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[ST] Touring Switzerland.



Swiz2004

Friday 25th June 300 miles
It was a nice dry morning, 03:30 in the morning in fact. Time to get up for our
long awaited trip to Switzerland. Six months in the planning, and now it was
time to go. We met up with the others at 04:30 at Pencoed and where ready for
the first part. A mere 150 miles down to the Portsmouth ferry. Swampy had been
told we would meet at 04:00. And for once he was on time so he was waiting for
us. We stopped at Membury services for a cuppa on the way. We made good
progress and arrived in plenty of time for the ferry. After boarding it was
time for some breakfast and a bit of shuteye. We docked at 15:00 French time.
The plan was to head down towards Paris on the AutoRoute, then out past Orly
Airport on the A6 to stay at a Formula1 Hotel in Evry.  On arriving we decided
to swap hotels to the Ibis. A very nice hotel, 47EUR for a double room and
about 20EUR each for a meal and drinks. Well worth it, we had a nice chilled
out evening.

Sat 26th June 350 miles
We where up at 08:30 and ate breakfast. The sun was shining, a few clouds in
the sky but it was getting much warmer. We could dump the waterproof over
jackets and ride with just leathers. And so we packed up and where off for the
second leg. We had planned on it being an easy pace. Plenty of spare time to
stop for coffee and take in the scenery. But our first goal was to get as far
away from Paris as possible. So we did the first 200 miles on the A6 and a36
before leaving the AutoRoute at Dole.  We then headed towards Besancon on the
N roads. After going through the tunnel we stopped for coffee under the cliff
top fort. Then we headed along the N57 turning off left after the dual
carriageway on the road to Morteau. Then through Villers-le-Lac. Here we where
overtaken by a group of HD riders going like stink. They obviously knew the
road so we followed them to the Swiss border. We entered a tunnel, on exiting
we where greeted with a most excellent panoramic view of the Alps, truly
amazing.   We headed down towards Nuechatel and then to Gals. We picked up the
keys from a neighbour and headed to the Chalet. It was a everything, if not
better than expected. Our pre order of food and drink was in the fridge so we
unpacked, showered and chilled out in the garden.

Sun 27th June 120 miles
Sunday was spent mostly sleeping. In the afternoon we went to a local cafÅ on
top of the local mountain at Chasseral. Very good views of the Alps from up
there. The chalet in Gals could be seen in the distance.
A brief write up of my tour of Switzerland.

Pictures at  http://www.zapik.com/gallery/Swiz2004

Mon 28th June 360 miles.
A big one. We would do the Grimsel, Furker, St Gothard, and Susten passes.
Including the St Gothard tunnel. The Cols where brilliant, more hairpin bends
than I've had hot dinners. The views, the scary drop off at the edge of the
road all of it was paradise on a bike. The road surfaces where very good.

Tuesday 29th June 350 miles
Another big one. Down through Luserne to the St Bernard Col before heading back
up through the Mt Blanc Tunnel.

Wednesday 30th June 110 miles
We decided to have rest this day. We did venture out to Nuechatel for some
retail therapy. A very pretty town with a nice lake front.

Thursday 1st July 180 miles.
Today we where to go up the Jungfraujoch on the mountain railway from
Grindelwald. All the way from Grund 3094ft through Kleine Scheidegg 6762ft to
the top station at 11363ft. Don't have a cigarette at the top. He lack of
oxygen makes you quite ill. Another truly brilliant place. Well worth the
190EU each. After coming back down we had a meal at the Grund Restaurant
before heading back to Gals.

Friday 2nd July 320 miles.
We had decided on Thursday evening that instead of having a rest day on Friday
before doing the 450 odd miles back up to Caen for the ferry we instead head
up towards Paris and get a hotel for the night. This would allow us to visit
Hornfluer on sat for tea. We where packed and departed at about 10:00. A
leisurely pace put of Switzerland saw us at the border. Here we stopped for a
coffee and to purchase some Swiss chocolates. We then headed up to Besancon
where we stopped for another coffee and a bite to eat. We where glad that we
didn't have to do the 450 miles in one go. It allowed us a far more leisurely
day. From here we headed towards the AutoRoute. The A36 followed by the A6
found us in Evry again at about 17:00. We decided to stay in the same Ibis
hotel as the previous Friday night. This saved us searching for a decent
hotel. We had a nice relaxed evening. A meal was followed by an hour or so in
the bar before we crashed out for the night.

Sat 3rd July 330 miles
We head off north end then west to bypass Paris. We where aiming for the
harbour of Hornfleur.  A very nice place indeed. We had lunch, chilled out for
a while before heading to Caen to catch the fastcat to Portsmouth. We arrived
back in blighty at 23:30 and headed back home to arrive at 02:30 after
stopping for petrol and coffee at Membury services on the M4.



- --
SimonB


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End of st-digest V2004 #363
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