No fox related thefts overnight - everything was still bolted to the bike. So they're really not that cunning, are they? He crept in about 2am and tried to make off with some of Mo's stuff but we were still sat out drinking so scared the little blighter off.
50c for showers this morning. Chargeable showers know the exact moment your eyes are full of soap and that's when they cut out. 50c showers *always* cost 1 euro.
Shared breakfast with Mo. Continued last nights lessons in a perfect cuppa. There's Yorkshire tea, then all other tea. Only the first does the job. Packed him off with a handful from my provisions. White or yellow mug, milk goes in last, semi skimmed milk unless it's UHT in which case it's gotta be skimmed. I think he's got it.
Swapped details just incase I'm ever passing cologne and need digs. Apparently my email domain, fleagle, sounds amusingly like the German for naughty child, flegel. Go figure.
Pondered over the maps and asked satnav to guide me to Altdorf in Switzerland, avoiding toll roads. It's no deal breaker but i want to avoid buying a vignette if possible. It looked straight forward enough. Hop over the border and follow the back roads. Motorway wouldn't be much quicker but it would be much more expensive. Altdorf is north of Andermatt and the first major town on my Italy map. Once there i can swap maps and go for a play.
First though, i retraced the last couple of miles of the B500 to warm me, the bike and the tyres up. I could have ridden that stretch for hours but I'm gonna head south while the going's good.
Just north of Altdorf there's a group of lakes. My Germany map is too large scale to show them properly and they're too far north to hit the Italy map. They're all lovely though.
Stopped for quick bite to eat by one of them, at a restaurant with a lakeside terrace. Paid 17.50chf for a shot of espresso and a mattersons sausage and processed cheese salad. It hit the spot but if i had the faintest idea what the Swiss exchange rate is then I'm guessing I'd be feeling fleeced.
The huge lake north of Altdorf was an unexpected surprise. It's the perfect intro to Swiss scenery. Satnav took me through the tunnel into Altdorf, which I'm certain is vignette territory but satnav disagreed. I think i got away with it though. I also think i got away with the speed camera that flashed me and/or the car in front of me. The camera was both front and rear facing but only the forward facing one flashed.
I assume William Tell has Altdorf connections. They're certainly cashing in on his name.
The road between Altdorf and Wassen threads over and under the motorway. Even with a vignette I'd recommend it over the motorway.
At Wassen i turned west for a play over the passes while the weather was good. Figured i could do the figure of 8 loop west of Andermatt then ride east out of town on the Oberalppass. A few clicks out of Wassen, towards the Sustenpass, the heavens opened. I pulled over at the first bit of shelter i could find and waited. Eventually it stopped but the temperature plummeted. From the tropical heights of 20.5 degrees this afternoon down to a brisk 1.5 degrees! Then at the Sustenpass, it started hailing. I continued riding to keep whatever heat i could in the tyres but i wasn't setting any records. It crept back up to about 7 degrees but i called it quits in Andermatt around 8.30pm and resorted to the roadside campsite we've used before. It's not perfect, or cheap, but it'll do. As expected, everything in Andermatt shuts down early doors. Thankfully I'd picked up some provisions earlier so I'm sorted for tea and breakfast. For some unknown reason i thought a bottle of ice cold beer would go nicely with tea so i picked one up from the campsite reception. I now have some unwanted Swiss shrapnel rattling around in my pocket, although the beer was so damn expensive there isn't very much of it.
Tomorrow morning I'm either gonna do the St Gotthardpass and Nufenenpass if the weather's good, or head towards Italy if it isn't. I can be at Lake Maggiore or Como within an hour or two. I'd love to hit the Stelvio on Sunday though, which means staying in Switzerland and riding east. I'll sleep on it and make a call in the morning.
165 miles
50c for showers this morning. Chargeable showers know the exact moment your eyes are full of soap and that's when they cut out. 50c showers *always* cost 1 euro.
Shared breakfast with Mo. Continued last nights lessons in a perfect cuppa. There's Yorkshire tea, then all other tea. Only the first does the job. Packed him off with a handful from my provisions. White or yellow mug, milk goes in last, semi skimmed milk unless it's UHT in which case it's gotta be skimmed. I think he's got it.
Swapped details just incase I'm ever passing cologne and need digs. Apparently my email domain, fleagle, sounds amusingly like the German for naughty child, flegel. Go figure.
Pondered over the maps and asked satnav to guide me to Altdorf in Switzerland, avoiding toll roads. It's no deal breaker but i want to avoid buying a vignette if possible. It looked straight forward enough. Hop over the border and follow the back roads. Motorway wouldn't be much quicker but it would be much more expensive. Altdorf is north of Andermatt and the first major town on my Italy map. Once there i can swap maps and go for a play.
First though, i retraced the last couple of miles of the B500 to warm me, the bike and the tyres up. I could have ridden that stretch for hours but I'm gonna head south while the going's good.
Just north of Altdorf there's a group of lakes. My Germany map is too large scale to show them properly and they're too far north to hit the Italy map. They're all lovely though.
Stopped for quick bite to eat by one of them, at a restaurant with a lakeside terrace. Paid 17.50chf for a shot of espresso and a mattersons sausage and processed cheese salad. It hit the spot but if i had the faintest idea what the Swiss exchange rate is then I'm guessing I'd be feeling fleeced.
The huge lake north of Altdorf was an unexpected surprise. It's the perfect intro to Swiss scenery. Satnav took me through the tunnel into Altdorf, which I'm certain is vignette territory but satnav disagreed. I think i got away with it though. I also think i got away with the speed camera that flashed me and/or the car in front of me. The camera was both front and rear facing but only the forward facing one flashed.
I assume William Tell has Altdorf connections. They're certainly cashing in on his name.
The road between Altdorf and Wassen threads over and under the motorway. Even with a vignette I'd recommend it over the motorway.
At Wassen i turned west for a play over the passes while the weather was good. Figured i could do the figure of 8 loop west of Andermatt then ride east out of town on the Oberalppass. A few clicks out of Wassen, towards the Sustenpass, the heavens opened. I pulled over at the first bit of shelter i could find and waited. Eventually it stopped but the temperature plummeted. From the tropical heights of 20.5 degrees this afternoon down to a brisk 1.5 degrees! Then at the Sustenpass, it started hailing. I continued riding to keep whatever heat i could in the tyres but i wasn't setting any records. It crept back up to about 7 degrees but i called it quits in Andermatt around 8.30pm and resorted to the roadside campsite we've used before. It's not perfect, or cheap, but it'll do. As expected, everything in Andermatt shuts down early doors. Thankfully I'd picked up some provisions earlier so I'm sorted for tea and breakfast. For some unknown reason i thought a bottle of ice cold beer would go nicely with tea so i picked one up from the campsite reception. I now have some unwanted Swiss shrapnel rattling around in my pocket, although the beer was so damn expensive there isn't very much of it.
Tomorrow morning I'm either gonna do the St Gotthardpass and Nufenenpass if the weather's good, or head towards Italy if it isn't. I can be at Lake Maggiore or Como within an hour or two. I'd love to hit the Stelvio on Sunday though, which means staying in Switzerland and riding east. I'll sleep on it and make a call in the morning.
165 miles
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