DISTANCE COVERED:  101.3 KM

CYCLE TIME:  5:22

AVERAGE SPEED:  18.9

Our day started at 8:30 a.m. by meeting Tom at his bed and breakfast, about ¾ km away from our hotel.  Today’s ride on Highway 160 followed the Vltava River valley south to the Austrian border.  We were off to a cool start, with the temperature hovering around the 3ºC mark.  Mist was rising from the warmer waters of the adjacent river.  Tom complained about his cold hands, and his uncooperative digestive tract. The traffic was thankfully quite light after leaving the environs of Český Krumlov.

MIST RISING FROM THE VLTAVA RIVER (photo by Kevin Rodger)

There were several interesting towns along the river, including one obscured from the smoke of cooking and heating fires.  We still regret not taking a picture of this quaint village. This was a very scenic ride as we cycled in the forested valley beside the meandering Vltava River for 40 kilometers. There were a few very long climbs with grades of about 4%.  Although none of today's riding was done on cycle paths, the road was not busy, and we had no problems with passing motorists.  Every time a car passed, the driver would signal his pass, as well as his return to the lane.  No passes were made in an unsafe manner, and no passing was made when there was a solid line down the middle of the road.  Most of the traffic was also heading the opposite direction into Cesky Krumlov, so in many respects we "owned" the road!

"PEE BREAK" - WHERE'S THE ITALIAN GUY? (photo by Kevin Rodger)

At the border crossing into Austria, there were two checkpoints, about 2 km apart on the crest of a hill.  The first one was manned by the Czech border guards, where we were inspected in a very serious manner.  Our passports were taken into an office, and reappeared a few minutes later bearing the prerequisite official stamp. It was so worn that one could only guess which country it belonged to.  We thought the first crossing was the only border point, but we were proven wrong when two kilometers later Kevin asked the Austrian border guard how much the “toll” was.  A droll reply came forth – “papers, passports”. Tom and Paul were simply waved through.

CZECH BORDER CROSSING (Photo by Paul Delconte)

KEVIN AND PAUL - OUT OF CZECH REPUBLIC, INTO AUSTRIA (photo by Paul Delconte)

By this point in our journey, the sun had warmed up the temperature considerably, and we were now shedding clothing.  We stopped in Bad Leonfeldon and enjoyed a hearty lunch at an outside restaurant table in the main square of the town. We were joined by numerous swarming wasps, evidently attracted to what we had ordered, especially the fresh dish of cranberry sauce that accompanied our order.

THE RESTAURANT IN BAD LEONFELDON - DON'T LET THE LET THE WASPS "BUG" YOU (photo by Paul Delconte)

Now into  Austria , we began to enjoy mostly descents. After one very long, but reasonably gentle climb, we reached the crest of a hill. The Alps could be seen in the distance, and the Danube River valley lay shrouded in mist 2,000 feet below.  From here we descended into the Danube city of Linz . This was the most delightful downhill of our trip. Tom calculated it at about 8 to 10 km in length. For ten kilometers, we never had to pedal very hard. Kevin, with a bit more mass than Paul and Tom , was able to sustain a speed of 45 kph.  He reached a maximum of 62 kph on this downhill section. Kevin waited at the bottom of the hill, camera in hand to catch his two colleagues in action.  He waited a long time. Paul arrived in two minutes, followed by Tom a full 8 minutes later. Tom was unnerved by the long descent and openly admitted that his brakes were on the whole time!

We rode through Linz more or less on blind faith, as we had no detailed maps of the rest of the route.  Eventually, we asked a couple in a car for directions and soon we were looking at the mighty, Blue Danube .  Well, it is not really that blue. More like a pale green, or even brown, but the site was beautiful.  The river was wide, and several powered barges passed by at a very good speed of about 20 kph.  There were many cyclists on the pathway, including many with loaded panniers, and many with children in tow.

OUR FIRST VIEW OF THE MIGHT DANUBE FROM THE BIKE PATH IN LINZ (photo by Paul Delconte)

The Danube Bike Way , known in German as the Donauradweg extends almost 400 kilometers from Passau in the west to Bratislava in the Slovak Republic.  It is generally flat for the most part, and follows paved paths and placid rural roads through quaint villages.  Along the way are ample opportunities for rest stops, lunch breaks and restaurants, bike repair shops, as well as lots of bicycle friendly accommodations in most of the towns along the route.

At 5:10 p.m. we arrived in Mauthausen, site of an infamous German concentration camp. We stayed at a pension right on the Danube Cycle Path for 25 Euros apiece (about $40 CAN).

OUR OVERNIGHT STOP IN MAUTHAUSEN (photo by Paul Delconte)

HOME