Bikepacking - Mulhouse (Fr) to Sursee (Ch)

Day #

11

State of Legs

:-)

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	Distance (miles)	Distance (km)	Ascent (feet)	Ascent (metres)	Punctures
Today	86 miles	km	3219 feet	metres	0
Trip Totals	649 miles	km	26166 feet	metres	0

Today's Route

Route So Far

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Travelogue

I'm in Switzerland! I can't quite believe it, but it's true. After 11 days and with only one rest day, I've cycled all the way from home near London to Switzerland. And not just over the Swiss border! I actually managed to get myself a good 60 miles into Switzerland after what can only be described as an epic day of cycling.

There aren't many campsites on my route across Switzerland and when planning this stage during my rest day in Neufchateau, I'd had to consider how to break up the journey around the possible places to camp. Ultimately I could either start with a relatively short ride and camp just outside Basel, followed by a longer day to get me to Lucerne (or in fact break the journey to Lucerne into three days) or a long day followed by a short day. I went for the latter, liking the idea of pushing on and earning myself a leisurely day afterwards. So my destination was to be Sursee in Switzerland, which as it turned out required 86 miles of cycling. On a heavy bike. Have I mentioned this bike is quite heavy? Well it is. Oh, and there were some brutally steep hills on this part of the route too!

I got up early (just for a change), went through my usual routine and soon had the tent down, the bike loaded up and was cycling out of Mulhouse. Or at least trying. Fairly early on, the Gods of Bikepacking put my patience to the test. The Gods of GPS may have had a hand in it as well. First, I found my planned route was physically blocked by a temporary fence. Then I went round in a few circles, trying to get out of the city and seemingly trapped between a system of roads, footpaths and a canal. I was getting puzzling information from my smartphone GPS app. I investigated and found that the smartphone GPS was delivering low quality location data and the compass was way off so that the direction indicated was all over the place. I re-calibrated the compass (and maybe my brain too) and the GPS app started behaving rationally again and I did escape Mulhouse in the end. Hooray!

Having escaped the city, a good 15 miles or so were then spent on a wonderful cycle path that ran through woodland and alongside a river. Signs indicating I was on Eurovelo route EV5 started to appear. Great! Because EV5 was to be my route right across Switzerland!

A form of transport I'd hoped to never see used again in Europe :-(

The amazing cycle path - former railway line perhaps?

Eurovelo routes EV5, EV6 and EV15 shown sign-posted here

As I got close to Basel, but still in France, it turned into a kind of industrial zone. Not attractive and not the nicest place to cycle, with warning signs about trucks everywhere! But, it was a Sunday and happily it was quiet.

I went round a bend in the road and before me was the border control checkpoint for entering Switzerland!

Swiss border control!

I stopped and got my documentation ready. My passport. My Covid vaccination records. Details of the accommodation I'd booked in advance. I prepared myself to answer questions about the purpose of my visit. 

I remounted The Mule and proceeded towards the border control kiosks. And found that they were empty! At least on this day, the border was unmanned and I glided into the city of Basel in Switzerland unimpeded by bureaucracy of any sort!

Basel. That's in Switzerland, right? OMG! I'm in Switzerand! :-)

I rode on through Basel, stopping here and there to take photos.

Most def, reclaim the city! Ride those bikes!

I headed out of the city and was soon making progress. To begin with, I passed through a series of small towns. It wasn't particularly scenic and I was surprised at how much concrete there was in some of these towns, especially with their usual backdrop of attractive green hills.

Soon, I started to see brown signs with blue and white numbers on them and I would grow very fond of these signs! Eurovelo EV5 passes along the Swiss National Cycling Network Route #3 which is known as the "North to South Route". It's well signed and I became less and less reliant on GPS and my own trusty notes for navigation.

In Liestal, a town along EV5/Route 3

Eventually, I found myself in countrywide and the landscape really started to look and *sound* Swiss. Yes, I could hear cowbells clanging as I cycled past meadows! It sounds lame but it was such a thrill to be reminded once again that I'M IN SWITZERLAND! All I needed next was to pass a Toblerone Farm (they grow them, honestly) or a Cuckoo Clock factory and I'd be all set! 

Cliches aside, the countryside was lovely. Bright and green with gently undulating roads. 

Still on route 3. Reassuring!

My legs have been rated green every day of this trip so far. But it was beginning to look like today might be the day they got awarded a rating of amber (whatever that means!). About 50 miles into my 86 mile ride, I started to feel tired. Not "OMG I can't go on" tired, just weakening. Not surprising of course. But most of the route so far had been fairly flat and I'd read that somewhere ahead of me it got "get off your bike and struggle to push it up hill" steep. That's pretty steep. So with weakening legs on the easier section, I was a bit concerned.

I stopped and sat in the grass to have a break and I ate most of the food I had with me. Some bread, left over from last night. Some dried fruit and nuts. And I had a good drink of water. I felt a little better but it was no miracle cure.

