Today, I was planning on 50kms to Landeck-Zams station followed by a train through the Arlberg tunnel to Bludenz. That should be the end of trains for a while I hope. I thought 60kms was right, as I still didn’t feel fantastic and didn’t want to overdo it. After all, only four days ago, I could barely get out of bed all day.
After a great breakfast at the hotel, I took off along the bike paths up the valley. It’s narrow, so it’s almost impossible to go wrong, but I managed a wrong turn in the first few kms. It was very flat in the first part and would have been boring had it not been for the amazing mountains lining both sides of the route.
Before leaving, I received an excessive heat warning on my phone. The day was going to hit 28 degrees which to me, is perfect riding weather.
It definitely got warmer and the terrain became more interesting but somehow the path avoided the villages, so there were few opportunities for sustenance – one of my favourite hobbies.
I pulled into Landeck-Zams station and tried to buy a ticket to Bludenz. The next train that would take both me and the bike wouldn’t be for five hours. There’s a train every hour but the bike spots were booked out. I was expecting it to be a local train and not limited with bike reservations but I had no choice. I wasn’t up to the big climb. I’d done enough for one day. So, I got the tickets on the 7:30pm train. (In the end, it was nearly forty minutes late, so it was a very long afternoon).
The train ride was a cracker. My nose was glued to the window while I ogled at the mountains and villages. It was 9pm by the time ilwe pulled into the station at Bludenz. Luckily the hotel was close by and while they have a restaurant, the kitchen was closed. The ladies made a salad for me, and that along with all of the other rubbish that I had eaten during the afternoon meant that I didn’t go hungry
