LHS abroad.: Day 9 - Linz Hills, heatwave

Falling asleep with the last tram late at night and rising with the first outside my window around 5am has a nice rhythm to it. I've been very fortunate with my AirBNB experience in Linz - my host Peter has been great and his apartment is really well set up. Also good to have someone to talk to, not just for touristic information but about all sorts of things.

Today was set to be a scorcher (36 forecast at one stage) so I made sure to be on the road early. Felt much better today.

Thoughts of riding a 160km round trip north into the Czech Republic were put on hold today - better to do some proper hard hill riding rather than just riding endless 'junk' KMs (even if I am on holiday). There's holidaying and there's training - I'm doing a mixture at the moment.

The practice is paying off - the hills are getting easier and my body is responding well. The bike fit I had late last year (with 'The Bike Whisperer') has got to be the best money I've spent on cycling in a long, long time.

The garmin once again provided a couple of amusing moments, first when it turned out I'd plotted my way up some mountain bike tracks and second when the whole thing freaked out and lost several hours of riding. Finished the ride off with a swim in the local lake - not as chilly as the Danube. Anyway, here are some pics of the hills behind Linz.

Those blue skies don't lie - hot, hot, hot.

Surprise! It's not a road. Had to get off and walk after this bit got even worse.

Also not a road, but at least I could ride this bit.

Farm country like Cambridgeshire but with hills.

Went to town to sort out my train tickets and also went to the 'Ars Electronica' museum of technology / art / design. It's apparently really well known but i hadn't heard of it. There is some fun stuff, some great interactive exhibits and artworks and a theatre with a dizzying 16m 3d screen projecting images over the floor and wall.

I did a double take but it's actually a tail.

See?

Forget artificial jaws and limbs: 3d printing exists to make decorative objects.

You text the number on the wall... (add a +43)

It prints out your message...

...and shreds it instantly.

Bizarrely, one room had huge a comparison infographic featuring (at that moment) Canberra!

Ahh, the Canberra centre. World famous.

A beggar robot asking for 1 Euro.

Might be the last evening of this particular heatwave as it's scheduled to return to the 20s tomorrow - it was a perfect night for beer gardens and ice cream with friends.