Bikepacking - Rest Day 2 of 2 in Fluelen

Day #

14

State of Legs

:-)

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	Distance (miles)	Distance (km)	Ascent (feet)	Ascent (metres)	Punctures
Today	0 miles	km	0 feet	metres	0
Trip Totals	666 miles	km	26855 feet	metres	0

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Travelogue

Once again, today is about rest and relaxation. But more than anything, it's about preparation.

One of the most exciting parts of my route starts tomorrow. I plan to cross the Swiss Alps to Italy, no mean feat on a heavy touring bike like mine. Have I mentioned that the bike's heavy? Well it is.

Crossing the Swiss Alps is about more than ascending one mountain and descending down the other side. The mountain range is large and there are multiple climbs to tackle as you traverse them from one side to the other. From the bottom of the first major climb near my present location of Flüelen to the bottom of the last, a few miles beyond Bellinzona is about 100 miles. The profile of my entire route through Switzerland looks like this:

Flüelen is 8 miles from the bottom of the very obvious large climb  and marked with the first red dot on the profile illustration. The town of Andermatt is indicated by the second red dot, several thousand feet about Flüelen. Bellinzona is indicated by the third dot and as you can see, it lies immediately before a substantial climb of around 2,000 feet, most of which takes place in only a few miles and therefore we must assume it is very steep. After that climb it's largely downhill to the Italian border.

I plan to cross the Swiss Alps and get to Italy in three days. Tomorrow I'll tackle the largest climb and aim to get to Andermatt where I will camp for the night. Hopefully my legs will recover in time for the next day where I'll complete the ascent and will include the old cobbled road, the Tremola on my way to the Gotthard Pass. It's almost entirely downhill from there for about 40 miles to Bellinzona. I'll camp for one night in Bellinzona, tackle the final big climb the next morning and hopefully enter Italy later that day.

I'll be following Swiss Cycling Network Route 3 (AKA Eurovelo EV5) all the way. But one issue with EV5 in Switzerland is that I have been unable to find an official GPS (GPX/KML) file for the route which I could use in my preferred navigation app, Organic Maps. I do have something which I found on one of the cycling web sites but I think it was made by a cyclist, perhaps recording their own journey. I've used it as I have cycled through Switzerland and mostly it was accurate in that it followed the route as indicated by physical signs but sometimes it deviated. The signs have been so good for the Swiss Cycling Network Routes that I've used them as my primary navigation aid and only looked at the app from time to time to check or clarify.

I've read a few accounts of people attempting this route and none of them particularly filled me with confidence. There were tales of difficulty finding the right way and getting lost, having to repeat climbs on already tired legs. The traffic sounds like it can be heavy and the roads can be narrow. On top of that, higher up there's a series of long tunnels to get through, cycling uphill and perhaps with a long line of angry car drivers stuck behind you! Here's one example: https://www.my-bicycling-adventure.com/Gotthard-Pass.html#content_40849665#day5  

With that in mind, I really wanted to be sure about the route. I'd already found a website and mobile app called Swiss Mobility. The map and cycling routes are accurate but embedded. You can't export the GPS data for use in your own app. The app requires a mobile signal to work unless you pay 35 Swiss Francs for the "pro version". No thanks. The map is also incredibly busy and difficult to read. 

Happily, yesterday I discovered another app called Swisstopo. It's provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Topography so the data can be relied upon. The app is free and it allows you to download sections of the map for offline use! Beware that you may need a lot of storage space, but for me it's well worth it. I used about a gigabyte for a section of map that spans Flüelen to Bellinzona. 

I've been familiarising myself with the app. One feature I immediately liked is the fact that you can have the map rendered in grey with the cycling route staying in its customary blue. This makes it very easy to see. Here's a screen shot together with the corresponding screen from Organic Maps with the route I've been using loaded.

The Swisstopo app

Organic Maps with the route I found online

You can see here one example of how my "found route" deviates from the official route.

I'm really happy to have found a route map I can trust!

I started looking at the route properly this morning and used Google Streetview to examine the first few miles. I could see that the route quickly goes along a path by a river but I couldn't see how you got down to the river from the road. So I set off on foot for a quick survey! The river is only a couple of miles away if that.

I soon found the correct way to the river path using the Swisstopo app as I walked. And it's very well signed too. All very reassuring! I'll have enough on my plate just with the physical challenge without worrying about route finding too!

I took a few photos on my walk and a short video too. It's lovely around here!

This is where I'll start tomorrow

Crossing the river

The path passes under a road bridge

At the lake

Beautiful!

I was accosted by some very cute and fearless ducklings at the lake. I made a short video of them which quickly became a guided tour of their incredible duck pond!

So, the plan is this. I want to avoid the heat of the day if possible and It's likely to approach 30 degrees Celsius tomorrow. I want to avoid traffic if I can, especially in those horrible sounding tunnels. So I'm gong to make an early start and be on the road by about 5 a.m. The sun won't be up at that time but there should be light. An hour later the sun will have risen. I don't mind starting my way up the valley in less than full light. I'll have plenty of time (5 hours?) to enjoy splendid views later on!

OK, time to listen to music, read and watch movies!

Update: I've decided that after dinner, to get me in the right, determined frame of mind for tomorrow, I'm going to watch the documentary, Touching the Void. This is an incredible story and has some inspiring examples of how to accomplish *anything* no matter how steeply the odds are stacked against you. Can't hurt to get a little inspired, can it?