Europe 1993 Cycling Trip Pictures
Summary
Date: September 24th till October 11th, 1993
When we could see something it was wonderful.
The weather wasn't fun. At times we were cycling thru snow on mountain passes. It was generally
a cold, wet trip. Nearly every day it drizzled most of the day - if not rained.
The average cost was $60 Cdn per day with $30 to $50 for lodging alone. It was not cheap in
any of the countries. The Swiss definately offered the most value though. The most
expensive was $50 US for the one lodge part way up the mountains on my way into France.
There was not one day that we didn't have rain! Quite a few days we cycled into dusk.
Often, in Italy, we would be looking for information or a place to stay; and it would
be that time of the afternoon (noon till 4pm) when
everyone was eating and the stores were closed. So we pushed on and soon it was dark.
It was not unusual to bike uphill at 5 to 10 km/h for 1 to 3 hours and then go
down the other side at 65 km/h for 10 min!
The Alps were definately the hilliest cycling I've ever done. The California and Canadian
Rockies just did not compare! The Canadian east coast (Cape Breton) had steeper hills but
only in the Alps has it taken 2 or more hours to get up a mountain.
Diary
Day 1: Friday, September 24th
Summary: Germany. 18C, 103km of cycling, overcast sky
Towns: Munchen, Elbng, ?, ?, Hohenlinden, Wassorburg, Rosenheim
Large slugs by the road. Relatively flat cycling with foothills ahead of us.
By the time we found a place to stay we had been up 27 hours.
Day 2: Saturday
Summary: Austria, Walchsee, Kitzbühel -> Mittersill, knee and finger pain, overcast, rain, 113km of cycling
Towns: Rosenheim (9:30am), Frasdorf, Sachrang, Durchholzen, Walchsee, Schwendt, St. Johann, Kitzbühel, Jochberg, Mittersil
My pinky finger on both hands is tingling and/or numb and I had right knee pain all day.
Day 3: Sunday
Summary: over the Hochtor pass, 80km @ 22.3 km/h from 11am till 6:30 pm,
10C down to 0C, snow, drizzle or rain all day
Towns: Mittersil, Hochtor pass, Heiligenblute
Hochtor pass is at 2505m (temperature 0C), lots of snow, hands and feet very cold. The last 500m of climbing was
very slow (8-9 km/h at start and 3-5 km/h at end in a 24-24 gear combo). The climb was aprox 2000m at 12%.
We were descending 65km/h on snowy, slick, slippery roads. Food is expensive $3.00 for a cup of tea! We took to
wrapping out feet in plastic bags. Brent broke one spoke.
The cycling was great - smooth roads, cliff walls, waterfalls everywhere. The brakes are taking a beating as we brake
from 65 to 30 or 40 km/h for turns. Every switchback was only a 10m elevation gain.
We have found it difficult to find food or grocery stores.
Pictures at Mittersill to Zell am See
Day 4: Monday
Summary: downhill Plöcken Pass to Comeglians Italy, 107km, severe knee & finger pain, drizzle
Towns:Heiligenblut, Wilkern, Dölsach, Oberdrauburg, Plöckenpass, Treppo Carnico, Ravascletto, Timau, Paluzza, Comeglians
At 7:50pm, 107km, 19.5 km/h, 73 km/h max, another wet, cold expensive day (13,000L for a plate of pasta)
The pass to Italy was amazing - very tight with lots of switchbacks on the way down.
My pinky fingers are numb now, and the left knee hurts at low cadence and the right knee at high cadence.
Generally the right knee is in bad shape - walking is hard, riding is very painful at times.
7:30pm it is dark and we found a place. It's been raining since 3pm.
Milk and tea are as expensive as beer here! Also, the hotel insists on holding on to our passports!
Day 5: Tuesday
Summary: Italy, Cortina d'Ampezzo, 95km - a very German-like town
Towns: Comeglians, Vigo de Cadore, Calalzo di Cadore, Cortina d'Ampezzo
All of the Italian roads seem to be a 10% grade up or down. Breakfast is chocolate and apples - we still have
not gotten the hang of getting food over here. All of the windows around here have shutters and there isn't
heat in any of the rooms - but they get winter right?? One night for both of us was 30,000L.
I now have two number fingers per hand and I will not ride tomorrow to see if things improve.
Descents are still 65 km/h. I finished the 2nd roll of film. Everything looks great - but it's hard to get on film.
The store hours here are really crazy - everything is closed from lunch till 4pm!
Diesel fumes are insane. All of the diesel buses and cars seem to pour out clouds of pollution.
It's so bad that we pull off the road and hold our breath as they pass us on ascents. The descents
from mountain passes are bitterly cold.
