Innsbruck: Yesterday I left Henchingen. I was going to stay for two more days, but there’s some bad weather inbound on Monday for southern Germany, Austria and the Alps, so on Saturday I tucked my vest into my kickers and did a big jump down to Austria and Innsbruck. It was 400km, or 250 miles in old money and took around five hours. I took the autobahn for much of the way but about 50 miles before Innsbruck decided to take the A and B roads, which was a mistake as it was a sunny Saturday and all the roads were utterly jammed with day-trippers, cyclists and coaches.
The weather during the ride was El Scorchio. My weather app said it was 26 but the temp readout on my bike said 32 at one point. I’m glad I put some factor 50 on my face and neck this morning. I got to Schloss Camping Aschach campsite mid-afternoon. The campsite looks small but it’s deceptively big, with many levels going up the nearby hill. The site has a swimming pool, an eatery and an excellent bar which serves an exceptionally cool beer – which was much appreciated after a hot day in the saddle. For my tent, the bike and me it was 20eu for the night, which was to be expected because of the facilities. It’s an immaculate site, and the showers and toilets are excellent.
Vicenza: Leaving Innsbruck about 10am, I headed for the Brenner Pass. I wanted to leave earlier but last night I had two pints at the bar, so I slept like a log and didn’t wake up till 8.30. I will never take the Brenner pass again. Never. The queue to pay a 12eu toll to transit the Brenner pass was chaos, with hundreds of vehicles all trying to get into the four lanes to pay the toll. Even on two-wheels, filtering was a challenge because the width of the lanes are quite narrow.
After the toll it wasn’t too bad. I was going to come off half way to see if the Stevlio Pass was still open – but I missed my turning. Damn. After the Brenner Pass there was a huge traffic jam which was over three miles long. I filtered through the middle for most of the way and it was really tiring. Thinking it was roadworks, I was shocked when I got to the end and saw it was the barriers to issue a ticket for the oncoming Autostrada. A three mile traffic queue just for a machine to give you a ticket..! I was fuming. Avoid the Brenner Pass.
Riding south into Italy the mountains tower above you and make you feel so insignificant. After Trento the land started to flatten out, with the occasional hills and lots of agriculture. At Trento I hung a right and headed for Vicenza. The weather today was again sunny and blisteringly hot, and over 30 degrees after Bolzano. It was around 320kms today (200 miles) and by the time I got to my campsite I was sweaty and tired, and needed a big mug of tea and some medicinal Haribo.
Campeggio il Lago is about 10kms south of Vicenza in the rolling hills of the very lush and very green countryside. I’m here for four nights, and for me, my tent and my bike it’s costing 15eu per night. It’s attached to a farm and there are only four slots for camping. I emailed yesterday and they had a spare pitch, so here I am. The campsite is around 2km south of Torri di Arcugnano. There are two or three small shops, plus a bar/pizzeria. There is also a lake near by which has a cafe. It can be busy but if you tie it well, you can enjoy a nice coffee overlooking this small lake with lots of wild-fowl.
While I’m here I want to visit Vincenza, Padua and also Verona. Venice is not far away but I’m sure it will be mobbed by instagrammers and tourists, so I may give that a miss. Because there are only four tents, it is nice and peaceful, and there are lots of trees so there is shade everywhere. BUT, there are mosquitoes a plenty. Zillions, so if you are heading this way, make sure you have repellent. Anyway, that’s me for a few days. I’ve just had a refreshing shower so I’m going to pop down to the local village. Pizza, methinks…
