The road i wanted to take was through the Rhone valley in the South of Switzerland. This required going over two Mountain passes. The Brunig Pass and the Grimsel Pass. Looking at the map it looked a long way and i thought it would take two days. I started climbing the Brunig pass in the evening because there was a lake that looked a good place to camp. It was a beautiful spot to camp.....apart from all the bells on the cows which kept me awake half the night!
Come morning, i started climbing again. It wasn´t so steep, but it was still tough going with only 21 gears. I was knackered and i kept having to stop to take a breather. Towards the top, it flattened out slightly and the rest was a breeze. The fog was pretty bad and i didn´t get the view i was hoping for.
The Grimsel Pass....ohhh the Grimsel Pass!! Now that was tough! From the bottom of the Brunig, the road started climbing steadily. It was only a slight incline, but it seemed to go on forever. Climbing up and up through the valley.
Come morning, i started climbing again. It wasn´t so steep, but it was still tough going with only 21 gears. I was knackered and i kept having to stop to take a breather. Towards the top, it flattened out slightly and the rest was a breeze. The fog was pretty bad and i didn´t get the view i was hoping for.
The Grimsel Pass....ohhh the Grimsel Pass!! Now that was tough! From the bottom of the Brunig, the road started climbing steadily. It was only a slight incline, but it seemed to go on forever. Climbing up and up through the valley.
Once i really started climbing, the road was spectacular. Up and up i went, snaking round corners, and punishing my legs! ha. This has got to be the toughest cycling i´ve done in a long time. It wouldn´t be so bad, if my bike didn´t weigh a ton! Going up was not fun at all. The views were great though :-) It was quite deceiving though, as i thought i was nearing the top, an alpine lake would appear. Ah, i´m at the top!! Wrong! No, it kept on going up. This happened twice. But i did finally reach the top. The view from the other side was even better! You see where the Grimsel and Furka Passes meet in the valley. I was pretty happy because i managed all this in once day. But only just. I got down the other side of the pass and got my tent set up just before dark. |
I wanted to take a hike to see the Aletschglacier. "The greastest Glacier of the Alps"
A steady hike down through the valley on the left. I crossed a huge metal bridge at the bottom, camped in the woods and then hiked up the other side in the morning. I saw quite a few Chamois, which was a real treat as i´ve never seen one before and apparently they are quite shy. They didn´t seem shy as i was alone and very quiet.
Not such a bad place to wake up to ;-) Although it was a cold night at 1800m in October!
I met Julien when i was travelling in Croatia last year. We was cycling in opposite directions and we stopped for a brief chat and exchange details. He was cycling from Switzerland, through Italy and down the Balkan Coast to Dubrovnik. Our meeting was only brief, but Julien offered me to stay with him when i came to Switzerland. That´s the beauty of travelling....you meet some great people :-) Julien lives in a small village just North of Lausanne. It was great to relax for a couple of days and get to know Julien and swap stories over a few beers. He is a Musician and plays in a rock band. He´s also into Photography and has some great photo´s from his travels in Asia, including Tibet.
As it´s the back end of October now, i want to get further south quickly now before it turns cold. I had a quick stop over in Lyon, one of the largest Cities in France. I would usually avoid big Cities, but i met a guy while i was at a hostel in Romania, so i paid him a visit :-) Quentin is a young guy who is currently studying in Lyon. It was only a quick visit and i just stayed the one night, but it was great to catch up with him again. Quentin met me in the centre after studying, and then he took me on a quick tour of the city on bikes. We had a nice beer, and once it was dark, took the tram up to a point where you get a good view over the city. It was a great view with everything lit up.
Now it´s time to make a dash for the South Coast and some sun!
Now it´s time to make a dash for the South Coast and some sun!
The Mediterranean!
I was very quick and made it to the coast in just over two days.
We had a great chat about dreams and inspiration! Get in touch please if you are reading :-) Maybe we cross paths again someday! The way you told me to go wasn´t the road i was looking for, but it turned out to be a good adventure! :-)