On I went. And all of a sudden the terrain changed dramatically. It got *steep*. The climbs were not long here but they were steep. Bottom gear. Pushing hard just to keep moving. I saw lots of people on e-Bikes. I think I know why!

It being a Sunday, almost everything in Switzerland is shut. I had no chance of buying more food or a nice, sugary drink. Only petrol (gas) stations seemed to be open and only a few of them had attached shops. There were none of these anywhere near here.

As I laboured up a steep section and around a corner, like an oasis in the desert, there was a bar! And it was open! Motorcycles and a couple of bikes were parked outside and people were at tables eating and drinking! I parked and ordered the Elixir of Cycling. A bottle of Coke. None of that Diet nonsense. No, Full Sugar Coke. If there'd been a Coke With Extra Added Sugar, I'd have bought that! It was icy cold and I drank it slowly. I quickly felt better. Refreshed but also energised. Thank you Coca-cola Company!

While I sat drinking, a Swiss man came and sat next to me. Close. And spoke to me in German. I had no idea what he was saying as I know even less German than I do French. It felt like the time you find yourself say next to a lunatic (no offence intended) on the train. What did he want? Why the lack of any appreciation of the concept of Personal Space?!

He took off one of his shoes. And showed me the sole. Even stranger.

He gestured, a kind of rotating motion.

And then the penny dropped. The bizarre game of international charades could be won!

He was asking if I had a tool that would let him remove the plate in his shoes that hid the connecting point for cleats on his bike. Or something along those lines. I rummaged in my bag and found my bike multi-tool and watched him find the right allen key and set to work.

He talked at me constantly throughout despite the fact that I very evidently had no idea what he was talking about! But, a good deed was done and he smiled and waved when I eventually left.

All that I needed before leaving was water and that was to be obtained from the fresh spring water filling the stone trough outside the bar. Lovely and cool it was too!

My bike's over on the left

I continued on my way. After a number of short but steep climbs, I eventually hit what I imagine was the climb I'd read about. It was *long enough* and very steep. I don't have numbers but comparing it with hills from home I'd say easily 15%. On a heavy bike. Etc. Near the start, I was joined by a Swiss cyclist on his road bike. Despite our efforts and the heat, we were able to have a long chat (long because it was a long climb!) which passed the time and took my mind off the work I was having to do. I asked if it was all like this between here and my destination about 30 miles away (thinking OMG, if it is I'll never make it!). Happily, his answer was that it was not and that we were currently crossing a "small mountain range". Phew! Oh and sure enough, per the descriptions I'd read, we did pass another bikepacker pushing his bike up the hill!

Guess where the big, steep climb was.....

At what was evidently the top of this series of climbs, my planned route changed to an off-road, stony section. It looked like a steep descent, directly down a valley. My legs had been revitalised by the wonders of Coca-cola but my mind was still a little fatigued and I didn't fancy this descent, especially with how poorly the bike handles on stony trails (the front wheel likes to do its own thing if you're not very careful). So, I looked at the map and opted to stay on the road and take a longer way around but with reliable tarmac under my wheels.

At the top - You may be able to make out the lowlands in the distance

The descent was exhilarating. Steep, fast and with hairpin bends. It was at the first of these that I discovered that in Switzerland, they don't bother with those black and white chevron signs to indicate that a bend is a sharp one! Gulp! Luckily, with new brake pads on the bike, it responded well to my almost-emergency braking and I lived to tell the tale! Bends from that point on were approached with a little more caution! :-)

The remainder of the ride was uneventful and always enjoyable with a healthy slice of several miles of gravel trail towards the end. I had to detour once when it turned out the trail was closed, but that was all that really happened. My legs were totally back though, which was pretty amazing.

Trail closed!

A covered wooden bridge - how cute!

Route three and my destination, Sursee - nearly there!

Mile after mile of traffic-free gravel

As I got close to my destination, I wondered if tonight would be the night I broke into the emergency bag of nuts and dehydrated potato I had brought with me, just in case! Every supermarket I passed was closed! But about a mile from the campsite, I saw a petrol station with a small supermarket attached. You have no idea how pleased I was to see it! I went inside, bought Swiss bread, Swiss cheese, lemon tea and other things I fancied including a cinnamon roll that I basically craved and had to have right now! And so I did. More hungry than I realised.

It was with no little pleasure that I eventually saw the campsite, checked in and pitched my tent alongside one other (the site seemed mostly to cater for camper vans) around the back of their wood shed. I set up the tent, had very welcome shower and tucked into my food. Swiss bread is yummy btw and easily gives French bread a run for its money!

The campsite!

After eating, I lay down in my tent to read.... and within about 10 minutes was fast asleep! This was at about 7pm at the latest I think! I woke up at about 9:30pm after the deepest nap I can ever remember having! And about half an hour later... I was asleep again. I guess that's what an epic day of cycling does for you :-)