On Thursday I cycled 50 kilometers and the next day my legs were just fine. The Doctor says my bum will be allowed out of hospital just in time for the trip.
In fact I think I may have over-trained as I have been pushing too hard and my knees are very sore so I am taking it easy before the green light on Wednesday. This is the 70 kilometer ride. Can’t wait!
Bicycle seats were designed by the Gestapo and there does not seem to be anything you can do about it. I have padded bike shorts but these do not really help much after the first hour or so.
Gwenyth read in the trip material that there are such things as Gel saddles for bicycles so yesterday we sallied forth to Hervis-Huma at Simmering to see if we could get some of these - and we did.
I tested mine on a 30 Kilometer ride on Saturday and it makes a marginal difference and is certainly worthwhile having.
Gwenyth arrived on Saturday and in the evening we went to Novelli which is probably our favorite restaurant in Wien at the moment - and it was sensational. As good as (gasp) Ein Wiener Salon - BUT - get this - it is now smoke free!
That is fantastic news. Last night was such a beautiful evening we sat in the courtyard and there were of course smokers there and the smoke gave me as headache - but at least we did have the choice of going inside - which was completely deserted.
Somewhere in the world at this very moment about 4,000,000 Austrians are creating havoc.
We practiced our execrable German on the staff and they are always very good about this, never laugh - and indulge us wonderfully.
Cate and Gwenyth had some Gruner Veltliner from the Wachau Valley and it looked and smelled fabulous. I did not indulge at all as I am trying to narrow down the source of my constant migraines so have cut out almost everything edible and drinkable.
I have had a lot of allergy tests lately and got the results of the blood tests some weeks ago. The Doctor told me that my results were ‘horrible’ and that I was allergic to almost everything including Latex (Latex?).
So far I have not been able to find anything that does not have some Latex in it - but I will keep looking,
So I am cutting out everything I can think of that could cause migraines and working through the process of determining precisely what the problems are - there will be quite a few. I know some already and not longer eat bread or chocolate (sob) or drink wine (sob) - and have tried cutting out lots of other stuff.
Gwenyth says I should just give up everything except apples for two weeks and then I can start eating other things and see what is OK. Hmmmm...the obvious flaw in this plan is the two week apple diet - but I will go there if I cannot fix the problem.
The only thing I have not stopped is coffee. Like Wanderlust - this would be the last straw for me - so I guess in the end if that is what it turns out to be l simply tie my bicycle around my neck and jump into the Donau.
On Sunday we went to Rust which is a delightful town near Neusiedler See where there are lots of Storks living in nests on top of chimneys. The nests are apparently largely built by the townspeople - leaving the Storks to do the interior decorating. This means that the Storks just hang about and get their pictures taken by tourists.
I was worried that in winter the Storks would get a bit smoky but Maalie assures me that they fly south so are not bothered by winter fires.
Still it would be no worse than the average Viennese cafe.
