Day 5: Pfunds - Völlan

Hello fans!

Although I wasn't addressed in Italian even once today, officially I am in Italy. Maybe we are still too close to Austria.

After a bad feeling of having a horrible rainy day, I only got wet in the last hour and luckily it was uphill.

So, in high spirits, I went straight into the first mountain and boom, bike broke down (small train flat). That's how I collected 2/3 of my altitude. Breakfast was invaluable, I could use the energy reserves perfectly.

Now that I knew that there would be 1300 meters of altitude downhill soon, I had a smile on my face. To the regret of the pale faces coming towards me, some of them had a deathly expression. 2 downhill sections were especially fun. One around the lake in Rechen am See and the other down to Burgeis.

There were times when it was a 20% downhill slope. Absolute driving skills were required here. I learned that in the 'Disney's Big Break Simulator'. The hardcore fans know what I mean.

So I spent half of the route on the so-called Claudia Augusta. That's not a girl, but a bike path. It was fine until Fischerteich. Then there were many roads where the construction workers took a break. But all the spokes are still on the bike, so it's not a big deal.

After I made such good progress, I was on the home stretch by shortly after 3 o'clock. Wrong thinking. Google Maps predicted 1 hour of travel time for the last 11 km. Let's see about that. 8 km later it was 3 km and 30 min. If you haven't experienced it yourself, you wouldn't believe it (see pictures). Suddenly I was in the absolute death mountain. No shit! In America, I could have sued Google Maps for attempted murder! 20% average gradient with sometimes 35% gradient. The report has been filed! Officially the worst and steepest mountain in the world. Only a wall is steeper! By the way, my average speed was 1.5 km/h. Even a snail with a walker was faster.

My lawyer will keep you updated.

In the evening, I was transported back to the 18th century in the hotel. I ate at the only restaurant that was open. 4-star top food!

Tomorrow finally a flat stage (1000 meters of altitude). Let's see if it gets better. We will see!

Regards, Flo