Austrians are an orderly folk. Many things are done according to the calendar rather than the prevailing weather conditions:
Sunday, a gorgeous, crisp autumn morning, a cloudless blue sky, the sun transforming the larches into tongues of flame amid the darker pines, and backlighting the beeches into hoardes of golden coins.
Where were the cyclists? At home. Bikes go down into the cellar on the last Saturday of October (if not before) regardless of the weather. So the bike trail along the Salzach River and through the dramatic Pass Lueg, a busy two-wheel highway in summer, was mine and mine to enjoy alone. www.tauernradweg.com
At the same time, traffic jams were being reported because of skiers flocking to the glaciers for the first day of the official ski season. Skis come out of the cellars at the end of October even if it is more like bathing weather .
Other things are similarly regulated. Last week the long poles were installed along the steeply winding roadside to this mountain village, to show the snow plough the edge of the road. In gardens, bushes were tied up to save branches breaking under the winter snows. This weekend summer tyres were replaced with the heavy winter treads. Snow shovelling equipment is placed at the ready and water butts are emptied.
There is a good reason for these calendrical activities – but the weather forecasters are predicting temperatures of up to 20°C for the rest of this week, so, because of this orderliness, it looks as if there will be opportunities for more solitary bike rides in early November.
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