More cycling fun

Yep, more cycling related activity. This time the Glockner Koenig mass bike ride/ race. Basically an uphill race 27km long, with 1800m climbing, the steepest section being 12% and incorporating 14 hairpins. In other words: world of pain!

This ride has been on the cards for a while since Mum and Dad did it a few years ago. Me and Dad rode this year and what a challenge! I managed to finish in 1hr 38min about 20 mins behind the winner and in 87th place out of 2020, and was felt totally spent. Dad wasn't too far behind in 3hr 13min.

Last few metres. The finish was amazing - 2445m above sea level with a fantastic view, way above the treeline.

Two knackered cyclists about to start a 27km descent.

Giro!

Vai, vai! Well we went off to watch the Giro d'Italia and it was bella!


Although it rained a lot and was pretty freaking cold, we still had fun, saw the stars and I bumped into old university friend too. We were on the Tre Croci on one of the toughest mountain stages of the race and many of the cyclists looked pretty tired and cold.




But there is definitely something great about cycling when you can just rock up by the side of the road with a couple of million Italians and watch the best professionals race past. Forza Italia!

Montpellier

Spent last weekend down in Montpellier, France for the Nokia FISE festival. I was working, but it was still a pretty neat couple of days and I got to hang out with some real nice folks.

Montpellier is a beautiful town, lots of typically French alleys and cafes to explore


The BMXing was absolutely amazing - best I've ever seen live for sure.


I was working on the Braun cruZer Tour part of the festival. Excellent competition and you can check the videos here: Daniel Dhers from Venezuela was my favourite. Super smooth and he should have won if you ask me..

My ride to work

It has to be the best commute I've ever had: 32km through the alps, along a canyon and over a couple of tricky climbs. The canyon road is quite amazing, just wide enough for a car and with a short tunnel bashed through some rock (you can just see it to the right of the photo).


This is the last climb - a nasty 1 in 6 effort over the Sonnberg before dropping down to Fuschl where the office is. Gotta love it.
The cycling season is now well under way and I had my first ride out with the bike club (RC Hallein) last week. That turned out to be a 110km in 3hr 15min blast through Bavaria, just over the German border. I felt surprisingly strong given that it was my first proper ride in months, but it was seriously "vollgas" and no hanging around.

Vienna

We spent our first wedding anniversary in Vienna and had a great time. Lovely weather meant that we were able to cruise around the streets on their special citybike service. It was all very cultural: went to the fine arts museum, the zoo (brilliant) and nice restuarants. It's a fantastic city.


Looking thoughtful outside the Hundertwasser Haus. Hundertwasser was an Austrian artist, environmentalist and architect. He lived out his final years in New Zealand where his only claim to fame are some public toilets he designed for a town in Northland. There are buildings of his all over Austria though, and they are all quite remarkable.