So, today we had a bit of a detour on the ride.
We were about to start up the first real climb of the day when a large dog blasted out from the yard of a valley house on a mission for something and took out Kristin’s front wheel.

Without any time to really respond or prepare, she smacked her head/helmet on the tarmac but was otherwise fine save for a tiny scratch on her elbow. Luckily a woman and her family pulled up in a car right afterwards who spoke amazing English and was able to translate. The woman who we believe owned the dog called an ambulance. Before the ambulance arrived, one of the riders with us is a physician and was able to help get her situated and checked out before the EMTs showed up. Kristin didn’t want to stop riding and asked first about her bike before anything else. Other than some notches and scrapes on the bar tape, the bike is fine surprisingly. The Polizi showed up shortly after the ambulance, some statements were made but once the ambulance shows up, you’re getting in the bus.

After a 30 minute ride to the closest ED with radiology and such, we were checked-in, doctor exam, some films and out in about 45 minutes. It was pretty swift. We were ready for a typical American day at the ER, since she wasn’t probably too high on the medical priority list. The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful. On the ride down, I was asking the EMT about the cost and he mentioned that we would have to wait until we were checked in and find out if what the woman—who was translating at the scene of the accident—had said was true. That everything would be free. As the EMT was putting the ID bracelet on Kristin he said, “All inclusive, welcome to Austria!”

Once we were given the green light to “enjoy the rest of your vacation”, we found the van which had come down to pick us up in Klagenfurt. We made our way about 14 kilometers to the west on the autobahn to the town of Velden which sits along the side of a lake about the size of Dillon Reservoir. The area is a tourist attraction hot spot. And it’s hot today.

We are now relaxing in a super swanky hotel that has more Ferraris, Porches and BMWs than the import car show. Seems like that’s all we’ve seen around this eastern side of Austria, other than whatever kind of motorbikes that buzzed us at mach 2. Not sure what they all do in these parts for work and income, but seems like a 911 4S is a standard issue car.

Other than Kristin being a bit woozy now, she is fine. We’ll see how she does the rest of the day and make some decisions on plans for tomorrow at breakfast. We’re also lucky to be surrounded by several physicians on this trip and the one that did the roadside assessment offered to do a concussion protocol as if Kristin were playing a contact sport.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday.