|
Destination: Fischamend, Austria
Daily Cycle Distance: 79.1 km. (49.47 mi.)
After 'Frühstück', we were able to get away from Gasthof Koch about 7:50AM
but I had a low rear tire on the Stratus. I tried out my 'new' Hungarian
bicycle pump. Instead of putting air into the tire, it took all the air out!
It appears to be useless. I guess I'll get it back to the US but for now
it appears to be little more than a souvenir.
I went down the street to the 'discount gas station' for air while Bob went
looking for some on the road snacks at a local store. A lady came out to
offer help. After trying to communicate in German and not getting too far,
the woman finally asked, "Do you speak any English?" My answer, "Yes
Ma'am". After that she invited me inside for coffee. Bob showed up and
got a free cup too. This gas station also had a good collection of Freytag
and Berndt maps as well as several Radtouren Maps from Bike Line. We got
several to augment our ever growing supply. From the 'Burgenland Radtouren
Buch', we were able to pick out a route around the Neusiedler See and across
the Leithagebirge 'hills'. The well marked routes were easily identified
as we were leaving Mönchhof. We followed the route marked as B23 a very short
distance to where we picked up a Route labeled R21 that followed an unpaved
road toward Weiden am See. it was only unpaved a short distance. At Weiden,
we picked up the route B10 that circumnavigated the whole of the Neisiedler
See. At another quaint little town of Winden, we left the lake route and
headed West across the Leithagebirge (Leitha Mountains) This climb was not
much in comparison to some that we have seen on our trip. The total elevation
change on this climb was about 160m (500+ ft.) Just after we left Winden,
and just before 'the assault', my rear tire let me know that it needed attention
again. We stopped while I changed it. This time we were able to find a cause.
Near the junction of 'Radweg' B23 and R21 |
©2000 Bob Simonds
My flat outside of Winden |
Just as I was packing the bike in Bellaire before the trip, I noticed
that the new tire that I was about to depend on for the trip was defective.
I put on the bike the only decent tire that I had available. It was a fairly
new commuter tire that had suffered a 1/4" puncture a few weeks earlier.
I put a glueless patch in as a 'boot' in the tire and hoped for the best.
Well the 'best' lasted me ~400 miles. The glueless patch finally failed
as a boot and the 1/4" puncture in the tread pinched a hole in the
tube. Bob had been carrying a roll of 'Duck' tape the whole trip looking
for an emergency to put it to use. This seemed like a good time. With my
last new tube and a 1-inch square of Bob's Duck tape, I began the short
but sometimes steep climb away from the Neusiedler See. After we
crested the Leithagebirge we had a thrilling high speed descent into Kaisersteinbruch
and then on to Bruck an der Leitha.
Lunch today was spaghetti in a sidewalk café on the town square in Bruck.
After lunch, we picked up our original route at Göttelsbrunn and retraced
it to the 'Stop and Sleep'. At the 'Stop and Sleep', we were
told that there was no room available for Thursday or Friday but that we
could get a room for tonight only and of course our reservation on Saturday.
After settling in and showering, we took a 22km tour of Fischamend and
the route South looking for a pension or gasthof in a town with rail access
to Vienna.
|
