Late start to be honest and a very short run. 2.30pm kinda late but we had to wash and dry our clothes so we are excused.
I came back from an early shower to find Catherine shouting at my empty tent trying to wake me and tell me the Eiger was clear. The neighbours thought she'd gone mental. I think they're onto something.
Showers were superb. It's two days in a row we've had showers that could be turned up too hot AND too powerful. I can't even do that at home!
Left Grindelwald and headed south of Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen. Bit of a sight seeing detour but very pretty. 'Valley of waterfalls'. Ticked the box then turned back north to Interlaken. Picked up the road north of Brienzersee and went east to Meningen. Brienzersee is very similar to Thunersee but the road around is lower and slower. Plenty of opportunities to stop by the lake for coffee and photos though.
Dropped south and rode up Grimselpass. This is proper Alpine heartland. Absolutely stunning stuff. Great fast roads that quickly gain height and lead to nice hairpins. Mountains and glaciers all around. Bike was sliding around on some of the bends but Catherine believed me when i said that's perfectly safe and normal. To be honest it's all that overbanding stuff they paint on the roads. Nasty when cold or wet and sometimes unavoidable. She enjoyed the whole roller coaster ride though, and will continue to do so apparently providing I don't kill her or look like I'm trying to.
Stopped at top for commemorative photos and to get a few extra layers on. it's cold and exposed up here and dropped to 7 degrees at top. Shame the pillion grips aren't heated as well, isn't it sis?
At Grimselpass there's a little scenic detour to Oberaarsee. It's a dead end trip into a glacial valley along a one way at a time road. Glaciers, lake, dam. Check! Traffic lights go green once an hour for 10 mins at either end and we timed our arrival perfectly to get in, get photos, get out. It's definitely worth doing if you've travelled this far. Catherine also caught her first sighting of a marmot - those big mountain guinea pig things. She was very excited after I'd talked about these mythical critters then a bit upset to see one squashed in the road.
From Grimselpass there's an unrestricted view of Furkapass just up the road. We rode down to Gletsch then straight up Furkapass. Even higher and colder than Grimselpass but mint riding.
We reached Andermatt at 6.30 and called it a day. Nothing to eat since breakfast and we were getting past it. Great day with cracking weather all day though. Lots of sun and no rain. It sure rained overnight mind!
Andermatt looks a bit ropey in summer while construction work takes place but there's a campsite as you come into town so we risked it purely for convenience. Knocked up a quick meal using dry food and leftovers then went next door for some beers.
Some things i've learned today:
1. Got chatting to a biker from Jerusalem this morning. He got flashed by speed camera in Switzerland last year. Speeding fine was waiting for him when he got home. They hate speeding in Switzerland and they'll chase you wherever you live.
2. The Coop in Andermatt closes at 6.30. There's not much else in the town!
3. Every road around Andermatt is superb.
4. Buy a vignette in Switzerland. Motorways are sometimes unavoidable, at least without major hassle, and often they put you on a short stretch just to link up two other roads.
5. Loads of biker friendly hotels in Andermatt all with free bike parking. Bikes are called 'toffs' here and bikers 'toffers'.
6 Losing things runs in the family. It's just that Catherine is best at it.
96 miles
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