a Good Start

We finally began our ride today! After months of planning and effort, it was wonderful to get on the road. 

We received a delightful send-off when the Back Road Club’s moped rodeo departed promptly at 6:00. Considering that they had closed the bar of the night before, I was a little surprised that they got moving so briskly. It was quite a sight, all these hard drinking, chain smoking, burly men, hopping on their mopeds, Vespas and tiny motorbikes for another day's adventure.

We made a much quieter departure several hours later. We were forced into a schedule of 2 short days to start, so that we can meet a bus shuttle promptly at 10am in Flachauwinkl on the third day to transit a tunnel that doesn't allow bikes. Probably not the strangest way to plan an entire itinerary, but certainly a great chance to visit Flachauwinkl...

We had a delightful day of riding up the river with a nice tailwind. Lots of bikes going both directions and all the Alpine scenery you would hope for.

The kids do definitely out distance us quickly, as one would expect, and at some point I turned to Liv and said that this was how things would be in a few years when they were off and we were riding alone through the Alps again. They are both a great combination of very strong, very capable and very confident. We all have the day's route in our phones and the signage looks great so far, so they can definitely feel like they don't need to look to us for any ideas about where to go.

We do still stop for the important things and any furry animal can rate.

Our camp this evening is in a decidedly funky yet perfect cow pasture. There is a more formal Campground in town a couple kilometers away, but it definitely doesn't have the same amount of style. We have all the necessary amenities for showering and washing and also have great scenery. There is a big sign as you come in saying go and set up your camp, and then swing by the front desk at the nearby hotel to pay later in the evening.

Because we were in camp so early, we had time to go into town for a simple lunch and then do the hike to a local waterfall which was quite fun. It is just like the Metolius River in scale and starting by coming out of the rock but this one immediately plunges over two 75 M waterfalls afterwards and is quite dramatic.

Tomorrow has quite a bit more climbing, but is still under our 50km normal. We will hope for further Tailwinds and that we recover well from our first day.