The Final Day- the ride to Ferney- 8/9

It was our last day so we decided to take the long route back to Ferney Voltaire. What a great decision even though it was 68 miles and 4500 feet of climbing. We climbed for "cols" in what proved to be a magnificent day. Only 6 of the 20 rode the long route. The biggest challenge of the day was navigating through Geneva and the thousands of people out for a big festival. Fortunately Les knew the ins and outs and got us safely back.

A beautiful French mountain chalet

The road down the valley. Finally some longer descents....fun!

Four of the six final day "long route" riders

Our lunch stop, a make shift patisserie, but good

My stoker, "stoking up" on some after lunch desert!

One final shot of the Jet d'eaux in Geneva as we blasted by

Switzerland will be a great memory. We learned to suffer on this trip with all the steep climbing but we wouldn't have it any other way. All in all 770 miles and 55,000 vertical feet climbed. Another Williams milestone. Many thanks to Glenn Erickson for his magnificent route and hotel planning.

Chatel, the return to France- 8/8

Today we would ride back into France. Boy, what a difference in the roads; not as steep, more water fountains, and better food. We almost felt like we were home. What wasn't like home was another day of rain. We climbed the col du Pillon in the pourng rain, then descended the Col de la Croix. This was a wicked, winding descent full of turns filled wtih cars and massive buses. They were doing road work so we got right in the lane with the cars. It was over 13 miles down. Thank God for disc brakes!!!

Being soaking wet we made a mad dash for Monthey and lunch. It was probably the best tasting pasta I have ever had given the conditions. After lunch we climbed again into Corbeau then a rapid descent to Chatel.

The "captains" drying out and waiting for lunch

Chatel is a ski resort town on one of the many "smaller" mountains at the base of famous Mt. Blanc. We were wet, tired, hungry, and thirsty; 13 days down and only one more to go.

I took this shot for my dad, a Bultaco trials bike. Pretty rare to find one of these in the USA

Looking out our hotel room in Chatel. Over those mountains looms Lake Geneva.

Saanen- 8/7

One of the many beautiful valleys we rode that day

We had done a little more whining on this trip due to all the climbing but as we rolled into the last few days we were feeling quite sad it would be over soon. We were slowly making our way back to the south eastern shore of Lake Geneva. We managed to get quite lost in the middle of a gorgeous forest only to be bailed out by Megan, one of our group, who pieced together some French to find out we were only one "hill" away from where we needed to be.

Do you think we were lost? Megan, top left bailed us out with her superb French

This was beautiful country and we could see the famous Gruyere (the cheese) castle from miles away perched atop a small mountain. The views were much better from the road though. We lunched there and it was a GIANT tourist trap. We ate and rode on to Saanen.

The castle in Gruyere

In we stayed in a "sports hotel" complete with a Mac computer in every room. The food here was fabulous. They even had an Italian winery giving a free tasting.

Fribourg Rest Day- 8/6

Today we decided to actually rest and check out the town of Fribourg. It was almost as much work as riding since we were down in a bowl and had to climb out to get to the main part of the city. Lots of history, pretty church, and of course a nice Italian pizza lunch.

The climb to the main part of town

The fountain at the "Hotel DeVille"- city hall

The "funiculaire" a giant size tram/escalator to the main part of town

Maria was in charge of wine for dinner back at our hotel so we met with the chef and picked out some great ones, and of course got to taste them (one of the small benefits). This small boutique hotel had some of the best food on the trip.

An evening meal at the Au Sauvage- very cool private dining room

Fribourg- 8/5

Glenn convinced all of us that we must ride to Lauterbrunnen to see the beautiful granite cliffs before heading back to Thun and ultimately Fribourg for a two day stay. Lauterbrunnen is a very popular tourist destination and as a result had a ton of traffic on the only road there. No question the village in this valley surrounded by giant rugged granite cliffs was impressive.

Now it was time to head away from the big mountains back along side the Thunder See. This was a beautiful ride along this classic lake shore road.

