Salzkammergut Riding

Brenda Lacey said:

Anybody have first-hand experience of riding near Salzburg, Austria in early
September? If so I'd appreciate hearing about it. How much climbing is
involved to go east from Salzburg to Hallstatt via Fuschlsee, Wolfgangsee
and Bad Ischl? How much wind would I have to contend with? How hard and
expensive is it to rent decent equipment in Salzburg (I'm not taking my own
bike)? I'm not interested in trail riding, just on the asphalt.

Thanks.

I spent the summer of 2001 leading bicycle tours between Krimml and
Salzburg for an American tour company, so I was approaching Salzburg
from the west instead of the east and south. By the last week in August
summer was clearly coming to an end in the mountains, although the
weather in Salzburg was still quite pleasant. Bring rain gear and long
clothing, rent a bike with fenders and you should be fine. Wind was not
really a major issue, although most mountain valleys tend to have a down
valley wind in the evening when the sun leaves the valley floor and cold
air starts sinking down off the surrounding mountains. I also recall
very early September as being past the height of the summer tourist
season, so accommodation should be easy to find.

I didn't do the ride you describe, but looking at a map and remembering
the topography of Salzburg and it's surroundings, it seems like you'll
be riding through a series of river valleys, going against the flow of
the river. So no truly major climbs, but you will finish each day's ride
at a higher elevation than the previous day's finish. Standard procedure
in this part of the world is to take a train or bus to the head of the
valley and ride your bicycle back to Salzburg, so that you're finishing
each day's ride at a lower elevation than the day before. There's an
excellent network of trains and buses in this part of the world, the
trains are very bike friendly but I never took a bike on a bus.

The Salzburg province is laced with bike paths, some asphalt and lots of
them well graded gravel that can be ridden on a skinny tired road bike,
although 700x28 tires or wider would be a better choice. Maps are easy
to find, the local tourist board gives them away for free.

I brought my own bike and the tour company provided it's own bikes for
the customers, so I have no experience with the rental bike scene. The
default bicycle for that part of the world seems to have a fairly
upright "sit up and beg" riding position, flat bars, fat tires, and
fenders. They work really well on the gravel bike paths, although I was
happier to have my drop bars and somewhat skinnier tires.

HTH,

mark

mark said:

Brenda Lacey said:

Anybody have first-hand experience of riding near Salzburg, Austria in early
September? If so I'd appreciate hearing about it. How much climbing is
involved to go east from Salzburg to Hallstatt via Fuschlsee, Wolfgangsee
and Bad Ischl? How much wind would I have to contend with? How hard and
expensive is it to rent decent equipment in Salzburg (I'm not taking my own
bike)? I'm not interested in trail riding, just on the asphalt.

Quoted message said:

Thanks.

I spent the summer of 2001 leading bicycle tours between Krimml and
Salzburg for an American tour company, so I was approaching Salzburg
from the west instead of the east and south. By the last week in August
summer was clearly coming to an end in the mountains, although the
weather in Salzburg was still quite pleasant. Bring rain gear and long
clothing, rent a bike with fenders and you should be fine. Wind was not
really a major issue, although most mountain valleys tend to have a down
valley wind in the evening when the sun leaves the valley floor and cold
air starts sinking down off the surrounding mountains. I also recall
very early September as being past the height of the summer tourist
season, so accommodation should be easy to find.

I didn't do the ride you describe, but looking at a map and remembering
the topography of Salzburg and it's surroundings, it seems like you'll
be riding through a series of river valleys, going against the flow of
the river. So no truly major climbs, but you will finish each day's ride
at a higher elevation than the previous day's finish. Standard procedure
in this part of the world is to take a train or bus to the head of the
valley and ride your bicycle back to Salzburg, so that you're finishing
each day's ride at a lower elevation than the day before. There's an
excellent network of trains and buses in this part of the world, the
trains are very bike friendly but I never took a bike on a bus.

The Salzburg province is laced with bike paths, some asphalt and lots of
them well graded gravel that can be ridden on a skinny tired road bike,
although 700x28 tires or wider would be a better choice. Maps are easy
to find, the local tourist board gives them away for free.

I brought my own bike and the tour company provided it's own bikes for
the customers, so I have no experience with the rental bike scene. The
default bicycle for that part of the world seems to have a fairly
upright "sit up and beg" riding position, flat bars, fat tires, and
fenders. They work really well on the gravel bike paths, although I was
happier to have my drop bars and somewhat skinnier tires.

HTH,

mark

Hey Group,

I spent several weeks back in 1996 riding from Starnberg ,DE to
Trento, Italy Via Seefeldt, Innsbruck, Brenner Pass. Was mainly mtn
bike trip ,but spent lots of time on road. Bring slicks and nubs. I
noticed you were going in Sept. I started in Sept but got rained out
on the Italian side. Three days of nothing but rain will suck the wind
from your sails. As far as equip cant help you there I brought my own
gear. My riding partner bought bike there but spent lots of money on
it. Great bike ,but not what he could have gotten state side. If you
have q's hit me up.

Good luck be safe
Larry