It was chilly in the morning and grey outside, but the climb up to Dientner Sattel (1372m) started right by the hotel, so I tried to go in a good speed to build up the warmth and even so that only helped a little. Anyway the road was starting to dry up and I was hoping for better weather ahead.

Up here at the pass looking back it is almost dry as you can see. The weather looked worse from where I came. The last little ramp that I stayed before in the previous photo is the only really steep place on that climb and the road goes a bit higher than the geographical passage.

Then a chilly descent, as I did not bother to put on the wind jacket as the descent was so short. There is then a road taking you down to Pinzgau. But I continued up to Filzensattel (1295m) and another photo. On the way down from here I finally had to put on the wind jacket. I remember I met another cyclist near this pass. It is a rather lonely road over the Filzenpass otherwise. I had long thought to visit those passes before, but now was the time.

The gloomy weather continued all day. I continued down to Saalfelden, where I stopped for a coffee and cake at a central café and then took the train to Innsbruck (I was supposed to bicycle over to St. Johann, but for some reason I took the train from here, maybe to avoid getting too late and the weather was maybe another reason.

Now the coffee and cake in the photo is from another nicer place on my way up to the Brenner pass from Innsbruck at Matrei am Brenner. Not much proper food for me during the days ;-). The old Brenner pass road is very easy and gradual up to here (only a little steep near the pass itself). However, I had another two climbs in mind before crossing into Italy.

The road up to Waldraster Sattel (Maria Waldrast) (1689m) looked like a much harder climb than the road to Mutterbergalm (a BIG climb) and also with a pass just above the Maria Waldrast monastery. The road soon turns quite steep up there and it is indeed an impressive, if not so long, climb. There is water by the monastery and then 525m of steep at first, but good gravel to the saddle above. There is a gravel road continuing down the other side and I believe this is a popular route for mountain bikers.

Here looking down the other/south side.

This cattle gate marks the pass. Looking down the side to the Maria Waldrast, no longer visible from here.

Here is the steep gravel section with drainage gullies you have to deal with to get to the pass itself.

Here is how it looks when arriving at Maria Waldrast from Matrei.

And the steep road down.

This section was perhaps the hardest one on the way up, but very good asphalt as you see.

Now I continued on the main old Brenner road up to the turn-of for St. Jodok. The roads in the valleys here are actually quite nice and was a bit of surprise to me. With a mountain bike one could get over the Tuxerjoch right ahead, but I was looking for another +1500m pass nearby.

I went up the nice Valser landstrasse to Vals where a serpentines road climbs up through the woods to Padauner Sattel (1591m) (not sure this pass name is official, but it is used by many). The other side of this pass is a track/gravel road down to the Brenner road just before that pass. But even if a local sort of suggested I could use it, I had

This is the view ahead to the Wipptal up toward the Brennerpass. The road ends just a bit further ahead (I went down to look). A forest road takes of down the other side up to the left, but it really starts before the pass coming from Vals and then climbs much higher in the woods before it descends on the other side.

This is the view back from the pass toward the Valser valley.

Near Padaun on the way back down to Vals, looking south toward the Italian border mountains.

A look down the Valsertal from the Padauner strasse.

Then over the Brennerpass/Passo del Brennero (1370m) and I was back in Italy hoping for sunnier weather. It is fast down to Sterzing/Vipiteno (946m), but then a fairly long way down to Franzensfeste/Fortezza (710m) and then up toward Toblach until Kiens/Chienes, where I turned off to Ehrenburg/Casteldarne and stayed at the old and nice hotel by the castle. Gasthof Obermaier was a nice experience and I could see the castle from my room window, which the photo here is from. Very nice lady at the hotel and got a good dinner and room for a decent price. A good day it had been.