We ran into a road blockage. A tractor was left blocking the road - while the work crew was nowhere to
be seen and cars were backed up. We just cycled thru the work area.
Day 6: Wednesday
Summary: day off trying to recover from stabing knee pain, hiked in Cortina at skill jumps, drizzle all day
Towns:
I stayed in Cortina, Brent cycled a loop from Cortina north thru Carbonin, Misurina and back
Two fingers per hand are numb and the right knee is in pain if I tense the muscles. Ibprofin doesn't help.
All of the lights seem to be flourscent and the toilets are next to useles. They seem to be designed to
require cleaning on every use. We had a bit of a passport problem at one point because Canada was abbreviated
"CAN".
This place is in a valley - every where you want to cycle is up and up. It's nice to visit but I would not
want to have to cycle up these mountains every day. Nightly rent here (75,000L) is even more expensive than
Germany ($50 US). Meat is $17 to $35 / kg - about 2x the prices at home.
Everything is wet, it is hazy and they are calling for rain. When the rain stoped Brent went cycling (66km trip)
while I hiked up an Olympic (?) ski jump ramp built in 1955. I saw some 3 wheel vehicles (called APE 25)
that can only get upto 80km/h, are noisy and ride on the right like a bicycle.
We decided to try some authentic pizza. It was ok, not very special - greasy.
Day 7: Thursday, Sept 30th
Summary: Cortina, calm, cool, some sun, 66km, 10C down to 3C, good pictures when not foggy
Towns: loop from Cortina, Andraz, SW thru Passo di Giau, Passo di Falzarego and back
66km, 6 hours, > 2000m of climbing, one hour of that hiking, 10C and sunny and 3C at the passes. The last
descent had 43 switch backs (180 degree turns).
Riding without the paniers is great! This is the first day when we don't have to carry all of our gear.
The conditions are getting to us. Brent hates the rain - I just detest it.
But I hate the dark - while he pulls me thru that. It seems that every night is a
long, wet, dark, push to find a place.
Cheap Italian pop is 15% real fruit juice.
Day 8: Friday October 1
Summary: cycled to Canazei, wet drizzle, light rain, Brent stitched tire together after blowout by wire bead
Towns: Cortina (9:15 am), Avabba, Canazei (3:00pm)
Two mountain passes Falzareg (2105m) and Pordoi (2289m) in 58km.
We started with a 1,000m climb and then another 1,000m. There was light rain, rain, fog and more fog. We
saw nothing to speak of. It's 8C at the warmest and 3C at the passes. Our hands and feet are quite cold.
Brent has one tire tearing. My right knee doesn't just ache - it now has stabing pains.
I only took 2 pictures (no polarizer) all day and this is almost the 1/2 way point of the trip. This place
(Cortina) look great - if only the clouds would lift. Any sort of filling supper would be $25 Cdn - twice
as expensive as home.
Day 9: Saturday, October 2
Summary: drizzle, hard rain, no sidewalks anywhere, twisted my ankle
Towns:
Stuck in Cortina
It's wet again and my numb fingers seem a bit worse. Stores here seem to have many variations on "Nutella"
and that's fine with us - plenty of calories in a jar. Milk is pretty rare, but there is a wide selection
of alcohol.
10am and pouring rain and the rain continued all day. I twisted my ankle walking for supplies for supper.
This place is very tourist orientated - but the tourist info center is only open in the morning! They don't
seem to have sidewalks or if they do cars are parked on them.
Day 10: Sunday
Summary: cold, ice, rain, afternoon cleared, did 3 mountain passes, 100 switchbacks, 1500m climbing, 65km; home at dark
Towns: Passo di Sella, Gardena Pass, Campango Pass, Pordo pass (1:30pm till 7:00pm)
The last two fingers on each hand are quite numb now. It's cold and still raining and the forcast is for colder
weather and rain/snow. The rain became bursty at noon and it finally stoped at 1:30pm.
We decided to do a cycling day with 3 mountain passes and 100 switch backs. The snow was plowed on some mountain
passes and I took lots of pictures. It was 7C to 3C and very cold on descents. My knee hurt most if moved
when it was cold. At Sella pass we had to wait 40 min. for the clouds to clear for pictures. Brent's new tire
blew (threads tore where they wrap around the bead) and he fixed it with kite string and a darning needle.
Day 11: Monday
Summary: lousy toilets, clear sky, rode to Bolzano, train to Innsbrück, Zurich then Bern, uphill for a good 90 min. before the downhill. We stayed overnight in the train station and found it impossible to sleep. Others slept in the darker places.