We headed northwest through a picturesque valley with glimpses of the big mountain peaks we had come from. The area was filled with lovely small farms and orchards; great riding, and a nice restful lunch stop.

Navigating Fribourg was a challenge as our hotel, Au Sauvage, sat in the bottom of a bowl with the city above it. It ended up being a long day, 71 miles and 4300 feet of climbing.

Grindelwald a real rest day- 8/4

I had never been to Grindelwald and had still not seen the "big" mountains, the Eiger, the Jungfrau, the Monch. But once morning arrived those awe inspiring peaks came to life and they were spectacular.

Our hotel in Grindelwald.....

The view...

We planned to actually take the day off and ride the train to the "top of Europe" as they call it on the cog train. You ascend from Grindelwald at 3,300 feet to the Jungfraujoch (top of Europe) at 11,300 feet. This is the highest train station in Europe. It was a spectacular day and the trip up was great. There were hundreds of hikers and mountain bikers traversing there way up through the few small villages between the bottom and the top.

First views beginning the ascent up the mountain

Once there, we lucked out and got some spectacular views of the mountain tops and the ice fields. The altitude just about killed us and we could hardly walk. After a nice lunch at one of the cafes at the top we headed down. A great experience that has to be done if you are in the area. Just ignore all the tourists and focus on the mountains.

Views at the top including the ice fields

The final afternoon sunset to die for!

Kemmeriboden to Grindelwald- 8/3

Unfortunately it was time to leave the magical spot of Kemmeriboden and head to the "big mountains" of Grindelwald. This was a journey we had been looking forward to the entire trip. Today's route would take us through the towns of Thun and Interlaken. We were hoping to ride by the hotel where our daughter was conceived 22 years ago, but the weather would prove otherwise! At he top of the major climb at Schallenberg Strasse we hit a major rain storm. This was unfortunate because the descent was magnificent all the way to Thun at the edge of the Thunder See. We were beyond soaked after descending at nearly 40 mph. Thank goodness for disc brakes.

We decided enough was enough, and after a short conference with our tandem pals Les and Sue, we headed straight for the train station. Finally shelter and the opportunity to dry out. We weren't there 30 minutes when the "posse" rolled in, wet and cold as well. They were so happy to see us there. After coffee and hot chocolate we had a blast on the hour train ride to Grindelwald. What we thought would be a terrible day turned out to be one of our most fun!

Two wet souls happy to be at the train station...love those new helmet hoods!

On the train, loving life!

The "posse", Mike, "Mr. Short Sleeves" on the left was border line hypothermic but coming back to life quickly

Dr. Bob and yours truly reliving the rainy descent stories coming into town....

The weather in Grindelwald wasn't much better, but cycling a mile to the hotel was a piece of cake!

Burgdorf to Kemmeriboden- 8/2

After struggling to sleep that night due to all the fireworks celebrating Swiss independence, (Glenn thought would be so great to experience), we were welcomed with RAIN! Today we would ride 43 miles and 3100 feet of climbing to Kemmeriboden. We were definitely in more mountainous terrain now as we slowly made our way into higher alpine mountains. For the first time Maria and I learned what it was like to really ride in the rain and be wet. Fortunately it was not cold but being wet most of the day wasn't our idea a a great time. But, the scenery got prettier and prettier. Like our friends Meagan and Leann told us from Portland, "it's not about keeping dry, it's about keeping warm..."

Our riding partners Les and Sue blazing the trail in the rain

Our first real mountains in the distance

Looking out our hotel room while "drying" out....

This hotel was s small lodge in the middle of nowhere but very popular with their desserts, a vanilla ice cream on top of homemade meringue. An incredible afternoon snack.

The hotel.....

The dessert....

This place was quite magical and one of the best spots on the trip!

Burgdorf- Rest Day 8/1

We had high hopes for resting today but there was too much pretty scenery to be viewed so we ventured out with Les and Sue for a morning jaunt. We experienced more rolling farmland and ended up for lunch at a working cheese farm.

