Sun 29/5/2011 75km dep. 10:15AM arr. 6PM
There was a lot of condensation around this morning, but the tent got a chance to dry while Rodney fiddled with his bike to stop his new tyres rubbing on the mudguards.
We rode out along the river, passing numerous triathletes, runners and cyclists out for their Sunday morning session. There was a pretty steep hill to get out of town; we were met at the top by an overwhelming array of hotels and resorts, as well as signage to more of the same. There are a lot of hot springs around this area judging by the number of establishments that incorporate ‘thermal’ into their name.
Rodney on bike
We got to ride along the ridge for quite a while, enjoying more great views of sun-drenched vineyards and farmland. The day was a bit of a blur, with one hill after another. None of them were very high, but some were quite steep (we saw one marked at 16% and it wasn’t the steepest of the day).
Vineyards
We got to St Peters am Ottersbach, a small town in southern Styria, around 5:30pm but had difficulty locating the campsite. After asking the same local woman on two laps of the town we eventually found it. It consisted of a very small patch of grass up the hill behind the public swimming pool. There were no signs.
The showers were locked but the guy who ran the bar at the pool was very friendly and helped us out by calling the owner of the camping. He wasn’t able to deliver the key for a while so we set up the tent and had a swim. As it was a Sunday the shops weren’t open, and the restaurant selection in town was pretty sparse, so we shared a pizza and chips from the restaurant at the pool. The chips were so good we decided to order another serve. I can’t believe how much I’m eating on this tour, but Rodney always seems to be able to fit more in!