Take a hat

 Views from the bike in October 2013  Stunning views on the way to Schwarzach Schwarzach is out of the Gastein Valley on the Salzach River. It's an easy ride down the valley on the cycle path and then through the tunnels at the end. Once out of the valley its an undulating ride through woods and past farms to the small town of Schwarzach. Luckily it has a few Bakerei so it was no trouble to find coffee and a cake. The route home is a little steeper as Schwarzach sits at around 600m Altitude and Bad Hofgastein at 850m but it is still a pleasant ride with great views. Before the tunnels were built at the mouth of the Gastein Valley, in the early seventies, the road took a perilous route high up on the edge of the river gorge. The road is not passable today because of a massive rock fall but it's possible to take a look at the narrow and steep track. It's very good for encouraging vertigo and not much else. There is little chapel about half way, I imagine everyone got

A walk from Gruner Baum (1000m) to Bad Hofgastein (850m) via Poserhohe (1505m)  - 17th October 2013 A welcome sight, the flag is raised at Poserhohe - our lunch stop Poserhohe is not a Mountain Restaurant we visit very often but we do enjoy it when we make the effort. We had decided on one of the less arduous routes so, after a bus ride to Gruner Baum, we walked down towards the Hohenweg and followed the Yellow signpost off and up to the right. The route up is mainly in the forest and seems wild and remote. The walking path is fairly steep and winding and we alternated between this and a rough tractor trail that also zig-zagged up the mountain. Pretty sure I would not want to cycle or drive up, particularly as its currently crossed by fallen trees. It took us about 90 minutes to reach Poserhohe, our lunch stop. It is a lovely old place and it probably has some of the best views in the valley from its outside tables. The views from inside are not bad either. Panoramic Views on

Snowfalls in October  Bad Hofgastein - the clouds are lifting About 6 inches of wet snow fell in the valley. The Farmers were probably ready for it but the trees were not. Many have not yet lost their leaves and could not take the weight and a good number succumbed. It put paid to our walks at the top temporarily but there are plenty of low altitude walks to keep us busy. Autumn Colours Sheep Freeze Out and about on a Sunday Stag do's and dont's Camera shy cow - Hiding in the woods Bad Hofgastein - heading down from the Hohenweg Geraniums - a reminder of Summer

Getting to the start - 6th September 2013 Eurostar - St. Pancras to Lille You've cut it a bit fine! Not particularly what you want to hear from the gate man at High Wycombe Station. Had to pedal like fury to get to Platform 3 before the train departed, good job the underpass was not too busy so I didn't skittle too many latecomers - sorry. To travel with a bike into London you must get to Marylebone before 07:45 and my targeted departure was the last possible train to beat the 'curfew'. My trip was all a bit last minute to be fair. My bike was only a week old, a Ridgeback Tour. My Garmin 800 was purchased at the same time. Bit of a steep learning curve to get my route input and planned and also gain some sort of understanding of how not to get lost when being told where to go by a bike gps. The planned route was to be from Lille in Northern France to Bastogne in Belgium on the Picardie-Wallonie (RV6). From Bastogne I would pick up a section of the Eurovelo 5 (Lo

A proper Winter in 2012 Out on the Graukogel TW - blue day for a blue run TBIL - the powder hound It’s a proper winter here in Gastein. A ‘richtiger winter’ the Austrians call it. All the runs have loads of snow. Some upper runs have closed when the weather has been bad or there has been avalanche danger but apart from that its been 100% go-go-go. Even H8 is open down to the valley. This undulating run through a farm hasn’t been open for a few years, well not during my visits anyway. Also open is a brilliant Black run down to the bottom on the Graukogl which is a first for me. I think it's the piste where Toni Sailer won the World Championship back in 1958. TNG - soft seat in the snow As for cross-country, we have had some rain in the valley recently but all the Langlauf loops are open including the long trek up towards Bad Gastein along the river.  TNG has been in town. She divided her time between marathon skating sessions on the ice rink, classic lang

Dreams do come true! H2 in Bad Hofgastein - man on the run - again The Maurachalm - an Austrian Chocolate Box After a few days lifting my heels on the cross-country loop it was time to get up the mountain. There is no rocket that goes up to say the lifts are opening, its a matter of spotting an updated web page. So, I staggered out this morning with my ski's over my shoulder just a bit concerned that it was all a hoax or perhaps a dream. After all, it had been several days since the last snow. The first sign that the opening was real came when two others, ski suited and booted, arrived at the bus stop to join me. Would the ski buses be running? The appointed hour arrived, no bus! Happily it was only a few minutes late - the Austrians at the bus stop gave out a Gott sei Dank (Thank God), they obviously shared my uncertainty. The clincher was that my shiny new lift pass worked at the lift station - the game was definitely on for another season.

Blue Sky Riding - October 2011 The wide and sunny Gastein Valley We were walking up the Stubnerkogel the other day and somehow managed to find ourselves in two feet of snow on the steepest piste on the mountain. My companion thought it appropriate to mention the old song, ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’. “Oh well, as you are Welsh you must be the mad dog then”. Today there was nobody else to point the finger at but the song somehow came into my head again. Circular Tour in Gastein 44km Turn Right on the Gastein Radweg It was a beautiful sunny day again and ideal for a spin on the bike. The morning frost was being burned off by the sun on the Western side of the Gastein Valley. I headed for that sunshine and cycled through Anger and joined the cycle route. After cycling past farms and pastures this eventually took me back to the Riverside to continue a gentle ride upstream. The locals were out in force clearing the trees brought down by the recent storm and sawing them up for