Typical Swiss farm road---yes, it was a climb!

Innovative vending machine at a farm loaded with fresh bread, honey, and fruit

This was "nome" country and Maria was crazy about these little dudes on nearly yard.

We still ended up with 40 miles and over 3,000 feet of climbing....so much for the rest day.

Delmont to Burgdorf- 7/31

We were anxious to get to Burgdorf because we had two nights there and a chance to relax a little more and not have to rush and get up so early in the morning. We chose the "long" route for today which took us up a beautiful valley where there were virtually no cars to the village of Movelier.

Up the valley to Movelier

Les & Sue on the climb to Movelier

My little Swiss Miss enjoying the countryside

It was worth it. We then made our way through Laufen (famous city that is one of the major european makers of toilets in all commercial places, named after the city), on our way to climb the famous Passwang.

It was a beautiful ascent winding up the valley to the really steep part of the climb with its "wedding cake" switchbacks (imagine the different layers on a wedding cake, then picture a mountain road with it's winding turns). This was a very steep climb but really gorgeous and worth every percent of the gradient.

Where things started to get steep up the Passwang

Near the summit of Passwang

Every tough climb deserves a great descent and if the time of day is right, a great lunch. The descent lead us to the town of Balsthal. We were clearly in the German speaking part of Switzerland now. Just before entering the main part of town I saw a great looking restaurant so we swung in. What a great surprise. The place was owned by a woman from Kenya and she made us one of their specials, a spicy shrimp dish with some very interesting spices. Very cool.

The restaurant in Balsthal

Our African inspired shrimp dish

Lunchtime map review by the "captains"..."Where the "F" are we??"

After lunch we made haste to Burgdorf through many tiny farming villages. We even got lost on a dirt road in the woods. Quite an adventure, but we finally made it to Burgdorf, 70 miles and 4,100 feet of climbing. Tomorrow would be the Swiss independence day.

Looking back at Balsthal and the Passwang

Typical post-ride cocktail session, in the lobby of the Hotel Berchtold

Mike (front), Chris (back left), and Bob (back right), the "posse" holding court at their usual spot. Three of the best guys you'll ever meet!

Couvet to Delemont- 7/30

Dehydration or not I was told by my ace stoker to "buck it up, get on the bike and ride. I reluctantly obliged and we were off. We had some spectacular forest scenery as we left town and followed the Areuse river to our first climb out of the small village of les Gratte.

A beautiful cycling path that went for miles along the Areuse River

Further along the bike path, fun descent in the woods

Always a climb after a descent, the scenery kept your mind off of the gradient!

Further up the climb

About half way to our destination we stopped for our first pizza lunch in St. Imier. The Swiss do a nice pizza!!

Ahhh the aubergines (eggplant) and onion pizza, quite good...

Probably the craziest fountain we saw on the trip. This village was loaded with them.

More Swiss fountains always adorned with the Swiss flag...

Some beautiful wooded canyons and the our final destination in Delemont. A fairly long day at 62 miles and 4,500 feet of climbing.

LePont to Couvet- 7/29

With our biggest day ever under our belt we figured the rest of the trip would be "downhill". I don't think so!!! We were now officially in Switzerland. Many people think this country is all "alps", but actually at least a third of it is the farm country and what we came to know as "Swiss Rollers" (those brutally steep up and downs 7-10% grades at about 3000-5000 feet altitude).

Typical Swiss pasture

One of the many impeccable Swiss country houses

One of Maria's great fountain shots- these were all over Switzerland

Roads were great and wew teamed up with our Canadian tandem friends from last trip Les and Sue. We realy have a nice time with them.

Les and Sue the Canadian dynamic duo

Today's ride was shorter, abut 45 miles and only 4500 feet of climbing. We had a short climb out of the hotel up the col de Mollendruz, then a beautiful descent down to la Praz. We then headed inland ridding the mountain ridges above Lac de Neuchantel.

