Today we rode from St. Johann to Mallnitz.  A relatively short day at only 47.9 kilometers, but a wee bit of climbing with a total elevation gain of 1039 meters.  In the process we crossed to the southern side of the alps.

We started the day with gentle meandering along the river.  It didn’t take long before the grade picked up as we ascended to the very interesting reservoir show below. 

Most of the day today was on country roads rather than bike trail.  But much of that had very little traffic.  Below is David on one of these beautiful stretches.

Although there was no threat of rain today, most people were wrapped up because of the temperature as we gained in altitude.

This is a fairly heavily travelled biking route.  At one point we were chatting with a couple who introduced themselves as coming from a country called Canada.  We pointed out that yes we had heard of Canada.  It turns out that they are from Salt Springs Island.  They are riding their recumbent tandem on a 3 month tour of Europe.  Barry & Mary Ellen Bartlet.  You can read all about their adventure on their blog.

Although we had been climbing most of the day, the serious stuff came after lunch in the town of Bad Gastein.  It is a beautiful old resort town.

It’s most interesting feature is the waterfall right in the middle of town.  We rode alongside the falls as we climbed.  I stopped about half way up to take a picture of what we had just climbed and another of what we had yet to look forward to.

Finally! The train station at the top.  From here all the cars and all the bikes board a very nice electric train that takes you through a tunnel to southern side of the alps.

We spend the night in Mallnitz, just a couple of kilometres from the mouth of the tunnel.  It is a very small town, more of ski resort really.  It won’t be too long before it springs to life as the snow creeps further down the mountain.