Ciao Alps, hello Bodensee
We’ve had a series of hot days since arriving back in Switzerland from Malta. Today it seems the weather is going to turn, so we make an early start after one of the world’s most expensive breakfasts. Travelling in Switzerland is expensive, we all know that. But paying >CHF50 for breakfast (most of it for me as Neil’s egg and bacon only costs about CHF5) is a bit hard to swallow. But remember, don’t convert, don’t convert, don’t convert …
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Oben am jungen Rhein*
The good news is that I survived the night! All I have is a slightly bloody knee and a very bruised ego. In the light of a new day my bike, Joy, appears to be similarly unscathed, but she doesn’t have ego ☺️
The ride out of the city is easier and far less traffic-y than the ride in and before long we are riding along through flat, green countryside. We are still in a valley, and we still have mountains on both sides, but the mountains are lower with absolutely no sign of snow. I guess you would call them foothills if you were Swiss (because the Swiss know what real mountains look like).
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Hills, Thrills and Spills
There’s one thing I don’t like about Ilanz. It’s a pretty enough city, with a small and quiet (on a Thursday night) old town and a river that runs through. But there are two damn clocks that, 24 hours a day, chime not only the hour but every bloody quarter hour. It’s quaint and cute during the daytime, but at night … give me the tools and I will dismantle the bloody things in the best, most efficient way I can! Suffice to say, I heard many hours and quarter hours during the course of the night, even after I shut the room windows, choosing stuffiness over loudness.
The last thing I hear as we ride away from Ilanz are the damn clocks striking eleven. That’s the end of it, because by the next quarter, half, hour, we are well on our way climbing up to Versam.
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Brakes? Definitely over-rated!
There are two types of cyclists in the world.
There are the ones who are happy to huff their way up the winding road up from Andermatt to Oberalppass, with bike laden, no matter what the day, or the weather. They are the purists. The die-hard cyclists, who would rather blow up lungs and legs than admit defeat.
The other type takes the train.
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Ready to Roll!
We arrive in Zurich after a very pleasant week in Malta, and it is HOT! Sometime between when we first landed in Zurich over a week ago and now, summer has hit with a vengeance. I’m now digging through my meagre clothing trying to find something to wear to suit this new weather while we go about finalising our ‘real’ departure to Andermatt, the gateway to our EV15 adventure.
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My bike is sad
My new bike – Joy – is very sad.
Born in late 2024, she had so much promise. A posthumous gift from my dearly departed parents, who may never have understood the idea of a custom bike, but who would have been happy to see me spend my inheritance on something that makes me happy, the name Joy is a play on my family name, and the feeling that riding bikes brings me.
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