Month: June 2019

AIROLA, SWITZERLAND There’s a ride out west which bills itself as “America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride.” It circumvents Lake Tahoe and it sure is pretty.

Today I found my most beautiful ride in the world. I would not have found it without http://www.chesszone.org/lib/dissertation-title-3431.html generic name of viagra type my government dissertation results summer vacation holiday essay in urdu college essay paper examples motilium paypal mix viagra and levitra graduate essay writing services statistics case study examples get link autobiography free essay go here see url applying to job essay los algodones pharmacy price list https://tffa.org/businessplan/linkers-in-opinion-essay/70/ how to conduct a study for research essay on cultural diversity in the us levitra aldora how to write dear in spanish letter viagra pill https://zacharyelementary.org/presentation/parents-know-best-essay/30/ https://thembl.org/masters/ending-essay-from-the-breakfast-club/60/ https://pharmacy.chsu.edu/pages/great-essays/45/ levitra non prescription http://www.chesszone.org/lib/essay-using-pathos-929.html go site professional creative essay editing site gb writing descriptive essays how to write a literary analysis essay go enter Ben. I learned a lot about trains and bikes in Switzerland today. Ben and I (but mostly Ben) thought we had a plan but there were many moving parts. We left Ben’s house at 6:40 a.m. and walked to the train station in Sissach.

When the train for Zürich came we tried to be aligned with the car that takes bikes. We weren’t. Ben spotted it and we rushed with two bikes, a bike case, and two suitcases. And barely made it.

At the Zürich Main Station, we found the luggage drop off, mainly because I had used it before but have no idea when or how. The cost was 12 CHF per bag and I loaded both my extra bags into the bike case to make one bag instead of three. This is beating the system.

Ben had tried the day before to make a reservation for our bikes for the train out of Zürich and could not. We rushed over to the track and he asked a conductor. She told him he needed a bike reservation and there were none available. Ben said he had been trying but their app wasn’t working. She told him to see the conductor at the end of the train. (The exchange was not this pleasant though.)

Now the end of this train seemingly was 200 meters away – at least. Ben was running. I was in flip flops and couldn’t run without them falling off. I got on my bike and rode down the platform. I hope that was OK.

The conductor took our bikes and put them in a freight area on the train. We took a seat and he came by at which time we paid 5 CHF for the “reservation” which we did not have. The cost of a bike pass was 20 CHF so now I was in for 25 CHF to be able to take my bike on a train. I had paid 30 CHF for a companion pass to be with Ben.

We had to transfer, somewhere, I was just along for the ride. This new train to Airolo only required that bikes be hung on one of the two hooks in each car. As the cars went by the bike hooks were all full. We went to the last car as did four other cyclists and neatly put six bikes in a space for two.

Once the train started rolling we felt safe. But Ben did mention if they saw the bikes they could put us off at the next stop, which was a couple short of our destination. Two conductors came by. Ben said they laughed at the bikes and said it wasn’t the record – they once had 47. Or maybe we have 47 on this train.

Some riders were headed to see the Tour de Suisse, as we were. Some were enjoying a beautiful summer day to go mountain biking. But there were lots of cyclists on the train.

We exited at Airolo, which is in the Italian speaking portion of Switzerland. I met a couple who asked me if I was wearing a Phil Gaimon cookie kit. Who knew someone in Switzerland would know about the cookies. The young man was from Switzerland but has ridden Mount Palomar and Mount Baldy in southern California, as I have. His friend, or girlfriend, was from Russia.

We did not have water in our bottles and would make a critical mistake. Seemingly water is free (and good) everywhere in Switzerland. We found a fountain in town but it was turned off. We found a second fountain and it too was off. We began the climb with no water.

Turning onto Tremola Road we faced a stretch of cobblestones. They were beautiful in design but require, of course, more effort. I had read about this climb once and thought there was 1-2 km of stone. Boy was I wrong. It was cobbled for all 14 km (9 miles) of the climb.

I had gotten sick midweek in Luxembourg and it was hanging on me. My legs may have been dead from all the work too. I had nothing. Perhaps the answer would be revealed later.

We may have been 10 km in when I spotted a bath tub with a pipe over it with running water. I asked Ben if we could drink the water coming out of the pipe and he said sure. We willed out bottles and it was good.

Near the top is a four kilometer (2.5 miles) stretch of 24 hairpin turns (or switchbacks). Some riders were riding in the gutter, a paved section that was smoother than cobbles, but when I tried it I found I was too tired to hold a straight line.

At the summit, we found a restaurant. Many people were here, not just cyclists, although plenty of them too. I had told Ben that when I reach the top I only want a Coke. Two Cokes, actually. But I saw some kids eating pasta with a meat sauce and it looked delicious. I ordered it and it was. I would have eaten a local bratwurst too except there was too long of a line.

