Day 398 21st August
44 miles (Vienna to Katzeldorf) Average speed 10.6 mph Top speed 24 mph
I was awake at seven, but up at eight, with Hendrick ringing and banging on the front door, as he’d been locked out all night; his friend had the only key, he is not a happy bunny. I had breakfast of muesli and cornflakes and tea. I showered and packed and thanked the boss and left at 10:30; thankfully without the crazy woman in the garden. I followed the 17 main road but was struggling with a bit of saddle sore from riding in the rain, the computer wasn’t the only damage done. I stopped at a Lidl for a sausage roll which turned out to be a cake and bought salad and hummus for lunch. There was no toilet available to change my shorts. Then there was a massive bike shop up the road but it was very pricey. So I’m still searching for a small can of degreaser, without any luck.
I carried on until I stopped to check the map and found a cycle path two miles away, so headed for there as the main road was very busy. Once on the path I had lunch at a picnic table and put on the second pair of shorts for extra padding, but this actually made it worse through sweating. It was a great riverside path and I saw lots of fish and birds: so much so I rode into another cyclist coming the other way.
Lovely river
I joined the Velo Route nine at Sollenau which goes all the way to Graz. I think that this may leave me no alternative other than the mountains, so not sure I’ll go all the way.
Joining the velo route at Sollenau
It was a good route and as I searched for a campsite, I took off my second pair of shorts and the breeze made life a bit easier, but I dropped my seven euro sunglasses and lost them.
Then I came across a massive quarry of some kind with lots of lorries and dust. I soon missed those sunglasses, but I did find a pair of Nike tracksuit bottoms which fitted me, so not all bad.
I made it to the campsite after several stops to charge my dying phone. The campsite was closed but there were a couple of caravans so I asked if I could stay, they said yes, but there are no toilets or showers available; at least it’s free. I went into town to Aldi and bought dinner. Unbelievably I didn’t lock the bike, but it was still there, so all good. Then I bought some cold beer from the garage on the way back and cooked pasta with bolognaise and watched the stars.
Camping Teichhof : free as it’s closed. No toilets or water.