02 August 2014
Schwanenstadt to Traunkirchen, Austria (30 miles; Total = 488 miles)

We have reached the mountains! From the Danube to the Salzkammergut to the two beers on the table (well, one Bier for me and a Radler for Gina and make them both Big ones), we have officially entered the second stage of our trip. These stages are not to be confused with the Tour de France – we’re leaving that ride to the Trek Tours people – but instead with the areas we’re planning to visit. And we use “planning” in the loosest sense of the word, as our daily itinerary can change based on any number of factors, including how loud is that thunder, what is the cuteness factor, and did we miss a route sign somewhere.

It wasn’t a long ride today in terms of distance but it took us forever to get here. Sometimes the short mileage days take the longest for the dink factor increases exponentially. We dink over breakfast and coffee. We dink over leaving the hotel. We dink along the route, stopping for waterfalls and donuts and yogurt and a bridge that’s being rebuilt, leaving us looking for the proper way to go. Dink dink dink. Then we finally arrive at the deepest lake in Austria to find a huge Saturday market underway, the stalls set up in the bike lane through town, causing us further dinking as we must push our bikes through the crowds and curios. This Town of Gmunden Is Too Big, declares Gina, so we dink further along the Traunsee Lake until we find Gina’s nirvana – a teensy town that’s big on character. And beers. I think we’ll stay awhile.