Towns: Cycled from Cortina to Bolzano, train to Innsbrück (4pm), Bern (12:30am), missed Brig train at 1:10am
For once a morning when we can see the sky. The toilet design here is as bad as everywhere else. There isn't enough water
in the bowl and you literally have to clean the toilet with every use. The room cost us 30,000L / person / day.
Day 12: Tuesday
Summary: Bern -> Zermatt by train, arrived at noon, army was at the train station due to big washout due to very wet summer, cloudy, some clear patches, very sleepy
Towns:Train from Bern (6:30am) to Brig (180km) to Vesp (9am) to Zermatt (1pm).
We spent most of the night awake in the Bern train station. The washrooms were locked, it is 12C. At 3:15am people
are sweeping the floors, dropping off newspapers.
After arriving in Zermatt and getting a place we slept for 2 hours and awoke to a cloudy sky - unable to see any mountains.
The Swiss have toilets that really work! The place is 75 SF for both of us per night; but it's the nicest room we have
had yet.
Day 13: Wednesday
Summary: drizzle, hiked, snow, high winds at high altitudes
Towns: Hiked by the Matterhorn.
The room is being heated! There is a slight drizzle and the forcast is for rain. By mid morning it was raining and
foggy. By 1pm the rain was letting up and I had to go for a hike. From 1:00 till 5:30 I hiked to Schwarzee (2582m).
There was rain, snow, hail and more rain with very strong winds at the top. The snow was knee deep and my feet were
freezing. The hike was a 962m elevation gain.
The previous week an avalanch had washed out the train tracks and road for one week. Like the rest of Europe; the forcast
is for more rain and snow.
Day 14: Thursday
Summary: cycled from Zermatt to Martigny, 130km, 18C, nice day, one flat tire
Towns: cycled from Zermatt (11:15am) thru Visp, Raviore to Martignuy, France
Up at 6:30 am - brief views of part of the Matterhorn. 8am I saw the peak briefly. It's 3C and lots of "silent" electric
trucks are moving good around.
Cycling down (90 min) from Zermatt I was mostly going into a headwind. At 2:30pm I was in Sion. There was a light
tailwind helping me go west thru the valley. My knee pain was quite bad while standing while pedaling - leg warmers
really helped reduce the pain.
I tried to get into France but by La Fontaine it was getting quite dark and I had to go back downhill and then up to
Ravoire (6:15pm) for a 3 star hotel (70 SF/night - but they accepted 50). Everyone around here seems to speak French
but not really English or German.
Day 15: Friday
Summary: I cycled from Raviore to Charmonix, drizzle, rain, fog, rain, rain, heavy rain.
Towns: Cycled from Raviore, Switzerland to Charmonix, France and then took the train to Nice.
I met Brent in Charmonix. He'd found a place to stay and we were both walking and
shopping for food. I was waiting for the train to again and took the overnight
train to Nice, France. When the rain slowed to a drizzle we walked thru town -
hoping for views of the mountains.
Day 16: Saturday
Summary: A nice clear day, 18C, but I'm sleepy as can be because of the overnight train trip.
Towns: I walked around Nice.
After finding a place to stay ($130F/night, not that easy to
do) I slept for a few hours and then took a walk around town. But I
didn't wear socks and blistered my feet. It is quite a unique town. It
seems very busy and packed with people and cars - but this is the off
seasons - there are no tourists to speak of and nobody on the beach. Once
I saw a bus stop by the beach and some young people dashed into the water
and then made a quick retreat. The beaches are not sandy; but are made
up from small stones and the waves make an interesting sound as the push
the stones around.
Day 17: Sunday, October 10th
Summary: Rain and more rain. Walked to airport and back in the rain (2.5 hours).
Towns: Nice
I have not seen chocolate milk for sale anywhere. I'm still at Hotel Regency. I took the
day to wash the bike as best as I could. I'm trying to compare the airport here to Münich
but this one seems much less organized. I really should have taken more pictures.
The "bed" here could best be described as a very noisy cot and the toilet doesn't work well.
Day 18: Monday, October 11th
Summary: rain, drizzle, rain, heavy rain, fog, 15C, cycled to the airport and flew back home.
Towns: Nice
The morning was rain and pouring rain and I wait for a lull. Gawd I'm tried of jam
and bread in the mornings!
Cycling to the airport was an eye opener. Motorcyclces and scooters weave thru
cars stoped at red lights. Cars seems to be parked everywhere - including up
on sidewalks. Chocolate is very expensive in the airport (12FF or $3 per 100g).
They have very uncomfortable metal seats and they like to check passports again
and again.
My camera died the day after arriving home (electronics dead, mirror stuck up).
The pictures have been broken down into parts for easier viewing:
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