Dolomites June 2009: Swiss Alpine Passes

 

Day 4: Tue 9th June 2009

 

Ride: Swiss Alpine Passes - 252 miles

 

After yesterday’s ride from Belfort to Andermatt we thought that we deserved a rest today, especially as we had ridden a good deal of it in rain. Looking out from breakfast at more rain and low cloud it didn’t seem weak to not want to ride!

 

So a leisurely breakfast ensued, followed by a stroll around Andermatt, taking shelter in shop doorways when the rain fell particularly hard. Being restless at the best of times my contentment at a relaxed day off lasted the best part of half an hour by which time I was bored and my ever present fear of missing out on something had re-emerged from wherever it resides. “I’m going for a ride, lads.......fancy it?”

 

They didn’t (probably wisely) so I headed back to the hotel, loosely formulating a plan to link a few valleys and passes that I would otherwise miss(!), and geared up ready for a wet day.

 

And was it wet! I might as well have been tail ending a fire engine and been hosed down by it for the first 3 hours. Nevertheless, only my hands got wet (Goretex gloves lasted 1.5 hours.....the only time they have let me down before and since.....water down the cuff I think as they are short and most of my normal riding is at motorway speeds which keeps the water moving away down the arm).

 

The rest of me, clad in cheapo waterproofs over leathers, remained perfectly dry as had been the case during periods of heavy rain in the preceeding 3 days!

 

The route.

 

I headed SW out of Andermatt towards Hospental then turned south up and over the St. Gotthard Pass; a fairly fast straight climb followed by a more typically twisty descent down into Airolo. Heading SE and avoiding the motorway I followed the steep sided valley, and its torrent of a river swelled by the rain, in the direction of Locarno and its lake. 25m short of Locarno, at Biasca, I turned left to climb the Lukmanier Pass, dropped down into Disentis on the far side and up and over the Oberalp Pass and down into Andermatt to complete a nice loop.

 

By now the rain seemed to have abated, even giving way to a little bit of optimistic sunshine, so I headed N out of Andermatt, through the steepest rocky sided valley, hemming in picture perfect hairpins, and continued downwards to Wassen. The old picture perfect wooden hotel Sonne sits at the crossroads in the middle of Wassen marking the left turn to climb and cross the Sustenpass. That was the theory, but I had heard that the pass was still not open after the winter, and sure enough, after a brisk ride up a road lying in a round bottomed valley with green fields rising gently to rocky hillsides reminiscent of some in Wales, I came to the closure 2 miles short of the pass itself.

 

Backtracking to Andermatt, in strengthening sunshine, I was now on a roll and continued straight through the village and up and over the Furka Pass, which we had crossed the previous evening on our final desecent into Andermatt from Belfort, pausing briefly to photograph the might Rhone Glacier, and up to the Grimsel Pass to take the photo which I had been too lazy to take the previous day in the mist and rain.

 

There was no point in continuing over the Grimsel at this stage in the day, so yet another “about turn” and back down to Gletsch, at the foot of the pass. At 5pm I now had the choice of back to Andermatt over the Furka (anavoidable whatever practical option I chose from here) or an 80 mile “out and return” to the Simplon Pass via Brig-Glis lying SW down a near arrow straight valley of villages and small towns. Of course not to do this would mean missing something so SW I headed!

 

Two roads climb the Simplon from the Swiss side, to its strange Salmon pink hospice, built in the 1800’s; a twisty country lane which I ascended and a busy main road serving the traffic passing over it between Italy and Switzerland, which I descended. It was certainly the busiest of the day. However, despite the volume of motorised traffic, it was the cycling teams that had been dropped at the top by van to practice their high speed mountain descents back down to Brig that were certainly the most difficult other road users to overtake!

 

By now, basking in glorious sunshine back in Brig I was thoroughly “passed” out, so with 40 miles back to the hotel, and yet another crossing of the Furka (which I think should be renamed the gateway to Andermatt!) I made my way towards food, drink, rest, Gary and Pete.....3 of which had been sorely missed throughout the day!