25 July 2014
Melk, Austria (0 miles; Total = 248 miles)

Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday Dear Gina
Happy Birthday To You

I know you’re going to say I went overboard this year, but really, it was nothing: for Gina’s birthday, I got her a new spoke. It’s sparkly and pretty and precious and it fits just right. What more could a girl want?

Probably not to pay for it, which I believe is what happened when it came time to leave the bike shop. But I did navigate her to the shop where the work was done so technically, I was behind the whole spoke success.

What else did I get her? A new shirt:

There was no time to wrap it but it looks great even without a shiny ribbon, right?

With all of these birthday activities going on, it’s a wonder we had time for anything else. But we did. We toured the Melk Abbey like regular people – no bikes, no bike shorts, no bike shoes, no helmets – just us in our civvies on a guided English tour with a boatload of people fresh off the bus from Vienna. According to Rick Steves, the Melk Abbey is one of the greatest sights in Europe. I’m pretty sure I’ve read that more than once in his guide books, but I’ll give him credit, the Abbey was pretty nifty. And in a great setting, towering over the town of Melk and the Danube nearby.

To wrap up the evening, I arranged for a great cover band to be playing all evening just down from our guest room balcony. We drank our Radlers and enjoyed the festivities from on high, feeling the vibe of this sweet little Austrian town and celebrating another year of fabulous fun.