Cortina-Iselsberg

Crossing the old railroad bridge a few miles outside Cortina.

We departed Cortina on the bike path for Dobbiaco and points north. The old railroad bed was converted to a bike path and is an excellent way out of town. The first few miles are paved followed by crushed gravel. Scott broke the mount for his handlebar bag when he hit a pothole in the trail. We took a 15-minute break to jury rig the bag mount. He had experienced a mount break in Crete the week before, and was experienced at rigging. I had brought a new mount from the U.S. to replace the one broken in Crete.
The trail parallels SS51 and provides a scenic if sometimes rutted alternative to the highway. We departed the trail at Cast S. Nberto for the road and a smooth descent down to Dobbiaco. At the junction of highway 48B, we could see some of the parkland back toward Cortina. The mountains were beautiful.

The stream was running high under the bridge.

The old railway ran higher along the mountain than the main road.

Scott riding the bike path a few miles before the Austrian border.

At Dobbiaco we followed the busy main road before picking up a nice bike path around S. Candido. We continued on the path until the Austrian border. An Uzi equipped Italian policeman was directing bicyclists off the path onto the highway to pass through the border checkpoint. We rode through without being stopped and picked up the path again. I assume the security was due to the upcoming G7 meeting in Genoa with protests and disruptions planned.

I wish I could jump like that.

We exited the path at Lienz to find lunch and an ATM. We needed schillings now that we were in Austria. We struck out on the ATM; the one we found wouldn't accept either of our cards. This was the first time mine had been rejected. We found a delightful outdoor cafe, the Batzenhausl, which would accept lira and enjoyed a nice lunch.

The Batzenhausl

Leaving Lienz, construction forced us off the bike path. We found a detour back.

We followed the path again briefly, giving it up when it seemed we were zigzagging across the valley and up the sides. The road was acceptable and traffic thinned as we turned to climb up to Iselberg. There we found a nice room and delicious dinner at the Hotel Molltaler. Light rain started once again just before we pulled into the hotel.

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