Bike Trip Part 1: Switzerland
We knew we wanted a bike trip this year and although our budget was telling us to stay closer to home, we knew we had to take advantage of a great opportunity to visit some Bellingham friends who are living in Switzerland for 9 months this year. Since airfare and accommodation would be a little harder in July, we opted for a Spring Break trip. Our plan was to enjoy a quick visit to Zurich followed by 10 days in southern Spain (we really needed a little sun and a good training block on the bikes).
When you haven’t seen friends in a few months it’s comforting to see that even in new surroundings they haven’t changed. Darrell came running up to us at the airport a little disheveled, out of breath with a smile on his face. Ruth, we learned, was coming from work to meet us but Darrell wasn’t sure when or even where she was because he’d forgotten his cell phone. Derek and I smiled at each other. Some things never change. Later in the day, I saw Ruth and Darrell exchange a similar smile when Derek made a funny (ok, slightly outrageous) comment, reinforcing for them that we hadn’t really changed in 6 months either!
Country Ride: Nicola & Ruth Zurich: Nicola & Darrell
After eventually meeting Ruth, we spent a wonderful day getting acquainted with the area around Fehraltorf where Darrell and Ruth are living, taking bikes along some of the wonderful wanderwegs (walking paths) to a farm for some cheese, sausage and apple cider. As much as I hate stereotypes of our part of the world (no, really, it doesn’t rain here all the time), I expected Zurich to be very mountainous. Instead, it was relatively flat with rolling hills. Across beautiful expanses of green meadows, small woods and lakes, the Alps towered in the distance. We were glad that Darrell and Ruth had chosen a small village outside of Zurich as their home base. From here, we were able to day trip by bike or train to see everything, experiencing a metropolitan Switzerland or the quiet rural villages of our imagination. Did I mention the cheese theme of our 3 days in Switzerland? Even though I knew we had 2 weeks of riding every day, part of me was glad that my cheese & chocolate intake would be limited to a weekend. It seems the Swiss eat cheese at every meal. Our friends made us fondue and raclette, two entire meals based on cheese!
Day 2-Neuchatel
Day2 included a trip to Lac Neuchatel in the French area of Switzerland. We passed so many recognized companies on our short train ride it quickly became obvious why the Swiss economy is so strong even in this recession. The theme in this part of the country was high-end bikes or watches (BMC, Motorex, DTSwiss, Tissot, Rolex…). This trip identified for us how distinct the four language areas in Switzerland are. The French area is very French, the German is all German and the line between is very clear. The Röstigrabenas it is known is well documented. Two villages only 5km apart could be completely different. We thoroughly enjoyed studying the diversity and similarities.
Our 3rdday had a slow start because of rain (we made the best of it by stocking up at a chocolate factory!).
The best way to spend a rainy morning!
By the afternoon the skies had cleared and we put our bikes together (okay, Derek did) for a long ride in the country. It was stunning. We did a wonderful 3hr ride through rolling hills. It was amazing to see how every square inch of the country has been smartly developed with farming, forestry, industry and small villages seamlessly connected. There are thousands of km’s of well signed walking and riding paths. Getting around was easy & the infrastructure makes an active lifestyle accessible to everyone. Darrell impressed us all by pulling Fiona, the dog, along in a trailer behind his bike. It seems the pro athlete lifestyle agrees with him. We’ve never seen him so strong!
Day 3: Riding in the country
We had an early start on Day 4 to catch a quick flight to Malaga, Spain. We both regretted not having one more day with our friends but were excited to start the next leg of our journey.
