Kaiserschmarrn and cobblestones: Salzburg – Tauernpass – Großglockner

A loop from Salzburg that starts by train and ends by train. In between: four days, two Austrian states and a night at more than 2,500 metres. And this time I'm not riding alone. There are four of us, and I planned the trip for all of us. The route takes us from Salzburg over the Tauernpass into Carinthia and back over the Großglockner High Alpine Road.

Day 1: Salzburg – Radstadt in 30-plus degrees

We take the Westbahn to Salzburg, which turns out to be a really good option. Before we set off with our loaded bikes, there's a really delicious coffee first. That's definitely a tip, because you get very good coffee in Salzburg.

In the first hours on the bike there is a lot to catch up on: who's been up to what, what's next? We chat, the kilometres pass almost by themselves, and new mountains appear around every bend. Only the heat is no fun: we definitely crack 30 degrees today. In the evening we reach Radstadt, a town with "Rad", German for bike, right there in its name. A good sign for a bike trip. We sleep at Haus Susanne and head into town for pizza in the evening.

Day 2: Radstadt – Obervellach, with Kaiserschmarrn against the rain

After a really lovely breakfast with freshly cut fruit salad, we fetch the bikes from among the geraniums on the balcony, strap our freshly washed, still wet socks to the saddle bag, and Radstadt sees us off with its town-sign wheel full of sports pictograms.

Right from the start we climb towards the Tauernpass. Grey rocky peaks above dark spruce forest, and us right in the middle.

In the Lungau we roll past Burg Moosham, the castle sitting high above the meadows. Then comes the first highlight of the trip: the Bundschuher Landstraße, a beautiful little road up to Schönfeld and Innerkrems. It winds through larches and alpine meadows up to the Schönfeldsattel at 1,775 metres.

Rain is hanging over the mountains, so we stop for a late lunch in Gmünd: typical Austrian comfort food, Frittatensuppe first, then Kaiserschmarrn. In the end the rain stays in the mountains and we stay dry. Afterwards we ride on towards Obervellach and pass through Radl on the way. After Radstadt, that is the second place that sounds as if it was named for us: in Austria and Bavaria, a "Radl" is a bike. In Obervellach we stay at the Landhotel Pacher.

Day 3: Obervellach – Edelweißhütte, over the Großglockner High Alpine Road

Today the second and biggest highlight is waiting: the Großglockner High Alpine Road, from the south. Beautiful, but a real challenge. Only 77 kilometres, but more than 2,300 metres of climbing on this day.

As we climb, it's drizzling lightly. The clouds hang low, but every now and then they break open and the Großglockner shows us its beautiful face: snow, glaciers and, at 3,798 metres, the highest mountain in Austria.

Hairpin after hairpin, the road winds up through the alpine meadows.

At the Hochtor the sun pops out briefly once more. A little later we tackle the last kilometres and ride up the spur road to the Edelweißspitze, and from there on it is all fog. The road is around 1.4 kilometres long, cobbled all the way and 10 to 14 per cent steep. We can barely see the next hairpin.

It's a long day, and we're running late. Two of us ride ahead and let the hut know we're still coming. Then we roll back down a bit so we can ride the last stretch together, and help with the luggage.

Then we're at the top. All four of us. I'm so happy the whole group made it up to the Edelweißhütte. The people at the hut are incredibly kind and keep dinner going just for us. And I really hope the other three are still my friends after this trip I planned for us.

Day 4: Edelweißspitze – Salzburg, empty legs, full heart

What a morning. We wake up high on the Edelweißspitze, and the fog is gone. Now we finally see where we rode up yesterday: the hairpins of the High Alpine Road, the peaks all around, a few clouds still clinging to the mountains.

And then comes the reward: the descent down the High Alpine Road. Riding downhill is definitely fun too. Early in the morning there's still little traffic on the way towards Bruck. At other times of day it's a different story, when buses, campervans, cars and motorbikes join in.

The rest of the day takes us back to Salzburg, fuelled by gummy bears and sandwiches. From there the train takes us home. Legs empty, heart full.

Good to know

• Getting there: By Westbahn train to Salzburg and back, which worked really well for us.
• Bike: We rode gravel bikes, but mostly for convenience: that way we could take any bike path we liked. There are no real gravel sections on this route.
• Where to stay: Haus Susanne in Radstadt, Landhotel Pacher in Obervellach and the Edelweißhütte right on the Edelweißspitze (edelweissspitze.at).
• Edelweißspitze: The spur road is around 1.4 km long, cobbled all the way and 10–14 % steep. Save some energy for the end of day three.