Ben was checking trains and the progress of the last stage of the Tour (actually, it had not yet started so we was checking estimated times).

We decided to ride to Hospental where the course turned left, sharply, and we could go right (or straight) to catch our train. But it would be tight depending on how fast the Tour de Suisse was riding.

On the initial descent, I had hit 75 kpm (47 mph). Had I been riding displaying miles I would have hit 50. Or tried. In Hospental we had found our position on the corner and waited for the Tour to come by. After an hour, it did, with Hugh Carty (EF-Education First) with a 2:00 lead which he would hold to the end.

It was here that my bike was in the wrong gear, having descended in a 50:11. I decided to change gears by hand cranking the bike which is when I saw it. When I spun the wheel it went a few revolutions then stopped. The brake pad had been rubbing on the wheel. No wonder it was so hard climbing. All the jostling of bikes probably caused it but I should have checked it in Airolo.

As soon a part of the peloton had come through, we planned our escape. Ben said it would be 32 km and we had one hour. We would have to average 20 mph and would have no time for stops. That would normally be a very tough ask but we also knew the road went downhill.

However, we did not plan for a headwind – a vicious headwind. Ben did better on the climb than me but was having a problem with the wind. I took the lead most of the way and let him sit in my draft.

We went through Andermott, a beautiful mountain town. And then for the next 20 km the scenery just would not stop. Unfortunately, neither could I. We didn’t have time.

We saw white water rivers with the glacier turquoise water blasting down through small canyons under stone arch bridges. The scenery was breathtaking. But we knew not to stop, and besides, by the time we saw the perfect place we were already 200 meters past it and would have to turn around.

We kept the speed up and Ben made one final check – seven km to go (4.2 miles). We had 20 minutes. I knew an easy day I could do those in 16. Of course, we would have to get to the station and find the right track. I rattled off each K-to-go and we pulled in with 10 minutes to spare.

Ben was worried about this train as it might be full of cyclists from earlier stops. If we missed it we would miss getting my luggage from the train station. No reservation needed, just empty hooks, and we guessed right for the car.

What a day. It was my most beautiful day on a bike. I’ve never seen anything like that from Andermott to Wassen. And going up, wasn’t as scenic but it was epic – a 14 km climb on cobblestones. Wow!

MONDORF, LUXEMBOURG

Today’s ride started in Luxembourg but in just 10 km (six miles) we came to Schengen and the Moselle River where German, France, and Luxembourg come together. We crossed the river and had a 100 km day in Germany.

We were on farm roads when my eyes starting tearing. Or crying. I didn’t know what was happening. I thought it was hay allergies. But it would be a harbinger of things to come.

We were coming into Mettlach. We were on a downhill on a busy street. I was 7th or 8th wheel when one of our riders passed me. Fair enough. One problem was the road flattened out and he lost contact with the group upfront. So I was now in the second group; missing out on the first group and their fun. Maybe.

 

There were four of us. We were trending downhill, next to the Moselle River, for 20 km (12 miles). It was glorious. At first only Gusty was doing the pulling or pace-setting and we were riding into the wind. I went up front to help. Our other two riders did not.

 

Will Swetnam, who started the trip without his bike because of Condor Flugdienst Airlines, finally had his bike delivered to the hotel and he was now on his bike instead of Frank’s. But there was one problem. The battery that controls shifting (Shimano Di2) was dangerously low. He started with 10% life remaining and it dropped to 5%. He could no longer use the big ring up front for power and he dropped off the front group. We came rolling by and picked him up. So Gusty, Will, and I took turns at the front while the other two enjoyed the fruits of our labors.

 

(Note: I am not complaining. I enjoyed more fruit this week than I deserved but it is nice when one can contribute so others can rest. I did not want Will to help, but he did.)

We came to Saarburg which is a beautiful city. But riding in a paceline we had no chance to take photos. We stopped at a Biergarten where we were served these huge pieces of cake. We were rewarded after a 45-minute break by starting on a climb. Ugh. Lactic acid. And it was an eight-mile climb at that.

 

Still, we were together for most of the ride but I dropped back to take a photo of three other riders. After the photo, the support van followed them as well as a car with an “L” on its plate. It was from Luxembourg.

 

Surely, I thought, with a Schleck van in front of us clearly marked, this driver would be excited to see Frank Schleck. I was wrong. He was impatient and the horn blaring as he went by should be discredited to Luxembourg and not Germany. Maybe he thought we didn’t notice.

 

But once he got by then I was able to pass the follow van and join back up with the group. When asked where I was I said simply I was caught up in the caravan of cars. Like a pro.

We reentered Luxembourg at Remich, again crossing the Moselle River. We had an easy roll in back to Mondorf. It was a 100 km day on the bike. It felt good except for those watering eyes would lead to a sore throat at dinner. This was not going well.