A happy couple prior to the ball-busting climb ahead

This was one of the toughest climbs of the trip with relentless 9-10% grade for 6 miles. This taxed us more than we thought. The evening proved to be my worst as the dehydration caught up with me from the prior day. I had no appetite and actually skipped dinner. Fortunately we had a few doctors on the trip and one of them gave me a few pills that he said would slow my system down and allow me to recover through the night.

Maria and the "posse" as they would become to be known. She was re-hydrating while I was dehydrating

Official Day One- Geneva to LePont, 7/28

We were more than ready to leave Geneva. We'd seen enough of the itscountryside and really wanted to move on the the "real" Switzerland, whatever that was. Today our goal was to ride over 7,000 vertical feet our most ever, and cover over 70 miles. The night's hotel was in Le Pont at the north end of the lac de Joux, in the valley of the jewel. This is where many of the finest swiss watches are made including Audemar Piquet and Jaeger le Coultre.

On the way to Col de la Faucille

We ride two major passes and many valleys. The route took us over the highest pass in the Jura mtn range, col de la Facuille, about a 3,000 foot climb.

On the Col de la Faucille, looking back at Geneva and Mt. Blanc

Our first "Swiss" salad at the French/Swiss border in la Cure

Once at the top we descended down into the next valley, then climbed back up (a routine we'd become VERY familiar with in Switzerland). We took the long way around and made the final 2,000 plus foot climb climb up the Col du Marchairuz, a real bun buster! But the views were spectacular looking down to the "Vallee de Joux".

On the descent looking at the vallee de Joux and lac Joux

Once at the bottom we rode around the west side of this pristine lake to our hotel in Le Pont. Great spot and one hell of an accomplishment for tandem boy and girl! (short video below of the hotel and lake in LePont).

Five Days in Geneva-7/23-7/27

A little miscalculation in when the trip was supposed to start ended up in our favor. We arrived several days earlier than necessary. We got a jump start and put the bike together right away leaving us time for a quick ride on Friday leaving Saturday to check out Geneva which we missed on our last visit here three years ago.

The bridge over the Rhone with the Jet d'Eau in the background

We be-lined it for Geneva the next day via the airport (free hotel shuttle) then a $6 train ride to the center of town. Geneva let us down.... It was Saturday and absolutely dead. There were nothing but watch stores and banks. After a quick lunch we "abandoned" and headed back to the hotel to rest up for our first ride the next day.


At this point the weather was working in our favor; blue skies, views of Mt. Blanc, and warm temps in the high 80's. Just about perfect.


View from the hotel of snow capped Mt. Blanc

After the disappointing day in Geneva we knew it was time to ride. We reviewed the map and chose to ride north up Lake Geneva past the beautiful port Nyon and climb to Aubonne and make our way back to Ferney Volitare through the mountains. This turned out to be one heck of a ride with beautiful rolling pastures and yes plenty of climbing about 4,000 feet worth! What the heck were we thinking. This was two days before the "official" start of the ride and we were already busting our buns. I guess it's the damn French countryside...lures you in.

Just when we thought we had our fill of Geneva, Glenn, tour leader and owner took all the recent arrivals out for a warm up ride the day before our start on Tuesday. We headed back up the western shore of lake Geneva and cut inland through some beautiful vineyards. Maria and I opted for a nice lunch in Divonne while the others rode back. A little carpaccio and seafood salad. We would need the extra nourishment for the days to come!

Switzerland Here We Come!

After months of training and a small set back with the dislocated shoulder a/c we are off on a plane to Geneva. There is a lot of anticipation for this trip. The alps can be a little intimidating. But there were more important things to enjoy on the flight over. Cocktails anyone....

Fortunately there were no hitches in the connections, though flying through London is a pain. We landed in Geneva at 2pm and were ready to settle into our digs at the Novotel just outside of the airport.