Day 9: Feldkirch to Warth am Arlberg

Photos now added!

We awoke this morning to clear blue skies and beautiful views across to the mountains. 

We're not in Kansas any more Toto!

A hot air balloon appeared just over our heads, announced by an audible burst on it's burners. Breakfast was had, including pumpkin-seeded bread and croissants from the camp shop, a well as the excellent muesli that we had bought the previous evening from a petrol station shop (the only open shop available to us).

We packed quickly and set off, stopping at another petrol station shop (again, all that was open, as it's Sunday) to supplement supplies before the first climb. John H had decided to accompany us initially before heading off on his own to catch his flight out on Monday. We cycled first to Rankweil, an attractive small town with a fine castle-like church built on a small rock pinnacle

View over to Rankweil. Play spot John H!

The climb itself, the Furkajoch pass, starts just after the town and rapidly climbs up to give arresting views across towards Saturday's mountains, and also of Rankweil, and the deep gorge of the river that the road was following. A couple of tunnels followed. We cycled through the first one and it proved a very strange experience - it felt rather like being in a dragon's nostril, with roaring noises that seemed to signal the end of the world preceding cars and, particularly, motorbikes. We gathered after the first tunnel, discussing John H's options. As we were doing this a lady cyclist appeared from a small track to one side of the tunnel mouth, took her bike up to the next tunnel and disappeared up a similar track there. We decided to follow. At this point the three of us finally managed to shake off John H - it had taken three days, but finally he could no longer keep up with us :-). 

We followed the track round the side of the tunnel as the lady had done only to find that in order to rejoin the road we had to lift our bikes over a fence! This John C managed without unloading his bike. I (JR) needed to remove most of my luggage to get my bike over. We continued the climb, which was reasonable at first, although a bit varied so we could set a nice steady pace. There came a point, however, where the slope suddenly steepened and stayed steep for the rest of the climb (about 6 km) bar a short flatter piece just before the final climb. 

John C contemplates the final climb and wonders if it's too late to hire a car.

John C's trip computer showed a continuous 13-14% slope and this was on the absolute limit of our abilities bearing in mind we are carrying full touring and camping loads. The climb was tough; hot, airless and uncompromising. As I climbed at maximum effort the strength gradually drained out of my legs. I stopped a couple of times to breath a bit more, drink (you can't drink while climbing as this stops you from breathing) and stretch, but to be honest the dead-leg feeling after each stop was almost too much to make the stops worth it. The final part of climb was a victory for will over physical reality. I crawled (almost literally) up the last few metres and didn't stop shaking for 10 minutes; 2 hot chocolates and a cake later.

Roy and John C. You can tell this is taken after cake and cocoa, as Jeremy has stopped shaking enough to take the picture.

The views from the top of this 1700 m col were fantastic though. Interrogating John's computer showed we had climbed about 1400 m in 20 km and he had used 2500 kcals+ !

The view looking back the way we'd come. Much steeper than it looks.

Our descent took us into the heart of the Austrian alps, with small villages and scattered high homes in the middle of high pastures which were busy taking in a harvest of fresh-cut grass. At the bottom we had lunch with golden vistas at Au (blogging support just noticed the geochemist's joke here...).

We then headed directly in to our next climb, following another river of clear fast flowing water up into dramatic scenery of precipitous mountains with severe scree scars, forests of conifers and high pastures. The valley narrowed to a near canyon at one point and we were unable to see the mountain tops without looking up. The climb followed the pattern of the previous climb - pleasantly achievable to start and then dramatically steepening for the last 5 km or so. Scenery was increasingly dramatic, accentuated by accumulating clouds and strong beams of sunlight. Again we pedaled at our limits, minds and bodies already fatigued by the previous climb. The road itself was spectacular, at one point swooping out into space on thin stilts poised above a small village. 

The amazing road on stilts.

John C on the second climb. This time you can see how steep it it! 

Nearly at the top, looking back in evening sunshine.

At the top. It's cold!

We finally reached the top exhausted and quickly decided (since it was now 6:30) that we would stop at the first place on the descent and find ourselves rooms. Which is why we find ourselves in Warth am Arlberg in a top floor guest house room with fantastic views. Tomorrow we have another 1800+ m col, so are bracing ourselves for the hard climb. 

The view from our hotel window.

Despite all we did in the Pyrenean trip, John C and I (JR) both agree that today was harder than anything we did then, mostly because of carrying our own stuff.

Vital Statistics

70.76 km, 45.82 miles, Average speed 14.1 kph, Maximum speed 60.1 kph, 5 hrs in the saddle, 2291 m climbed

5963 calories used.