Austria

My old cobber, Tom. I was lucky to get a whole week of the man's time between a busy work schedule, a busier holiday schedule, an even busier fell running schedule and a riotous craft beer drinking predilection. I was collected from Munich airport and we drove around Austria and did the following cool stuff:

Ishgl

Normally an up-market ski resort that tries to keep some kind of momentum going during the summer by attracting mountain bikers and hikers to the mountain. We took bikes up to the top but couldn't find any of the easier tracks we'd wanted to build our courage up on. It was pretty cold up there, so we made a quick decision to take a valley/forest route to the bottom, which ended up being pretty technical - tricky but fun. After lunch we made it back to the top and down the proper downhill track. I've never ridden that far without peddling before, but it meant I could complain about my arms being shaken out of their sockets rather than my legs failing. Tom lacked confidence in his skills on the steepest of descents, which lead to my surprise when he passed at pace and bolted over a massive fence stile and down into a gully. There was some skin lost, some nerves frayed but an invigorating time had by all.

Solden and the Timmelsjoch

We set off from Solden and took the west ascent of the Timmelsjoch - my first, proper alpine climb on the road. I didn't leave granny gear while grinding up the 2,400m pass, and I can see why doping and blood transfusions have been popular when riding professionally in these parts. The never ending stream of motorbikes heading to Italy, or the motorbike museum at the top, were a bit disconcerting as they screamed past and bobbed and weaved into the distance. The hire bike was great going up but it was unfamiliar enough that it didn't inspire confidence on the crazy descent back down, so I didn't really take advantage of hooning the hairpins. We decided to tack on a side trip, en route back to Solden, but had to take refuge in a bar when a fierce storm ripped through the valley, and caught the bus back home.

Innsbruck and the Kuhtai Pass

We headed out from Innsbruck and cycled along the river before turning into the valley and making the climb from the east. Another brutal slog to the 2,000m pass, but the quaint villages and impressive mountain vistas were a pleasant distraction from the aching legs. The descent on the other side was amazing fun, and this bike inspired the confidence to let rip. Unfortunately the legs weren't quite up to the remainder of the 100k round trip, which ended up being a bit of a grind, even after stopping for lunch to allow the adrenaline levels to lower.