Tuesday 16 July 2019

Swiss roll - day 2

Andermatt – Gotthard Pass – Nufenen Pass – Furka Pass - Andermatt


One of the nuances of cycling is that it is a largely circular activity.  Sometimes the ‘circle’ comprises a line out and back, as demonstrated by yesterday’s ride to the Oberalppass, but more often, the loop consists of a common start and finish point with GPS tracking tools illustrating that you’ve had a bit of an explore.

When undertaking this activity, one of the primary considerations for any rider should be whether one can make it back.  When cycling in and around West Berkshire, this proves not to be too much of a challenge.  It’s mostly flat, the geography is well known to me and I’m usually riding to a plan that, short of more punctures than spare inner tubes or other mechanical failure, will allow me to get back to where I started.  Day 2’s ride in the Alps was very much a circular route with the plan consisting of a ride from our apartment in Andermatt to the Gottard Pass, a continued schlep to the Nufenen Pass, before tackling the Furka Pass on our way home.

The problem with passes is that they tend to be at altitude, always nearer the top of the mountain than the bottom.  Were the converse the case, cycling in the Alps would be a considerably easier affair, but they are not, and the Gottard Pass was a climb of some 680 metres over 11.7 kilometres.  2.5 kilometres from the summit, the road splits giving options for the traveller up the new, paved route; which is busier and favoured by motorists, or the older cobbled stretch that is a little more meandering and much less busy.  It is a beautifully laid stretch of road, each hand-cut cobble has been intricately placed to form an exquisite mosaic that must have taken the road crew years to lay.  They are comparatively even, more so than the cobbles that feature on the pavé of the iconic Paris to Roubaix road race, but nevertheless, they’re unforgiving.  The rattle of the bike and the jarring of the suspension-free frame shake the arms and legs and is a painful reminder that the bicycle saddle of a road bike has not been designed with comfort in mind.  The saving grace of that ride is that the incline is mild, and the distance is covered quickly.

The alternative of the paved versus the cobbled is also an option for the descent.  On the route to Airolo at the base of the hill, the cobbles exist for 6 kms and the speed one generates in a descent is considerably greater than the pace of the climb.  Consequently, the arse of your average garden-variety cyclist, such as your correspondent, is considerably more ragged at the end of the road than it was at the beginning.  For the poor old Pipster, whose lack of training meant his backside wasn’t entirely ‘seasoned’, it was an exceptionally painful experience.  I knew to keep my moans to myself.

We composed ourselves on the outskirts of Airolo at the base of the mountain before heading south-west towards the Nufenen Pass and the prospect of inclement weather.  Almost immediately it began to rain and although the temperature was 12˚C, it would drop to 4˚ by the time we reached the summit.  That, however, was 23.6 kms and 1,327 metres of climbing away.

About a third of the way up we grabbed coffees at a roadside café.  The respite from the weather was welcome, as too was the caffeine, and we harboured there for 20 minutes as we warmed through, a pointless exercise as the next two hours would affirm.  On leaving, the heavens opened, and the incline increased.  For the next 15-16 kms we fought a gradient that increased from the gentle range of 2 – 5% that we faced from Airolo to the café, to a sustained 8 – 10%.  When combined with the weather, it was brutal and the respite at the top could not come soon enough.  Soaked through, freezing cold and utterly knackered, I collapsed in a small soggy heap and allowed myself to be served a steaming plate of sausage, chips and gravy which rapidly disappeared.

From the tops of the mountains the clouds rolled in, bringing with them a clinging moisture and a lowering temperature.  Whilst we’d stopped for the best part of 40 minutes, I’d been unable to warm fully, and all my gear was wet.  Ahead of us lay a further 55 kms and 1,085 metres of climbing to complete our circuit.

