The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Salzburg Double Loop - Seven Lakes

September 10th to September 26th

Ride Director: Warner Griswold
Ride Co-Director: Garry Clifton
Ride Driver: Bill Meacham
Report by: Virginia Cottingham

Salzburg Double Loop - Seven Lakes

September 10 to September 26, 2024

Ride Director: Warner Griswold

Ride Co-Director: Gary Clifton

Driver: Bill Meacham

Report by: Mike Raudenbush and Virginia Cottingham

“There’s a reason Austria is so green; bring your rain gear”.  Warner Griswold, our Ride Director, was right on both counts. Austria is green – very, very green.  And it does rain! But after a few rain-soaked days, the sun came out and we were treated to the mountains and lakes of Austria in all their magnificence: the Alps with a mantle of fresh snow, the lakes deep blue under an azure sky. 

Our ride began in the fairytale city of Salzburg – Mozart’s birthplace and hometown, a city of baroque architecture, stunning Alpine surroundings, and a rich cultural heritage. After a lovely short shakedown ride around the pastoral countryside outside 

Salzburg, we headed south toward the high Alps, passing through the wildly beautiful Salzach Gorge, made even more dramatic by the swirling rain clouds. A day (and more rain) later we arrived in the very Austrian ski resort of Kaprun. 

The next day the rain gods looked kindly upon us and gave us a fine day to explore the area around Kaprun.  Some rode bikes, others took the ski lifts to the “Top of Salzburg – Gipfelwelt 3000m” for views of the Alps, now clothed in the vestal white of the recent snow. Then onward back north through Lofer and the Hotel Der Steinerwirt with its – ahem – interesting room adjacent to the spa (“Fifty Shades of Lofer”, get it?), then, on our first rain-free riding day, a return to Salzburg. 

If the first loop (south to the Alps) was dramatic and challenging, mainly due to the rain, the second, northern loop, was gentle and pastoral, riding through rolling green hills and farmland (think cows -- lots of cows), riding from one azure lake to the next: Wolfgangsee, Hallstattersee, Traunsee, Attersee, Obertraunsee. This is the country seen on the travel posters: quaint chalets in green fields, dairy cows, and the ever-present Alps in the distance.   In the town of Obertraun we had a layover day, giving many of us an opportunity to tour the famous Hallstattt salt mine, a unique experience for sure. According to archaeologists, the Hallstatt mine has been mining salt for 7000 years, making it the world’s oldest salt mine. 

Austria is a cycling paradise.  Riding was on a combination of paved roads and bike paths (paved, gravel, and dirt).  Austrians do take care of cyclists, with a vast network of fine bike paths, some beside the roads, some rather remote.  There is an extensive network of lovely bike trails that wind through the gorgeous countryside, but the best part of cycling in Austria is the Austrian people.  They are for the most part very courteous and cautious around cyclists (even the truckers!), and they went out of their way to help us (like stopping to warn us that we were about to get on the Autobahn when we were lost and trying to find the bike path and giving us directions back to the bike path). The bike paths took us through many picturesque villages and past many cozy cafes, where we indulged in cappuccinos and pastries (and, during the wet days, warm goulash). And who can write about the Salzburg region without mentioning The Sound of Music, that marvelous (and partly true) romantic movie about the von Trapp family, much of it filmed on location around Salzburg.  And on that note, we leave Austria, hoping for a return visit to this cycling wonderland.