The dot lies in the Vienna Woods, the low forested hills just southwest of the capital, near Alland and Heiligenkreuz. It marks the return from the Grossglockner High Alpine Road and the Wachau, a very long way east of the big mountain, and it is the kind of place where the day's adrenaline quietly drains out and the road turns to oak and beech.
Heiligenkreuz is the reason to slow down. The Cistercian abbey here was founded in 1133, and its monks have lived there ever since, which makes it the oldest continuously inhabited Cistercian monastery in the world. The Romanesque and Gothic buildings are impressive, and the monks, who have sung Gregorian chant in recent times to a surprising global audience, run guided tours. Nearby is Mayerling, where Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria died in 1889 in the hunting lodge that was later turned into a Carmelite convent, a mystery that still fascinates Vienna.
The riding is gentle and pleasant. The Helenental road, with its tight curves along a stream and shaded by beech, is a classic local favourite and can be busy at the weekend with motorcycles, cars and cyclists. The Wienerwald is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, so the forest is thick with old trees, and the roads wind from valley to ridge past inns and wine villages. Surfaces are mostly good, although leaf litter and damp are a hazard in autumn, and fog can sit in the valleys.
If you have come from the Grossglockner, remember how different the two roads are. The high alpine road rises to about 2,500 metres at the Hochtor, charges a toll, and is closed in winter. This is a lower, softer landscape, where the mountains give way to the Danube plain just beyond.
Fuel is found in Alland, Baden and the towns around, and the area is full of Heuriger, the wine taverns where the year's wine is served with cold cuts and bread. A glass of white and a plate of Brettljause in a garden under the trees is a very civilised end to a long ride.