Let’s go cycling

28th August, 44km, 870m elevation.

A very rainy start to the day so we hung around at the campsite for a bit…lots of great chats with similarly weather-averse campers, from all across the globe.  Most were multi day hikers, we didn’t meet any other cycle tourers in Chamonix.

Then off we set for a shortish but elevated ride to the Swiss border!  Our route coincided with the (opposite direction) 50km running event today, so we stopped at a few checkpoints to cheer on the runners.  A mighty fit looking lot, and that’s just the tailenders!

Kind of exciting to cross into Switzerland.  Not sure why!  Scenery still spectacular, in fact probably even more so as we ascended further, but the inclement weather meant we didn’t get completely clear views of the 360 degree mountains.

Our 1000m descent into Martigny was a bit nerve wracking- steep downhill and a fear of destroying the brakes…but we made it unscathed.

We were a bit apprehensive of how we might find costs in Switzerland.  The campsite was pricy (35 Swiss Francs) but I gotta say, somewhat more classy than any of the French sites.  It even featured toilet paper (I know, it’s the small things, right!)

Next step was to venture to a supermarket.  Such an amazing array of fresh fruit/veg and pretty much anything you could want- and yes, quite a bit pricier than anywhere else we’ve been.  But hey, we knew we needed to expect that.  My only disappointment was to find that Lindt chocolate is more than twice as much here as it is at home- how does that happen!!

29th August…along the Rhone. 90km and mostly flat

A fascinating ride along the Rhone river- many glimpses of snow capped mountains and glaciers, in between the cloudy periods.

Martigny to Brig. What a contrast! We got by with our rudimentary French in Martigny, but by the time we were half way to Brig even this was completely useless, with the language changing to German. A bit too late for a crash course in German so we resorted to a pitiful “Do you speak English?” plea, which thankfully most people did.

Loved wandering around the township of Brig, found ourselves some pizza and pasta…and avoided the $70AUD burgers which seemed to be the standard! Switzerland is oh so beautiful…but oh so expensive!!

30th August, The Simplon Pass!
62km and 1360m of up.

I spent the last few days trying to plot a less hilly route across the alps from Brig. All to no avail until I realised that the standard mode of travel through the pass is by Auto Train!! And all you have to do is put the bike on the train and whiz through a tunnel in the hills!!
Neil wasn’t at all keen- he really wanted to cycle the Simplon Pass over the Alps. So we thought we’d have separate little adventures for today.

But then…we met a fabulous German family at our campsite- Dad and three sons on a cycling tour through Switzerland to Italy. They were full of fun and enthusiasm, and the youngest was just 12. Their plan was to cycle the Simplon pass and somehow they convinced me that it wasn’t going to be too arduous. OK…if a 12 year old is up for it, I guess I am too… FOMO kicked in and commitment made.

So off we set. Emergency Baguette in hand. A very long climb- a persistent 20km, and a few stops for jubes for me!
We’ve had nowhere near enough time in Switzerland but today gave us a truly spectacular journey with stunning views throughout. It was a well worthwhile effort and we enjoyed our baguette at the top of the pass, surrounded by spectacular peaks.

And that’s it for Switzerland, at least for now. A little foray into Italy and then we need to decide where to head next- it’s either back up into/through Switzerland and into Germany/Austria, or it’s a bit bigger exploration of Italy and then across to Croatia. As you can see…our plans change daily so who knows where we’ll end up by tomorrow. But we’re starting to get to the point where we need to consider from where we fly home, so a bit of planning to do!