St. Gertraudi to Perien - July 2001

Approaching Innsbruck

We continued on road 171 after breakfast at the gasthaus. We alternated between the road and bike paths into Innsbruck. Our routes would be diverging in the vicinity of Plaffenhofen. Scott would be heading north to Garmisch for the night, then on to Munich. I would continue to Landeck on my journey back to Lake Como.

Bridge crossing the Inn River just before lunch

We stopped in Innsbruck for lunch at a nice restaurant adjacent to the bike path and river. There were numerous outdoor tables for dining and the clientele appeared to be mainly business people at lunch. A German couple pulled in on touring bikes and we talked for a bit. They were from northern Germany and were on their way to Italy. My lunch consisted of two types of fish with a hollandaise type sauce and potatoes and wine, quite delicious. Scott had purchased most of the maps we were using and I decided to look for a map before departing Innsbruck. The waitress suggested a gas station down the street. There I found a 1:200000 scale map that would have to do. Riding back to the restaurant, I met Scott and we departed Innsbruck. We continued on bike paths until Telfs. Scott headed north across the mountain, I continued west up the narrowing valley toward Landeck. I stopped for a beer and fries at Roppen. I sat outside with the truckers and enjoyed the summer air. Today's ride would be mostly flat with a slight climb up the valley. The exception came between Imsterau and Imsterberg, a 1.6 km climb that felt like it exceeded 12%.

Bike path after Innsbruck

Innsbruck airport is in the background

The valley narrows approaching Landeck

It was interesting riding up the narrowing valley. There was an autobahn, train tracks, river and my secondary road. At one point the room ran out, and the autobahn ran above the train tracks. I saw signs for lodging just prior to Landeck at Perien and rode up the hill. I found the Hotel Nussbaumhof, a nice family operated hotel. A young man escorted me to the ski room to store my bicycle. He was very interested in my journey and asked several questions. He noted the clipless pedals on the bike and the sandals I was wearing. He wondered why I wasn't wearing special shoes for the pedals. I showed him the cleats on the bottom of the Shimano SPD sandals and he smiled. After showering I walked around the small village and purchased postcards. For dinner at the hotel, I ordered what the waitress called French style wiener schnitzel, breaded with egg, another delicious meal.

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