I began the descent to Obergoms (there is also a place called Goms I’m thrilled to say) but my return to the bike did not last long.  A look on Google Maps will reveal a meandering road that is followed by a tight 180˚ corner which leads to another long straight stretch of the descent.  By the time I had completed this second drag I was frozen through.  I managed one more tight turn and another straight, but on reaching the technical switchbacks, I could go no further.  I had broken the cardinal rule of being able to complete a circuit and we were a long way, and a lot of climbing, from home.  Fortunately, we had the wonderful and magnificent assistance of Sarah and Caroline McDowie by way of support.

We had determined to do this ride ‘unsupported’.  Sarah and Caroline had ‘planned’ to have a relaxing week soaking up the alpine air and supping a few gin and tonics.  Naturally, they knew us better than we did and rightly covered every pedal stroke in the trusty Mercedes van, carrying our spare gear and, as it transpired on this occasion, mine and the Pipster’s bikes; Philip having decided he’d had enough ‘training’ earlier in the day.

Rob and Paul, being hardier souls, determined to ride through the weather and brave the climb up the Furka Pass.  It must be noted that Rob also felt a tad chilled on the descent from Nufenen and took advantage of the paused van to don every article of clothing he possessed.  In packing his day bag for the trip, he clearly hadn’t given thought to stylistic considerations; once fully dressed he resembled a bin man off to the gym in the jogging bottoms he uses for decorating.  There would be no points for sartorial elegance and a great reluctance to provide further support, as those of us in the van sought to disassociate ourselves from him.

The route to the top of the pass started along the valley floor with the road clinging to the side of the mountain for several kilometres before it snaked its way to the summit.  Once the weaving begins, there are few places for a van to stop, so we had no option but to position ourselves about 4 kms from the top.

According to Lord T, this was a great inconvenience, as we had chosen to park on the steepest part of the climb.  ‘A 15% slope is not a good place for you to stop,’ shouted the ungrateful soul.  He is right of course, and in defence, we didn’t; the nastiest piece of that climb only amounts to 9%, but in fairness to him, he had managed to bugger up the Di2 gearing, probably when he was changing his bike saddle, and had lost the lowest gear available to him, so I suspect it felt a shade tougher.  Manfully he and Rob struggled on, attaining the 2,436 metre summit with oxygen still in their lungs and completed the remaining 21.3 kms to the apartment without incident, or the arrest of Rob, who bore a passing similarity to a bike-thieving itinerant.

Having now had two rides on the brand-new bikes and experienced a teething problem with the Di2, we decided it might be prudent to recharge the batteries on all four bikes.  Cycling forums suggest that battery life is good for between 500 – 2,000 kms.  With 128 kms under our belts, we weren’t taking any chances.  In Switzerland, they recognise Corpus Christi as a public holiday, but bless him, the ever-helpful Oliver was only too willing to provide us with four sets of USB chargers for the evening.  They arrived with adapter plugs and cables, but sadly, no instructions.  We discovered that our new bikes incorporated Shimano’s latest adaptation of the Di2 system.  In fact, the latest iteration is so new that there were no online tutorials that we could find that revealed how to charge them.  Three of us poured over the bikes seeking to find the illusive socket that would accept the cable plug.  In despair, we dropped poor Oliver another message, further troubling his holiday and no doubt disturbing him with our inadequacy.  As luck would have it, I located the port before Oliver had replied and we were able to stand him down with our masculinity restored.  For those that might be interested, you’ll find the devilishly small socket in the end of the handlebar drops, tucked behind a tiny door with the printed words ‘I’m here dumbass’.

We chose to remain in our digs for supper that evening and our (non-)support crew kindly disappeared into town to obtain a variety of pizzas which we joyfully despatched along with a grotesque quantity of alcohol.  Lord T had suggested that we bring a couple of bottles of wine with us each so that we had something to relax over during our evenings.  I’m not sure any of us anticipated that we’d get through most of it in one sitting, but the entertainment provided by a game of Cards Against Humanity, where we learnt that ‘Firing a rifle into the air while balls-deep in a squealing hog’ is really quite a versatile answer, was enough to encourage our excess.

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