This morning was my turn to drive and I gotta tell you I wasn't excited to be on the road anyway. It was cooler than yesterday and raining more heavily than yesterday. We delayed the start from our typical 9 AM start to noon hoping for the weather to break. but as you can see from the predictions below, the rain was going to be steady all day.
Neverless, at noon, four riders hit the road; Mike, Chris, Chuck and Doug, while myself, Yan and Eduard opted for the van. We drove ahead to meet them at the lunch stop and they arrived cold and soaked at almost about 2:30 PM.
We had found a cafe just off the bike path, shortly before the climb that you can see in the above graphic.
After a bite to eat Chris and Yan headed out to complete the second half. I opted not to ride as well as the other riders. It turns out the maybe it was a good thing. Later we traveled along the same route as the bikes were going to take and there was a lot of road construction that was difficult for the bikes to navigate.
Shortly after Chris and Yan departed, the sun popped out and it became a beautiful afternoon as the Sun started to dry out the road and unveil an a beautiful countryside as we left Austria an entered Italy.
With all the bikers at the lunch stop, we didn't have room in the van for everyone and our bikes, so we needed to shuttle the non riders in 2 waves. The second shuttle arrived at the hotel just as dinner was being served. It was not to be missed. The most elegant, multi-course meal that we have had on the tour.
Tomorrow promises to the a ride of a different color. Massive downhill, no chance of rain and warm in the low 80's.
Brian
