After a cool and cloudy start we meandered our way south and west from Sankt Lorenzen to Vokenburg. The first part was not photogenic as the mostly flat route cut through endless car dealerships, DIY stores and pockets of industry. We eventually found a morning coffee stop in an out-of-town shopping district before plunging down to cross the Mur River and work our way up towards higher ground.
We were soon surrounded by quaint churches, wild flower meadows and delightful antique barns. At Teufenbach we changed down to our lowest gear and sweated our way upwards towards the watershed and the National Park where the views opened out.
There followed a final downhill plunge to a lakeside hotel and a bed for the night.
In all we had covered 38 miles in the day which is a fraction more than the 50 km Berta and Franz covered today in their King and Queen of the Lake cycle race. Refreshingly, neither won but instead came 8th and 13th respectively. In contrast to us, their 50 km only occupied around an hour of their day. Once again, humbled by their speed, we persuaded ourselves that our bikes aren’t the latest carbon creations and we surely must have seen more of the scenery during our long hours in the saddle.
