Enjoying Summer’s Heat
What do Biking, plumbers, and the World Cup have to do with each other…..not much other than these are the themes of my recent days while Ursula has been cavorting around Europe enjoying the sights with a tour group. She left the cats behind to provide me with close supervision. On occasions, when the unseasonable heat vaporizes them into another comatose stupor, I sneak out to play! It’s too hot to run, and the local hiking scenes are all too familiar…so I’ve taken up bike riding to extend my enjoyment out into the more distant, scenic countryside. I’ve written a little bit about bike riding, but my comments have been very understated. They just don’t do justice to the full description that bike riding as a hobby, means of transportation and sports activity deserves in the Vorarlberg valleys. Biking in the ‘berg.
A description of the riding backdrop
To fully appreciate the style of riding one should understand the local topography. Vorarlberg, I believe, translates to ‘before the Arl Mountains.’ The Arl Mountains forms the western beginning of the resplendent Austrian Alps and forms the precipitous wall of the eastern limits of Vorarlberg.
The foothills begin in Vorarlberg, and they grow into the imposing, rugged ski pistes of world renown Austrian Alps.
To the west and south of Vorarlberg lies Switzerland, separated by the Rhein River and a vast floodplain. As the floodplain rises it forms numerous valleys fed by glacier infused rivers. These valleys, worn down by a millennium of snow runoff, are steep and deep.
It is out in the flood-plane where most of Vorarlberg villages and residents reside. Each of these towns is connected by age-old walking paths, that have been improved to also serve as very useful bike paths.
As one proceeds into the valleys, inevitably you have to follow the level ground provided by the river basins. The deeper into the valleys one goes, the more steady is the gradual climb in elevation. But as these paths have been habited for centuries, even the more remote areas are beautifully cultivated and refined by centuries of care and attention.
One will find light poles along sections of the path where you’d expect civilization to end the wilderness to begin. Then around the next bend will be a small restaurant featuring their specialty Pizza and Radler (biker’s beer). A little further along you’ll crest the next hill to ride through another isolated old mountain village, it too with all the refinements of modern living.
Biking the Valleys
As one exhaustingly progresses into these canyon-like valleys and up the inclines, your comforted knowing you’ll be riding downhill on your return home. Unfortunately, the channelized winds from the floodplains, sweep up and into the smaller valleys. That means the ride down can also be a bit of work in some spots. There are occasions where the wind is strong enough to retard the unassisted glide downhill. You have to work to not come to a complete stop. But, it is refreshing with the sun burning overhead and the strong, scented winds in your face.
Vorarlberg Bikers
The bicyclist comes in all varieties. As the paths are well maintained and leveled, they are a favorite for the semi-pro bikers with their thin wheels, spandex outfits and stern, concentrated looks. They zip along at hasty speeds, never alerting you to their passing from behind with the mandatory bells.
Next is the bike tourist with their touring bikes laden with bags and helmets and GPSs as they cruise along, stopping often enough to take in all the sights. They have bells and use them.
The old lady locals make up the next batch with their old tank-like, hardened bikes with big baskets laden with the day’s groceries. They zip by with the stoicism of years of practice avoiding tourist, children and the ‘Tour de France wannabes.’ They use neither the bell nor the helmet. They’ll just shout ‘Achtung!, Achtung!’ as they try to plow through you.
The largest group is made up of the family weekend bikers. They have big bikes, little bikes, bikes with trailers, bikes with all sorts of cute attachments. They use bells, whistles, helmets and all sorts of fun family impedimenta as they congest the intersections trying to round up the lost kids and find the right way after picking up the left behind fallen toys. They’re all a nuisance to the other bikers.
Finally, there are the mountain bikers that climb the small switch-back trails that wind up the steep mountain peaks. They avoid the bike trails below. These Herculean bikers are in a league of their own.
