Austria - E-biking in Gastein- and the high altitude cakes of Austria

Current thoughts on electric assisted cycling in Gastein

Heading for  the BiberAlm

How did I end up with an e-bike?

I have been riding my bikes in Gastein for around 14 years on various trips and I never tire of it. A thousand metre climb from the valley bottom up to a mountain hut for a friendly greeting and a cold beer and cake is a very simple pleasure. Over the last few years I have seen the growth in the use of e-bikes and watched them speed past me as I climb on my MTB. TW has had pedal assist for several years and we often cycled together, she whizzed up the hills as I huffed and puffed. Her having an e-bike meant we could ride together to some of our favourite places like the Baerstein Alm, the FundnerAlm, the Himmelwand, Hauseben and the Hauserbauer in Dorfgastein.

Ignoring the cost, I suppose I resisted buying one because hill climbing is the thing I do best and probably the thing that keeps me fit. Then, on our June visit to Gastein, I hired an e-mtb for a day, bit of a revelation! 

As a regular cyclist an e-mtb enabled me to go further and faster, still getting plenty of exercise but with reduced pain. 

I still was not totally convinced but on our return home my normal cycling pattern was disturbed by the loss of the Sandbanks Ferry. To get to the Purbecks I had to cycle around Poole Harbour. Just getting over there, mainly off-road, meant a 40-50 mile ride so I had no great desire to do any climbing on the Hills. I started using my road bike which was much easier but then I missed the off-road comfort. Hmm, maybe I need to spend some money?

BiberAlm, the view from the top

After a bit of a survey and a lot of thought I ended up at Primera, our local bike shop. My budget was £2k and I wanted  an e-MTB with a Bosch engine. Cube have a good reputation and the Manager, Clive, had a solution. In a couple of days time Cube were releasing their 2020 bikes and there was a bike for me. So after sizing and test rides I became the proud owner of a Cube Reaction Pro 500 with the very latest Bosch CX engine. 

Coffee and Pofesen at the BiberAlm

It was all I had hoped for. Around the Harbour to Lulworth Cove and back was well within range. Ringwood and the Forest finishing with a headwind back along the prom was easily accomplished. A cliffside ride to Lymington and back was easy-peasy.

Oma's Chocolate Cake at the FeldingHutte

Further and faster without the pain and with cake! So I had to bring my e-bike to Austria for our Autumn jaunt. Would it deal with the long climbs and did it have sufficient range?

When we bought our bike rack we selected one from Thule that would cope with two heavy e-bikes so it was future-proof. We also bought a ramp to roll the bikes up onto the rack so we were all set.

Lifting the e-bike onto a rack is not easy!

So, we headed off through the Tunnel. A tow-bar bike rack is not an extra charge item on Euro Tunnel but we did need to be a bit more careful driving aboard. We were also asked to put our warning flashers on in case there was anyone wandering in the carriage.

Heading down through France in a bit of a hurry at 130km/h was a bit heavy on juice but, otherwise, driving was not affected by the heavy lump on the back. We stopped for the night at Hotel out in the sticks in a place called The Relais de la voie Sacree in Issoncourt. The room was quite basic but the Restaurant was lovely. The owner and his wife had worked at the in Savoy London so standards were pretty high. One of the waitresses was obviously new but she was getting plenty of tuition from Madame. 

After a day spent on the A26 and A4 Autoroutes we opted for a more southerly cross-country on the next leg, past Nancy and through Freiburg to our next stop at Titisee in the Black Forest. Quite by chance we stopped for lunch right by one of the Rhine Canal paths I pedaled down between Strasbourg and Basle. I had stopped just up the road in Marckolsheim. 

https://takeahat.blogspot.com/2013/09/london-to-salzburg-on-bike-stage-8.html

We were very envious of the people pedaling by in the sunshine but doubly so of those stopping for cold beer at this shady spot. We toyed with the idea of taking the bikes for a quick tour but our plan was for a ride around the Lake Titisee later in the afternoon. Anyway, we were a bit late for lunch and hungry and the Kitchen was about to close. We demolished a couple of Pizzas and headed for Germany. 

