially supported by the EU.