The Bikes
The bikes! As with most refinements in modern Europe, the average bikes are on the leading edge of technology. The other day we brought my old, second-hand, used 200 Euro bike into a shop for a tune-up. We walked out feeling a little embarrassed and a little cheap. The least expensive bike they sold ran for around 2,400 Euro, the most expensive was about 7,000. It’s very common to see these bikes all over the trails. These days most of them are electorally powered by batteries. They so well engineered that sometimes you have to do a double take just to ensure they’re really ‘E-bikes.’
The incredible scenery
But, the paths and bikers and restaurants aside, what makes biking in 
Vorarlberg a splendid experience is the enjoyment of the many views of the exalted mountains and rivers. These indomitable mountains that shoot skyward from their fertile valleys command constant attention, and the bubbling rivers are so clear that the term crystal clear is too cloudy. If it weren’t for the movement, you almost could not tell there was water flowing over the rocks beds. It the ability to see the unvarnished beauty of the land that could easily turn an afternoon bike ride into a lifelong addiction.
Aside from Biking, a few Blog catch-up notes about apartment repairs
A few weeks back our kitchen sink backed up. With our landlord, we played around a bit with the washing machine drainage pipes thinking this might be the cause. It wasn’t. So, Raymond, our landlord’s father called a ‘friend’ with plumbing expertise to come over and fix it.
His friend fit the stereotypical ‘plumber’ image with dirty jeans, big belly, and visible ass-crack. He was a good dude and appeared to know what he was doing under the sink. But, he couldn’t fix the problem, he didn’t have the tools he needed, so he said. This was a very typical contractor experience as I’d had in the states. Hire a guy who arrives late, looks unprofessional but is confident in his abilities to fix everything, needs to borrow your tools as his ‘assistant’ has his on another job, needs your help with little tasks and leaves the site a mess and no better than when he arrived. He’s always quick to collect his pay, then, the problem somehow seems to resurrect itself soon after he departs.
The Pros from …?
Raymond’s friend wasn’t at all this bad, but his visit brought back too many experiences much like I’ve described. A few days later Raymond showed up uncharacteristically early with two uniformed dudes in tow. They wore the typical ‘Workman’ outfit that is so common around here. Reddish-orange pants with gray knee-padded trousers, hard-toed shoes, dark denim colored jacket and patient looks.
These guys came prepared. They laid out their protective, padded paper all over the kitchen floor, arranged the necessary tools and equipment within arms reach, and went to work. In three minutes the plumbing under the sink was out, the drip pans, which they brought with them, were in place. Then they applied the ‘heavy-hardware’ to clear out the pipes in the wall and flooring. It was the sleek, heavy duty cable feeder device that forces a half inch, flexible tube through the piping system.
As the lead plumber worked his magic, his assistant dutifully flushed the other toilets and sinks to get the flow of water moving. Within seven minutes he cleared the pipe and reconnect the attachments. In the next three, he recovered his tools and picked up the still clean protective paper. He spent the next two minutes spraying down and cleaning out the cabinets so he’d leave his workspace better than when he found it. He used his own cleaning supplies.
In fifteen minutes total, they arrived, set up, cleared the problem and were heading out the door. In disbelief, I commented to Raymon, ‘So Schell!” (So Quick). The boss of the two just smiled at me and said something to the effect of ‘the homeowner will spend days trying to do what I’ve spent the past 20 years learning how to do in 5 minutes.” And then they left.
Pros at work
That was impressive, that’s what a guild and true apprenticeship program can do. Competence is not so common these days, particularly when it comes to hard skills. I always find it a pleasure and joy to see a true professional at work. I don’t think Raymond found it too joyful signing the invoice for just 15 minutes of work. I’ll hate to see what it cost….but the sink drains.
While Ursula is out and my watch-cats keeping a close tab on me, the only other joy I have is to fill my days is watching the World Cup, live and in real time. But this entry had droned on entirely too long, so perhaps another blog on another day about the World Cup. All is good in Vorarlberg.
Interesting Links
- Interested in the ‘Biking in the ‘berg’ Blog?, Link here to our Year in Vorarlberg Series
- See our ‘Best of Photos’ from this a adventure and from the Rhein’s Lands
- Care to comment on the Blog or Adventure? Jot down your comments in the form below – thanks