Thun to Gruyères

GRUYÈRES, SWITZERLAND

I knew it would be a long day and I hit the road before 8:00 a.m. for the ride out of Thun. It projected to be a lumpy ride and it certainly was. At 103 km, it was the longest day, and at 1,736 m, it would be the second most climbing.

Hotel AM Schloss

As I got ready to go outside the hotel there was a group of Chinese tourists. One by one they told their friends to come over and lift my bike. Then gave me a thumbs up.

Längerbühl, Switzerland

My plan was to follow the Bike Rte 4 signs first and the GPS I had mapped out second. And that mostly worked. Each night I looked online at Bike Rte 4 then tried to duplicate that on RideWithGPS.com and then download that to my Garmin bike computer. I didn’t always get it correct.

One of the many covered bridges on today’s ride

The first 5-6 km in Thun were pancake flat. Then, boom!, the road turned up. First I was on a small highway then Route 4 turned to a paved farm road. And it kicked up. Short but up to 18%.

At a house in the country but still near Thun

This was mostly an uneventful day. Halfway through I had a great descent out of one village – the kind you know the road is going to bottom out and kick up again. It was a great descent and beautiful forest as well.

Bike Route 4

It did. I went over a river just past an out of commission covered bridge, and entered the canton of Fribourg.

More covered bridges

Fribourg city was an adventure. I followed the signs for a while but at the top of a bridge/retaining road was a traffic circle. The way back on Rte 4 was marked with an arrow but the way forward was not. I had to choose. I chose wrongly. I guess I made a turn at the traffic circle and, in the absence of a sign, should have gone straight.

Many bridges today

Sometimes when I choose wrong, if my GPS file is showing I am parallel to where it thinks I should be going, I just keep going hoping they will come back together. It was clear I was blazing a new trail in the wrong direction.

Fribourg

I stopped at a bike shop for directions. They weren’t perfect but they got me onto the trail where eventually I picked up a sign again. In all I probably spent 30 additional minutes in Fribourg trying to pick up the scent. Maybe even longer.

MyWay Bikes

The day was mostly full of rollers. And lots (five) of covered bridges.

MyWay Bikes – These guys got me back on track

It was pretty but did not come close to matching the scenery on Day 3 going up Klausenpass to Beckenreid. And there was this one kicker near Gruyères that went up over 20% but was no more than 75 meters.

Bike Rte 4

In Gruyères I found a bakery. I got a roll and some salami and a big bottle of grapefruit soda. Then I climbed the hill to the castle. Or chalet. I didn’t know it at that time but that would be my dinner.

Lake of Gruyères

Although the man who dropped my luggage in Thun asked if it could be ready at 8:30 a.m. (instead of 9:00), I still beat my luggage to the hotel. I wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, I just took a hot shower then sat naked on my bed until my clothes arrived.

Narrow Bridge – Morlon, Switzerland

In the early evening I decided to walk down into town. Clothed. By down I mean down. Two mountain bikers were coming up that old cobbled walkway. Chapeau!

The path down into town

Although there was a restaurant in town and a few at the chateau by where I was staying, I didn’t feel like paying the high prices of dining out. The bakery closed just 15 minutes earlier. So I decided I was done eating for the day and would wait for breakfast.

Castle in Gruyères

Dining out in Switzerland is generally expensive. On my third and fourth nights I had nice dinners but at a cost of 35-40 CHF ($36-$42) each. For one.

Bakery/store in Gruyères

But last night’s meal at McDonalds (8,90 CHF) in Thun and skipping dinner tonight would be kind on the budget.

Hotel de Gruyères. Notice the jerk who hung cycling shorts in the bedroom window.

This was the only place I watched TV. Three soccer matches. Confederations Cup between Mexico and New Zealand. A friendly (I think) between Italy and Croatia and Denmark vs. Germany. Not sure those last two games were live. They may have been old but they were new to me.

Laundry night at the hotel

A good night’s sleep and I will be ready to roll in the morning.

Wengerliweg – A street/road in Mamihaus, Switzerland

Söreneberg to Thun – the Long Way

THUN, SWITZERLAND

Headed to Thun today.

Hotel Rischli, Söreneberg

The stay last night was at the Hotel Rischli. I really enjoyed it. The desk clerk, Yvonne, was very nice. She had presented me with a complimentary transportation card that I could use for the aerial tram. But I did not use it yesterday.

Hotel Rischli, Söreneberg

But first – goats. Just outside the dining patio was an enclosure of the cutest goats. They also had an enclosure of rabbits too. It made the stay more enjoyable.

Hotel Rischli, Söreneberg

Yesterday I had gone by the gondola on my descent to the hotel. When Yvonne offered the transportation card I did not feel like pedaling the 4.5 km back up the mountain. But with a great night’s sleep, I looked at it differently, one from a fresh mind. And body.

Söreneberg

The ride over to Thul was supposed to be a short one and why should I be in a hurry. I decided I would bike back up to the gondola. Slow down. Enjoy the day.

Söreneberg

I had no clue where I was in Switzerland in relationship to other landmarks but in looking at the advertisements of the region I saw they also advertised a cog railway. I realized that I took that train with [Friend] three years ago and it dawned on me that at the summit we saw a gondola come up the mountain.

A nice way to the top

I rode to the gondola, presented my comp pass, and saved 38 CHF (which was about $40). The staff at the gondola put my bike in the engine room while I rode up to the summit.

Barry in Switzerland. Overlooking Lake Brienz

It was cool being back there. This time I could look down and see the cog railway engine sputtering away bringing back pleasant memories of this trip three years earlier.

The cog railroad train on the mounatin, Lake Brienz in the background

On the ride back down on the gondola, the “conductor” made sure to point out where there were mountain goats. He asked me if we have them in the U.S. and I told him Colorado (of course other states do too).

Söreneberg

It was a quick descent back to Söreneberg and a stop at the hotel. My luggage hadn’t been picked up so I decided I would carry an extra set of clothes just in case I got to Thun before my luggage. I couldn’t imagine I would with the trip being so short and now it was after 11:00 a.m. and I hadn’t left Söreneberg.

The Alpine Slide

But first, there was time for a ride on their Alpine slide. This one was cool because the ski lift dragged the rider and sled to the top on an enclosed course. The ones I have been on all used a ski lift to carry the passenger and sleds to the top of the mountain for the slide down. But this was a fully-enclosed course in which the rider rode up the mountain (towed by a cable) before sliding back down.

The River Aare in Thun is split by an island. The swimming channel was clearly slower than the other side. But one only needed to jump in and float and be carried away. Pretty fun!

Waldemme, Switzerland

Dinner tonight was at McDonalds – 8,90 instead of 35 or 40 CHF for a real meal. My only issue was I went for WiFi and a little A/C. But it seems WiFi is available only if you have a code that will be texted to you – if you have WiFi to receive the text. Sigh.

Marbach, Switzerland

The hotel was AM Schloss. It had no A/C and only a small window over a busy street. It was pretty miserable sleeping.


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