9. Austrian Indian Tour 2023
Upper Austria - Kalkalpen Nationalpark, 30.August - 3.September 2023
After a couple of years that went completely different than planned, we descided that 2023 would be the year for the next edition of the Austrian Indian Tour. Many wished for easy riding and a route through Upper Austria and everyone was looking forward to meet again and to have time for a chat. I planned the rideouts accordingly and made sure that we would see the nicest spots of the region.
When the date of the tour had finally come, we arrived at the "Beer Hotel Ranklleiten", the ideal centerpoint for the next days. Spacious rooms, tasty local cuisine, a broad selection of beer specialities and lots of room for our motocycles. A first small group of riders had arrived early and so it was meeting and greeting, sitting together and talking from the very first minute. As the afternoon progressed more of our friends arrived and the driveway at the hotels beergarden was filled with a wonderful row of Indians. At the evening we sat down and had dinner. Soup, a nice selection of three maincourses to choose from and dessert made everyone happy. After a long and exhausting trip from eastern Poland our dear friends Erwin and Zofia, accompanied by Tomek and Monika, were the last to arrive that night.
In expectation of the next three days we went to bed and had a good night of rest.
Next morning we had breakfast and prepared our motocycle for the route to come. As we met at the parkinglot of the hotel, it was wonderful to see everyone exited to be back at the Austrian Indian Tour. After filling our fueltanks we opend the throttles and rode the first kilometres of the day.
Little roads with mild curves through lush farmland connected village after village, old farmhouses, cattle, fish ponds and fruit trees along the route.
As we left the main road for a scenic detour through the hills, I learned that one of the motocycles had to be loaded onto the trailer due to engine failure. We stopped at a little road up the next hill and had a wonderful sight above the land. Valley after valley, dense woods and meadows met the clear blue sky at the horizon. With those sights the ride went on. Sometimes climbing mild gradients uphill, later enjoying the fiew over the land and descending down to the next valley. At the turnpoint of our route for that day, we crossed the biggest two rivers of the area, the Steyr and the Enns.
Traveling further south, we entered the Ramsau valley, a nice 40 kilometer stretch of narrow roads offsides the main route. For our lunch break, we were lucky to get some tables at a typical local inn, enjoying their traditional Austrian food and beverages. Sadly, we had to load a second bike to the trailer.
For the afternoon, it was just another 40 kilometres. Before we went back to our hotel, we visited the Motorcycle Museum Vorchdorf, best known for its extensive collection of BMWs, stretching from the very early models of the brand, up to the mid 1980ties.
On the next day, our rideout was planned to circle around the "Kalkalpen National Park" the most mountainous area of that tour, with a riding distance of about 200 kilometres. The riders of the two motocycles that had broken down the last day, were with us on the road. The owner of the hotel had lent one of his own vintage motorcycles to one of them, the other had his seat in Manfred Fetschers sidecar.
The main roads of the region we rode that day, don't see much traffic and so we were able to maintain a high traveling speed right from the start. Sometimes deviating from the main route, we explored the smaller, more challenging backroads and had fun taking some sharp turns and steep climbs. Back at the valley we picked up speed again and were happy to enjoy our Indians at a high pace.
After about two thirds of our mileage for that day, we stopped at the Puglalm for lunch. The very old mountain farm house was instantly inviting for everyone. Fresh baked bread, different kinds of spread, pork raost, sausages, onions and pickles..... Every bite a delicious little journey through traditional Austrian food. After two well deserved hours at the hut, we went on to take on the most mountainous part of the day, the Hengst pass. A little later we continued riding through the scenic region arround Windischgarsten, again passing centuries old villages.
As everyone had requested we arrived at the hotel early and had much time to reflect on the impressions of the day. Accompanied by the music of a local volk group we let the late afternoon pass and had a nice barbecue to end the day.
On the route of the third day, we would circle arround the beautiful lakes of the Salzkammergut. After the start at the hotel, we refueled our motocycles to be ready for the kilometres to come. The mild hills in the west were the perfect terrain to start the day. After passing the scenic town of Gmunden at the shore of the Traun lake, we continued on a more demanding road, flanked by dense forest. Short before arriving at lthe Attersee I stopped the groupe at a parkinglot above the lake and we had a wonderfull view above the surrounding area. After following the road at the shore of the lake for a while, we enjoyed a little break and had a swim in lake Attersee. Just a view kilometres further we found a perfect spot to have lunch at another typical inn, sitting outside in the shade of an old, large tree at their beergarden. After lunch our group went on and pace was high. We continued to circle lake Mondsee and took the road to approach lake Traunsee at the south shore. The road was winding through the woods, with mild climbs and descents. We enjoyed our Indians in third gear and wide open throttle.
Back at the lake, we slowed down a bit to enjoy cruising along the shore again. For a second time we rode through Gmunden with its scenic lake promenade and century old houses. From there it was just bringing home the Indians. On smaller back roads we took on the final kilometres to Pettenbach.
A special event held at our hotel, was another highlight for our group. Local farmers and producers presented their finest products. Traditionally baked multi grain bread, numerous varieties of organic cheese and ham, hand crafted beer and liquor. A delicious journey through the area of the Almtal.
After another tasty dinner, we sat together until late and enjoyed the last hours of this wonderfull tour.
Next morning the time had come to say Good Bye and as we packed our things and prepared our motocycles for the way home, we were already talking about possible destinations for the next Austrian Indian Tour.....
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