The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Vienna Woods and the Austrian Lake District

June 4th to June 18th

Ride Director: Roger Hoyer
Ride Co-Director: Anthony Moy
Ride Driver: Greg Compestine
Report by: John Hailey

Was it the clean air from greatly reduced reliance on coal power and investment in renewable energy, the crystal clear waters from Alpine snowmelt running toward the Danube, the scenery that belongs to the movie Sound of Music, or the pristine byways that hosted nary a discarded cigarette butt?  This land is definitely a world beauty, and very good for road cyclists.

The Vienna Woods are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The 28 mile long and 12 to 19 mile wide range of hills is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area with the Viennese. Traveling from Baden to Sankt Polten, Melk, Steyr, Gmunden, Mondsee, Bad Aussee, Admont, Mariazell, Semmering, and returning to Baden on a combination of bike trails and country roads, over a near two-week period, the trip included glorious mountain, valley and river views – perfect scenery for bicycle touring.

Despite good road surfaces, the nervous rider may need some mental preparation for narrow road shoulders.  After the first day, however, riders will realize that Austrian motorists are very courteous and do all on their part to slow, wait, or pass well beyond the three-foot limit –- and that includes truck drivers as well.  The climbs were mostly reasonable although there were a few that approached 17% for up to ¾ of a kilometer.

Hotels were comfortable, highly ranked, and well suited for tired riders, although pillows in Austria don’t meet the US standard for comfort.  The tour was scheduled at the right time of year since most hotels do not have room air conditioning, although they do have operable windows and the night air is typically cool.

Food along the route was traditional Austrian fare, except for the reliable Italian restaurant that could be found in most of the destination cities:

• Rindsuppe: a clear beef soup with golden color
• Tafelspitz: beef boiled in broth (soup)
• Goulash: Austrian goulash is often eaten with rolls, bread or dumplings (Semmelknödel)

This is a great ride for the BAC 2B rider, and you shouldn’t miss it.