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Day 2, Melk - Linz
Friday, 07 July 2006

Day 2, Melk - Linz; July 20, 2003

Again did not sleep well, kept waking up most of the night.

Got up around 07:00, packed my stuff, ate a snack (Sneakers from previous day) as pre-breakfast and hit the road. Now I could feel every single muscle in my legs... the only way to tackle it is to pedal more and more. Sooner or later I will get used to it. One more thing, I forgot to take sun lotion/filter from home, and after the whole day under the sun I started to feel my burning skin, mainly left arm and leg. To make it worse somewhere on the road a bloody mosquito bit me :-( and of course it must have chosen my left side.

Have to buy a filter, but unfortunately have to wait till Monday.

Today is better; I pass or am passed by other bikers however 90% of them go in opposite direction - to Vienna. Terrain is flat however you can see the hills on both sides of the river.

I carry on along the Danube in the direction more or less west. After about 10 km I stop at local inn and have something to bite - frankfurters :-). It's about 9am when hit the track again. Kilometer after kilometer, it is not hot so you can say that is actually fun. Landscape is already different. Different landscapes, houses, manors etc. Everything looks like from advertising folders. When you live a city all the time you completely do not realize what is being missed.

Road allows to keep constant speed of around 22 km/h.

Danube is still wide and calm and looks fantastic.

From time to time some motor boats speed through the water, also you see quite a few barges. It is quite busy river.

Similar feelings for another ~50 km. It became hot, very hot. At one point the route goes away from the river and turns south (~20 km). This piece was tough - again corn fields, no wind, and pouring heat directly from above (and it was early afternoon). If it wasn't for the fact I was riding I would have stayed there for ever.

I intercept the river again, cross the dam/lock (looking at the water levels on both sides, I can see that I am actually climbing). Now I am on the north bank.

You will find a dam every 20-30 km.

Few minutes later I find bike stop (drive or inn, whatever) where I can rest and re-fill my water supplies. To my surprise I also was able to by sun lotion (no more pain).

Meet few people and chat for a while with some Czech and Germans. As to Germans, they speak some much different... I wonder what is ahead of me.

To Linz I still have ~40km. Cross the border between Niederösterreich and Oberösterreich. Now I am in Upper Austria - time to eat -> again sausage.

Close to Linz I was supposed to cross the river again, but I misread the map and missed the ferry stand. So I ended up on normal road with traffic. I follow the road sign for Linz, and few kilometers later I can see another sign with red circle and the bike inside. Shit. I get off the road and started to struggle through some funny tracks and small forest. Finally I reach a small town (no idea what was the name). Had to ask for the direction and few minutes later I was on the right track again.

Few more kms along bike route and found the camping site located by small lake. Did not have to buy tokens for the shower :-)

Tomorrow should be able to reach Passau -Germany

Distance:106 km
Average speed:21 km/h

 

Last Updated ( Saturday, 16 June 2007 )
 
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