Linz to Grein

We left our hotel in downtown Linz around 9am, looking forward to a 57km ride for the day...but hey, let's round it up to a nice even 60km . Not to be! Construction related detours (yes, even on bike paths !) and side trips drove that number to a borderline unpleasant -- and unexpected -- 80km! But enough moaning, here's how the day unfolded....

Doug and I decided to log some fast clicks and agreed to meet the rest of the group in the small town of Mauthausen about 25km east of Linz. Above the town stood the remains of "KL Mauthausen", a concentration camp from WWII. The exhibit and the memorial was billed as an important sight to see. One minor problem for the group: it was a 1.7km ride up hill with 500 meters or so at 14% grade. At least that's what the book said. Since Doug and I arrived ahead of the group, we dicided to set out on a little recon mission.  Up and up and up went. With each switch back, the hill continued before us...or as Doug said, "it's the hill that just keeps on giving!" (By the way, for those of you unfamiliar with grades, 14% sounds friendly enough but let me tell you, that's hard to walk let alone bike!) But we made it without dismounting. Upon cresting the hill at the camp, we turned and headed back down.

After waiting for 10 or 15 minutes for the rest of the group to arrive, we reported our findings.  Some decided that they would pass on the opportunity, willing to accept our second-hand account of the trip. So, six of us headed up -- for Doug and I, this was now the 2nd journey -- to see what lay in store for us at the memorial.
Words can not express the horror and depth of human depravity embodied in that place. Not only were the "experiments" and acts of humiliation and degradation carried against the captives beyond belief, but the levels to which the prisonsers themselves stooped in order to ensure their own survival. It not only brought tears to my eyes but caused me to ponder to what level I might stoop if found in such a place. I can only hope that by God's grace I would not have sunk to the lows that some sunk. They say some 100,000 people died at Mauthausen.  May this memorial -- and others like it -- remind us that we can never allow such a thing again.

While we were at the memorial, the rest of the team forged ahead. We caught up with them a few hours later and 20 kms downstream at Mitterkirchen. And here is where the trip turned a bit nasty: construction detours added another 15 extra kms onto our journey! So, needless to say, when we arrived in Grein, our destination for the day, we were hot, tired, and a bit irritable. We had logged almost 80 kms under a relentless sun in the high 20's. We were especially relieved to learn that the last 5kms -- up hill! -- to our hotel was via bus, not bike! Phew!

Wendy and I took a swim, had and enjoyable dinner with the gang and hit the sack at 9:30pm! We were starring down another 80km day for Wed.  By the way, for those keeping track, I promised Wendy at the outset that we would probably do an average of 50 km a day...easy riding. To her credit, no complaints and frankly, I must say, she did AWESOME!

Check out the pics.