19/08/2019 – The end of the familiar

Fuelling up is definitely one of the perks of this trip. The sheer amount of calories I need/want to consume means stuffing my face at every opportunity with pizza, pasta and snacks.

Gladly obliging after the return trip over Stelvio I made the short cycle to the campsite. Sadly my body didn’t like the fact that I’d stuffed thousands of calories down me and decided to keep me up until 2am with awful acid reflux. On the one hand, I managed to watch some of the shows I’d downloaded from Netflix, on the other, I had to be sat bolt upright in my tent in plunging temperatures due to being at altitude which made it all quite chilly.

Feeling groggy, I packed up my tent early as I had a big day ahead of me. First off was the Passo Gavia. A challenging climb with a tricky trip down the other side due there being huge cracks in the road surface.

Next was a smaller climb with a long decent down the main road which made the game of keeping up with the cars quite easy.

The third and last climb of the day would take me towards Bolzano which is where I was staying for the night. The road to Bolzano was spectacular, made even better by being the only thing on the road and the sun setting over the horizon.

Towards the bottom however, my luck started to change. The sky lit up with a flash of lightening and next thing I knew, the heavens opened and I was soaked through.

This was unlike the thunderstorms I’m used to in the UK, both the air temperature and the rain were really warm so I didn’t get cold in the slightest.

Sprinting to the campsite along the cycle path the rain started to slow down and eventually stopped just before arriving at the campsite.

The weather the next day was as clear as you’d like and I made use of the washing machines at the campsite as I’d been in the same kit for about 3 days.

A quick tour and lunch stop in Bolzano (which is lovely by the way) meant that I needed to have a good afternoon in the saddle to make up for lost time that morning.

Another day in the dolomites was rewarded with yet more stunning mountains and views as I made my way to Cortina d’Ampezzo then Tolmezzo. Days like these are tiring on the legs but as I was heading out of the mountain range, I was sure I was going to miss them.

It isn’t just the mountains, there were some incredible lakes which you could sit beside for hours on end.

I made my way out of Italy into Austria, I’m not sure what I expected in Austria but another switchback climb was in the way of me finding out.

Having started early I’d made quick time and no sooner had I crossed the border and come down the mountain that I’d found a campsite with a swimming pool. Deciding to take the afternoon off I put up my tent and practically ran to the pool like a child.

Staying as late as possible the next morning to make the most of their pool and WiFi safe in the knowledge that the days should start to get easier now that I was out of the mountains.

Sadly over the past day or two I had developed a slow puncture, this meant that every hour or two I had to pump up my front tyre rather than just change the inner tube. Having out it off for far too long, I decided to change it. About half an hour later I was really struggling to get the tyre back on afterwards and almost resigned myself to the fact I was never going to leave this campsite. A man then came up to me, saw I was struggling, took the wheel and after about 10 seconds and finished it. He then just walked off without saying anything. This bit of divine intervention certainly took the edge off my frustrations.

A flat day to Villach with a good average speed meant that I had plenty of time that evening to watch a bit of the TV that I’d downloaded and plan the route for the next few days. I was heading towards Ljubljana as a family friend lives there and he’d kindly offered to put me up for the night. I would start the journey into eastern Europe which I’d not really spent much time in before.

I was excited to see what the different cultures, landscapes and roads had to offer and my wallet would certainly look forward to the lower cost of living.