I had everything packed at 7 o'clock sharp, ready to leave. It had rained quite a lot at night, and it still rained a little bit. I had found a great number of disgusting black slugs all over my things. I had to pay 100 ÖS for the stay.

First I could not find the way to the centre of Salzburg and once I got there I could not find my way out. And right after Salzburg I got lost again. I had ridden in the wrong direction and I found out that I had to pass a mountain to return to my route. I asked a man, who told me that I had 2 choices. I could choose to cross the mountain or I could take a flat route somewhat longer.
-How steep is that mountain, I inquired?
-Not too steep, was the answer.
-You may have to push your bike a little bit, but it's not too bad.
Of course this man could not know I came from northern Jutland, where we have all kinds of steep hills.
-I take the mountain, I answered.

Soon after I stopped my bike and scratched my head. One more time I goggled at the sign, which had caused this interruption in my ride. There was no mistaking the text. 22 %. That's a lot. I could not see where this vertical wall ended, so I started pushing my bike forward right away. Yes, that's right I pushed my bike.

I did not even make any attempts to ride up that hill. That would have been impossible for me. Luckily only the first 100 metres were 22 %. Later on it flattened out to what I believe was 16 - 17 %.

On my way down the other side of the mountain, I was stopped by a lady who wanted to borrow a lighter. As far as I remember I may have sounded a bit contemptuous, when I explained to her, that I had stopped smoking years ago, and now she had a perfect opportunity to give up that bad habit herself. But one should never give arrogant answers like that, and I did in fact feel very stupid when she explained to me that she only wanted to light a candle for her late brother.
It's a long time since I have missed a lighter that much.

The next surprise of the day I had when I suddenly caught sight of a German postcar. I had no idea as to what this car was doing in Austria. A little later I realized that I myself had crossed the border without noticing it. But after 10 - 15 km I was back in good old Austria. The hills here are not bad. Today I have a couple of times been in 700 meters above sea level, and I noticed that the temperature dropped.

This morning was with uncountable wonderful scenic views. The quality of the roads is ok, but the traffic is too often a problem. I have now reached St. Johan, which every year is the centre of the World Championships for veteran riders. I have planted myself in the square, where I am together with a flood of tourists. An orchestra is making ready for a performance. This is a very nice little town.

The weather has been nice all day but again something is simmering. It's 1.40 and I have only ridden 85 km. But never mind about that.

Ha, I never got that bad weather. From St. Johan I had an easy ride, because it was a bit downhill, so I reached 144 km before I put my name down at the camping site in Wiesing about 40 km south of Innsbruck. It's a quiet and relaxed place. There are lot of gypsies here.

I had expected a lot of riding in the mountains, but most of the time you ride in the valleys on roads, which are flat as pancakes. It's a bit disappointing. At all times you have these promising views, but when riding in the valleys the mountains are exhibits I cannot recommend my route through Austria as a bicycle route. In a away I understand that a lot of people put their bikes on their cars and drive to a beautiful and suitable place.

Tomorrow will be like today, and I am going to pass the city of Innsbruck. Because the roads run in the valleys it's almost impossible to avoid the big cities, the way it can be done in most parts of Germany. I am looking forward to crossing the Silvretta pass in about 2000 m.
But it will be a little hard.

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