Wachau with a diversion

In the morning I still harboured the hope that I would make it to Vienna without rain and at first it looked that way. The sun was shining and there wasn't much to suggest the predicted 20% chance of rain. After just under 21 kilometres, however, the ride came to a halt. A roadworks site. As I approached the barrier, I heard loud shouts, which must have been directed at me. I stopped, almost in disbelief, as the section in question was only 50 to 100 metres long and I was tempted to just ride through it. But while I was still weighing up my options, another cyclist came to a halt next to me and we struck up a conversation. It was Sepp, on a day trip with his beautiful BMC racing bike. He advised me not to just ride through, as he thought they would probably call the police. Even after asking a construction worker who was new to the scene, we were not allowed through - it would have taken a maximum of 1 minute. He said it was lunch break at 12 noon, then we could drive through - but I would have had to wait about 2 hours.

So I took the - at least well signposted - diversion. Instead of the flat cycle path along the Danube, I now had to cycle uphill. According to Google Maps, the diversion was only 10 minutes longer - but then I would have missed a large part of the Wachau UNESCO World Heritage Site. So I decided to cycle back down to the Danube as soon as possible. But that meant a lot more metres in altitude: In the end, we went from around 200 metres above sea level to 664 metres above sea level with a very steep 12% gradient in places. Not easy to ride with so much weight on the bike. The top section and a large part of the descent were also gravel paths, but fortunately of the «rolls well» variety. And there was still a bit of a view, after all.

In my opinion, the diversions was worth it, even though it took me an estimated one and a half hours longer. So the two-hour wait wouldn't have been much later. But the landscape was very beautiful and I stopped at a wine farm for some peach nectar, called apricot nectar here, which was really delicious.

As soon as I got back on the bike, after about 44 kilometres, it started to rain for the first time on my trip. The raindrops were accompanied by small grains of ice, so it was rather cold. But after more than 933 kilometres, it was the first time it had rained, so I couldn't complain. And after 15 minutes it was over again. At least temporarily. The weather was very unstable over the next few kilometres. Typical spring: sometimes sunshine, sometimes rain, sometimes both together. As I had the feeling that I could ride away from the rain, I took my lunch break very late again today, after about 94 kilometres. Now the sun was finally shining a little more consistently and I was able to warm myself with its rays while I was eating.

And the sun was now shining almost all the way to Vienna. After the refreshments, my previous slight tiredness was gone and I was rolling beautifully again. I really had to restrain myself from pushing too hard on the pedals. Despite the considerable diversions, I arrived at my hotel in Vienna shortly before 5 p.m., which made me very happy. Apparently I can easily take such unplanned detours, which is good to know. I've now covered more than a thousand kilometres and the first planned rest day is just around the corner.