Oh Shit.

We both woke up with sore hips and shoulders from yesterday, but being late on the schedule we were eager to get another ride in and figured the flat  100k - 5 Lake lap in Salzburg's east region would do nicely. However heavy snow crushed our plans and yesterday's bruises were a good reminder about road safety so we decided to sit it out until it ceased at least a bit. The weather forecast was for -4C (21F), so dressing for a ride like this takes serious consideration.

Eventually the snow stopped briefly and we decided to hit the salt-laden icy tarmac and see how far we could get before unplowed roads, ski tourists or frozen limbs knocked us off the bike. John tossed on a set of x32 Cyclocross tires but Boban the infamous #salzburgsvage stuck with his trusted x23 road slicks (yes he has been doing all of these rides on 5euro bill patched 23's!). 1km into the ride and Boban ran over a nail and flatted around the corner from his house.

After a quick wheel change we were back at it and decided to ditch our 5 Lakes plan. Visibility was bad and traffic worse so we decided to stay off the main roads and just coast through the snowy city trails along the river. With the snow picking up again and riding on unplowed surface it didn’t take long to get us and the bikes grimy.

Dodging ice patches and tourists alike it didn’t get long to get us chilled to the bone and the 500m visibility didn’t do much to motivate us either so we decided to head home fairly quickly. After all of the weather issues, mechanicals, and more importantly our lack of common sense reaching the 500 kilometer goal while actually having fun is in danger..

Desperate times take desperate measures. We will finish the Festive500. 

Luckily, we live smack in the middle of Europe. Good weather is always just a few hours away. We flipped a coin, rolled some dice, threw some darts and decided to head to the Italian summer bike destination Lake Garda. Rumor has it the sun is out and the roads are clear. 

We packed bags and hit the highway. Italy here we come... but we'll be back soon Salzburg.