September 18, 2018. Austria. Biked 30 Kilometers.

When we saw the mileage listed for this tour we thought it would be a piece of cake. Hah! The last couple of days have been really tough. Today was no walk in the park either...  Our original plan was to cycle from here to Kaprun ("mostly downhill"), have lunch and then go up in the mountains.

This morning at breakfast Peter told us that we were doing the day in reverse because the weather prediction called for sun in the morning and a cloudy afternoon. No sense going up in the Alps if it's all clouded over.

So we piled into the van and drove to Kaprun. There Peter bought us all lift tickets and we first got into a small cable car, then a chair lift, and then a very large very crowded cable car.

At the top of Kitzsteinhorn Mountain we went through a mile-long tunnel to get to the other side of the mountain. It seems that the tunnel cuts through the very peak of the mountain.

The views from the top were incredible! We could see Grossglockner, the tallest peak of Austria--there was a panorama of mountains in every direction. There is still some snow up there, but not enough to ski. This is one of the most expensive ski resorts in Austria.

We went back through the tunnel to the other side and the view was just as breathtaking. There we got a group photo with the elevation sign (almost 10,000 feet).

Then we got back in the large cable car and rode it down to the next level. There we had lunch and then got back on the chair lift to descend further. The view from the chair lift was exceptional.

We rode the smaller cable car down to the van. It was a short drive to the parking lot where we got on our bikes. Unfortunately I'd left my bike shoes back at the hotel, so Peter changed my pedals and I rode in my tennis shoes. I hate when that happens!

Today we rode through farm country and small villages. It was moderate terrain, some small hills but nothing incredibly hard. A small boy was herding cows through one of the villages. (There was also a man on a motorbike but he'd gone ahead by the time I was able to take the photo).

We came upon some more straw people... we've seen them all over this region but I have no idea what they signify.

Marietta was waiting for us in the van in Mittersill, same spot as yesterday. We loaded the bikes and ourselves and came back to Schloss Mittersill. We were early enough to swim before dinner, always a refreshing recovery from biking.