Gaisberg

I rode up the Gaisberg, a nearby mountain that overlooks Salzburg, this morning on a perfect autumn's day. The climb is about 12km long with 800m vertical and the last 3km being at over 15% - in other words, a world of pain. But as ever, it's always worth it for the view and descent back down.

Ireland, to be sure.

After Croatia we had a few days in Cork, Ireland with my brother Mike and his girlfriend Grainne. The weather held out for us and we had a grand time on the beach learning the national game, hurling and practising our frisbee skills.

Evenings were spent in the many pubs which usually come complete with grumpy old men and a steady supply of the local stout, Beamish. We watched Ireland lose to France in the Rugby World Cup, which led to a lot of people yelling things at the TV like, "Jaysus, ya feckin little bolix!"

Our final night was also in a pub where we played Ringo, which was kinda like bingo, but with music and we were suitably hungover and tired for our flight the next morning.


Dromagh stone circle.


Mike and Grainne. Grainne hid a blackberry in Mike's hair - it took about half a day until he noticed.


On the beach..


No idea what this was all about, but someone made this weird entrance arrangment out of bike frames so it was worth a photo.

Croatia

We spent a week chilling out on the Istrian peninsula in Croatia, swimming in the Adriatic sea and doing a bit of sightseeing. The countryside is a bit average but there are dozens of tiny villages to explore and the ones along the coast are quite beatiful. The Romans were quite prolific in the area and there are plenty of remains to visit including the incredible amphitheatre in Pula.

Food wasn't too interesting, but we had a fun few nights out including watching a rock cover band play on the shoreside of Vrsar fronted by two sisters who wailed and moshed their way from the Rolling Stones to Guns n' Roses while wearing super-tight jeans - alllriiiight!!!


Rominj - one of the nicest coastal villages along the West coast of Istria.


It was riddled with gorgeous tiny lanes to wonder around and get lost in.


The Roman amphitheatre in Pula .. "my name is Gladiator!"


It's quite amazing that the Amphitheatre has survived for 2100 years in such good condition - the Venetians wanted it knocked down, locals used the stones for building supplies and it has seen plenty of wars.


The Roman temple in the centre of town.

Hibernation

There is snow on the mountain peaks and it's getting pretty nipply at night which means it's nearly time to pack up the bikes for winter. Unfortunately it gets too cold, snowy and icy to keep riding seriously throughout the winter here, not to mention that the roads are always salted which totally trashes bicycles.

It's been an awesome summer though and I've managed to pack in over 4000km of riding since Easter.

Riding with my local club has been fun too, though the mid-ride cafe stops are a somewhat more boozy than I've previously experienced. Usually we get a good two to three hours in before stopping, at which point everyone orders a large beer to wash down their sausage and bread snack. Makes a change to coffee and cake anyway.


Today's ride: Hallein, Golling, Voglau, St. Koloman. 650m of climbing - sweet.


The bike geeks among you will be happy to know that I have been riding a single-speed to work each day. There are a couple of nuggety hills on the way but it's such a cool rig to ride that it is going to suck not getting to ride it until next April.


The hack bike.


Beautiful.. please note missing spokes and chainring bolt.