Bob on BAC Trans Alps 2008

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Bicycle self-repair stand

Thunderstorms from yesterday were all gone. We awoke to some fog in the mountains, but it soon burned off but it was a little cool. Leaving our hotel, we retraced the last 5 km our our route from two days ago and then continued on the bicycle path alongside the river all the way to Oberdrauburg. An interesting note, along the bicycle path there was a signboard with several bicycle tools that people could use to make repairs. We were wondering how long these would last in the States.

We began our first climb of the day for 6.5 km. It was a moderate climb, somewhat like Tunnel Road but slightly steeper. We dropped down to Kotschach where we stopped for a brief rest as we caught up to some of the earlier starters at a roadside cafe.

Lesachtal Scenic View

Then it was off to Lesachtal, a remote unspoiled valley with a small population. It was here that we began a series of climbs. The valley is narrow with high mountains on both sides. It contains many small villages, farmland with hay and areas famous for beef and lamb. The weather was in the 60's and 70's with clear skies and very little wind. The topography of the road reminded some of us of the Pacific Coast route with many ups and downs - down into corners and up the other side. Some of the ascents into the villages were quite steep.

We stopped in the small village Birmbaum for lunch which turned out to be pretty good. I had chicken pieces that were in a rich cream sauce. There were vegetables in the sauce, too. Speatzle was my side dish. Jeff had ham Cordon Bleu with fries.

We peddled on after lunch and stopped a few times for pictures. Jeff is taking most of the photos because he is faster and has to wait for me. While he is waiting, he takes pictures. He also stops for photos and catches up to me. It doesn't seem to wear him out. One highlight of our day came when we stopped in a village of Wacht where they were having a festival. They had a portable beer hall set up with a band and dancers. Jeff got a good video of the dancers doing woodmen's dance.

Inside Our Hotel

We arrived at our hotel shortly after 3:00. The Hotel-Gasthof Unterwoger in Obertilliach is a huge gasthof at 5000 feet elevation. It is furnished with a lot of stuffed hunting memorabilia and has the feel of an alpine lodge. Our room is large and comfortable. Dinner was in the hotel. Jeff and I had the same thing. We started with salad from the salad bar. Then we had a clear soup with three kinds of dumplings. Our main course was l amb with string beans wrapped in bacon and risotto. Desert was three kinds of ice cream.