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 levitra reed creek essay on what it takes to be a successful student 5mg cialis does it work how i write an opinion essay math homework done dissertation on kidney click https://www.newburghministry.org/spring/drug-abuse-thesis/20/ structure of a research paper outline essay about media violence chest rash after cipro antibiotics https://vabf.org/reading/psychology-essay/250/ kamagra 100 mg oral jelly sildenafil https://georgehahn.com/playboy/motilium-in-usa/15/ see go viagra 50 mg filmtabletten preisvergleich https://earthwiseradio.org/editing/research-paper-format-apa-template/8/ computer studies gcse coursework case study research: design and methods https://www.aestheticscienceinstitute.edu/medical/levitra-generic-availability/100/ https://cwstat.org/termpaper/problem-of-old-age-essay/50/ la youth essay contest conpare and contrast essays https://homemods.org/usc/essay-about-homeless-people/46/ https://tffa.org/businessplan/writing-prompts-grade-5/70/ source link essay on are actors and professional athletes paid too much into the wild essay propecia head pressure https://homemods.org/usc/good-cause-and-effect-essay-topics/46/ source site 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 bathtub 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 were 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!