A Pizza by the Canal at Marckolsheim

Perfect cycling down the canal path

It was busy on the road through Freiburg but, eventually, we climbed up to Titisee. To be honest, I had not heard of the place when we booked but we soon found that it was bit of a tourist spot! If you want to buy a cuckoo clock this the place for you!  We checked into our very nice B&B, dumped our gear and grabbed the bikes for our ride. With the weather due to change we wanted to make the most of the daylight available. We thoroughly enjoyed our short waterside ride around the Lake, particularly as we had a very pleasant beer stop en route.

Half way point on our ride around Titisee

A dustbuster - had to be done

Gastehaus Wald und See

Our next travel day was hard. It rained all the way, with lots of traffic jams. Our route took us East of Bodensee and into Austria. Then through the Arlberg Tunnel and Innsbruck. I had a senior moment in when filling the car up. I thought I had put the wrong fuel in our little car and caused a lot of confusion. A day to forget really. We deserved our Schnitzels that evening in the Gastein Alm.

Testing Times in Gastein

At the Gadauner Hochalmen on my FeldingHutte ride

I tried Sparky on my three regular high rides, to the Felding Hutte, Biber Alm and Grabneralm.

Each represent about a 1000m climb. With a fully charged '5 bar' battery for each ride the bike had plenty of range and I still had 3 or 2 bars left when I returned home. My e-bike has 4 modes, ECO, TOUR, EMTB and TURBO each giving increasing level of assistance. I used only ECO and TOUR on my climbs.

The Canine superstar at the Fundner Alm

My favourite - Ham and Eggs at the GrabnerAlm

Krapfen and coffee at the GrabnerAlm

Closed today at the WiednerAlm

Cycling in Austria - views from the Amoseralm

View from the Amoseralm towards Dorfgastein

Bread making on the mountain

Towards the Hochkonig

Take the cycle path from Dorfgastein towards Unterberg and then follow the signs and climb uphill to the Amoseralm. These are the views to enjoy as you savour your beer and local produce.

Marlow to Henley and back on a bike - 50km

Autumn cycling in the Chilterns - 20km to Henley and 30km back to Marlow

Monday morning, a cold, clear and windless day. Headed into the Chilterns. Some very plucky pheasants on the road, never seen so many. Reminds me of a tongue twister......

One smart fellow; he felt smart.

Two smart fellows; they felt smart.

Three smart fellows; they all felt smart.

Try and say it....

The leaves are just turning and the deer are rutting, it must be Autumn.

On the hill between Hambleden and Fawley

Henley on Thames

One particular Stag was making an awful din whilst chasing his herd around a field near Luxters Winery.

Met TW for lunch at the Henley Tea Rooms in Thameside, Henley. Cycled back via some really good place names, Badgemoor, Bix, Bix Bottom, Middle Assendon, Stonor, Turville Heath, Fingest and Frieth. Roads were quiet, apart from the pheasants of course. Glorius day.

Up by the riverside in the Gastein Valley

Gastein - riverside ride

Waterfall in Bad Gastein

Gastein Ladies

The Gastein Valley is ideal for a leisurely bike ride, especially on a lovely warm sunny day. We took Mr T upstream in the morning towards Bad Gastein. We passed the Gasteiner bathing lake where tourists and locals were enjoying the sun and on past the golf course and Ladies Tennis competition. The Gastein Ladies takes place here every year. Players ranked just outside the top 30 compete on clay.

As we approached Bad Gastein the river cascades down the mountain so we left the bikes walked up the path, past the rushing water, to the town centre.

A massive area in the town centre has been bought up for re-development and it looks a little bit sad at the moment. Previously grand building are left empty. There are still plenty of nice hotels, bars and posh shops still operating though. We found a nice shady spot for a cold beer. Back home for lunch and then a cycle North, down the valley on acycle path, to the village of Dorfgastein. We could not avoid a detour and stop at Schmaranz for a bio beer on the way back to Bad Hofgastein. Mr T hired his bike, it cost 12 Euros for 24 hours. He bore the pain of saddle soreness manfully, in other words, he complained endlessly.  Anyway, he had recovered sufficiently to wander into town in the evening for some 'oompah' music and dancing.