Timmelsjoch Day 2: The Difficult Day

Woke up a bit before the alarm in the morning, so I was ready when Nicos and my alarm went of simultaneously. Had a short lye in and then went down to a breakfast buffet, where we met the rest of the guest. Nico and me were probably the youngest if you count out one child. After a filling breakfast and some chatting we got prepared to leave. Received some much needed sun lotion as a gift from the owners whilst paying and after some painful applying of the lotion we were of. Well, not completely, as we had a short stop at the SPAR to buy some Apple juice for Nico.

After that it was along a river in the valley past some marshes and other bikers. Reaching Biberwier it got hillier as we were getting nearer to the Fernpass. Before reaching that however we turned sharp left, towards a mountain. Reaching the bottom of said mountain we were overtaken by a few ambitious bikers, whilst we had a short break. A sign displayed on the side of the road showed a ascent of 750m and 6.5km distance and a bike indicator hard. Nico at first said how lucky we are that we are not doing that, me agreeing. After looking at the GPS I saw that we were indeed doing exactly that route. So it was on to the bikes with a nice climb/distance relation through alpine forests. It got steeper and steeper the more we proceeded and we even saw some biker taking the lift up (cheaters). Coming from the top there was a nearly constant stream of “fun vehicles”, something akin to a city roller and a tricycle but with bigger rubber wheels. I had a stop at about every 100m gained altitude for a drink and some rest for the bum. Nico was in front mostly, as he is a lot fitter at going uphill than me. Reached the end of the lifts at one point and unsurprisingly there were suddenly less people on the track.

A really steep part came after the lift, I had to get of whilst Nico biked rather a lot, but even he had to stop and walk the last bit. Saw a mountain biker coming up behind us and he biked everything. Had a short stop at the top, the mountain called Marienbergjoch, for a muesli bar and to get long clothes on. Downhill for a bit with a short drink brake in the Marienbergalm. After that one of the longest downhill bikes up to date, about 16 km downhill until Mötz. Along some super forest trails at the foot of the mountain, the one being behind the other one catching rather a lot of dust. Reached Mötz after going along a main road and had lunch, Wiener Schnitzel again. After putting on some more sun lotion we carried on, nearly parallel to the motorway. Criss-crossed it a few times and eventually went across the river and through some forest on the other side of the valley. Reached a type of outdoor fun park called “Area 47”, Nico apparently had a look into a gym with loots of nearly naked people, and I only realised what it was after being screamed at from directly above, somebody jumping down from a bridge (with a safety harness of course). Continued on along a trail which ended up being a few meters above the road, and a dead end. Nico turned round and went back a bit whilst I went directly down to the road.

After that it was up Ötztal along the Ötztaler Ache, a raging mountain river. Had a short stop on a hill, as both our bums were hurting. Carried on along the river, me being so exhausted that I pushed my bike at some points. Had a break on a bridge over the river, watching some kayak people decide if they really want to go into the river (I would definitely not have in that). Pushed a bit uphill, Nico now also succumbing to exhaustion and pushing a bit to. Reached a top before Längenfelder Tal and got some warm clothes on as the wind was getting harsh and cold. Shot down and had to wait for Nico at the bottom for a while. I was wondering were he was and had already turned back a bit when he came trundling out of the forest, with a back flat tyre. Us being to experts on fixing flat tyres it was done rather fast, just loosing a few things in the back of my biking top.

Continued along the valley after fixing it and finally reached Längenfeld at about half past six. Found a comfortable and cheap place to stay relatively fast and had a super evening meal with internet after a shower. As we just wanted to leave the restaurant it started to pour down, so we went back in for an ice. After the ice it had stopped an we went back to sleep. I slept soundly but apparently I talk in my sleep so Nico woke up a few times.

Track at GPSies and pictures at Picasa.

Time in saddle: 6 hours 40 min.

Distance: 72.7 km

Average speed: 10.9 km/h

Altitude meters: 1503 m