On the road 5.57. That's ok. And after a good night's sleep. As a matter of fact I sleep better in my tent than I do in my own bed. I have about 30 km to Innsbruck. The weather is wonderful, and the mountains are still incredibly beautiful.

Once again I have dropped into a bakery where they sell coffee. I also bought a little cake, It's funny to se the "morning life" develop. You get a small glass of water with the coffee. I think I'll by another cup op coffee. I have figured out that I can camp just before the Silvretta pass, but we'll see about that. I paid 24 ÖS for a cup of coffee. It's now 7.44 and I have eaten 30 km. Not bad. Click on picture to enlarge.

There I got myself one more cup of coffee. And one more glass of water. On the glass I can read: "Quell wasser aus der Innsbruck Bergen". I think that is very reassuring

A few minutes to 12 I went into the trap again. A sign on a 2 kilometre long hill close to Imst caused the disaster. It was McDonald again. Should I justify my conduct I could point out that I had already decided to have lunch at that time and apart from the fact that the coffee is good and you get it very quickly at McDonald's you can go to the toilet which is always very clean.

This morning was very easy. Until I reached Imst the road was absolutely flat and I even had a tail wind. The distance between Imst and Innsbruck was very well qualified for bicycle riding. I think I have met more than 50 riders but they were all plastered with brightly coloured jerseys and dark sunglasses, and they were so determined so that they at the most could nod slightly, and only if I provoked it.

Whoops, a bunch of mountain bike riders just wheeled in here. They caught sight of my trailer and went to have a closer look. They look Italian. Dear me, they are already gone again. I believe they just wanted to use the toilet, but they did not buy anything.

I just passed the exit to the Brenner Pass. I have only 30-40 km to Italy. Very funny. I dare say that the scenic views this morning have been of extraordinary beauty. And the weather continued to be wonderful with temperatures between 20 and 25 degr. C. It couldn't be better. According to my map I have very strong hills from here. But with 100 km before noon things cannot go wrong.
I liked the food McDonald, see you…

After Pians the climb towards Silvretta started. The first hill was terrifically steep over a couple of kilometres, and then it flattened a bit, but I was always riding up, up, up… Thus I continued over 35 kilometres. Of course it went slowly, but it was also very exciting.
7 km before you reach the top of Silvretta you have to pay to use the road. But bicycles do not pay.

After 1 km I saw a sign showing to a camping site 5 km from there. The first 3 km were so steep that it was almost impossible to make it. But I did not push the bike. With trembling limbs I rolled, by intervals of 200 meters, to the camp site. The steepness was so dramatic that I could hardly hold my bike when I made my small breaks. This was a very special site. It was very little; I believe we were only 4 "parties" there.

The price was the normal 100 ÖS, but this time it included shower. I just ate a packet of brown bread with liver paste. I also had a litre of Ice tea. For dessert I had a pudding which exploded when I opened the tub. I had forgotten that the site was situated 1860 m over sea level, which also emerges clearly from the climate. The nature here is unspeakably wonderful. I have never in my entire life seen a camping site placed as fantastic as this one. The mountains with their snow clad peaks tower all the way round.

Tomorrow morning I am going to attack the last 5 kilometres to the top of Silvretta. I can hardly wait. When I get to the top the road will make a bend and from there it runs towards north, and when that happens I will be on my way home.

But first: 5 kilometres. And what 5 kilometres that's going to be. When I look at the road it appears to disappear right up in the sky

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