Stage 15 - Climbing to new heights

Today's route: 68 Miles 

Wassen -> Vira (Lake Maggiore,Switz)

Ascend: 1325m Descend 1857m

Today's stage has given me sleepless nights for a while now. It has taken a longtime to build up my ability to cycle longer rides, managing more than 50 miles in one day was a huge achievement for me only six months ago. Even then, I didn't enjoy cycling up hills. 

It was only 2 months ago, coached and accompanied by my good friend and keen cyclist - Grant Woodthorpe, that I cycled my first "100 miler", London to Brighton AND back, over the South downs and Surrey Hills. 

Upon finishing that day, I started to believe that the Alps just might be possible, but It was to remain an unknown....until today. A day of reckoning. 

Stationed at Wassen for the night, we were already at an altitude of 900m after the exertions of the previous day. We said goodbye to our latest new friends....a gaggle of  generous German bikers, and set off. 

Immediately upon leaving there was a 13 mile, non stop 1,200 metre climb, (no downhill) to the top of the Gottard pass. Quite simply, horrific. 

Graham accompanied me for the first 400m, he did not intend to complete the climb, but was keen to support me for as long as he could and to get a taste of it. Dominique dutifully scooped him up into the support car. They both then followed my progress, shouting encouragement at regular intervals. 

What does climbing like this feel like ?  Well, Imagine getting on an exercise bike and setting it to hardest level , then setting the timer to 2 and half hours.  That's what it feels like. Horrific. 

After 2 hours and now at 1850m, still with 250m left to climb, I paused to take this shot. You can see the pass I had been climbing in the background. 

There was to be another half an hour of  climbing and digging deep. I had all manner of things going through my head, Clive's name was mentioned more than once. 

Finally, after 2hrs and 20 mins I reached the top, had a bit of a large sob and stumbled into the waiting arms of Dominique. 

What a feeling. I had reached new heights. It was possible. Just. 

Time for the glory shot:- 

After a brief celebration, and drying our eyes, it was time for the 55 mile, 1900 metre descent.  Which looked like this:-

Graham rejoined me, it was fast and a little dangerous, >50mph in places, but a lot of fun...similar to skiing. Here's a no handed selfy of us both on the way down:- 

I found the last 10 miles into Lake Maggiore a real struggle, exhaustion was setting in a little, so I just stayed on the back of Grays wheel and kept plodding on.   Thank heavens Graham came out to the Alps and thank heavens that his wonderful wife Helen gave him permission to neglect his family for another weekend in order to support the tour. Thank you Mrs Stokes, you are an angel. xx

We reached the hotel with enough time for Graham to have a shower and us to share a quick beer before he set off for the Airport. 

Dominique and I then had dinner under the stars, overlooking Lake Maggiore, and struggled to take in everything that has happened over the last two days. 

And tomorrow?  A mere 55 mile bike ride around Lake Lugano, final destination : Lake Como, where MY PARENTS will be waiting to greet us both!!!

We can't wait to see my Mum and Dad, they have been holidaying at Lake Como for the last two weeks celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Golden times indeed. 

Until tomorrow, Brett x

Stage 14 - Stunning Switzerland and a group of generous German bikers

Today's route: 72 Miles 

Sursee -> Wassen (Switzerland)

Ascend: 950m, Descend 550m

What a day. Unbelievable. I'm gonna let the pictures do most of the talking tonight, as they speak for themselves. 

We said our goodbyes to another one of our new friends. "Mario". Hey, Mario..

Graham was a bit rusty, he nearly pulled his calf getting on the bike! Here's nurse Dominique in action again with the magic spray. 

We made our way out of Sursee with a couple of 150m climbs, which soon woke both Graham and I up. It wasn't long before we were taking in breathtaking scenery around Lake Sempach. 

As you can see it was sunny and warm, conditions were perfect. Graham was riding Clive's bike so we had to take precautions, luckily we procured a back up the night before. 

We worked our way down to the centre of Lucerne, and then rode for 30 miles around the Lake, simply breathtaking. 

Before meeting Dominiqe for lunch I had time for a quick "Rocky" moment on a well positioned hillock. "ADRIENNE!"

 

We all had Rösti for lunch, Graham and I even had time for a couple of beers

We then caught the ferry over lake Lucerne to Gersau to pick up the  cycleable route around the Eastern side of the lake en route to Wassen. 

After landing in Gersau, there were 30 miles left and a 400m climb over the last 10 miles into Wassen (altitude 950m). The mountains were all around now. 

I climed up through here (shot looking back at the climb) 

As we walked into the hotel, we bumped into a group of German bikers from The Black Forest on a tour who asked us about our story. After a brief huddle, they turned around and presented us with a generous donation for Clive's fund. Here they are:- 

What a way to finish the day, faith in humanity has now been completely restored. 

Tomorrow, we climb to the top ofthe highest   peak of tour. A 1200m ascent takes us to an altitude of 2100m after cycling for only 25kms. Then we descend 2000m during the next 80km down to Lake Maggiore, it will be like skiing, we may hit 60mph. 

Bis Morgen , Brett x

Stage 13 - Meet THE Kumar and a surprise!

Stage 13 Rest day - Sursee

Distance 0 miles

Another rest day I hear you say? What's this, some sort of jolly holiday?  Nothing of the sort I'm afraid. It's a preparation, refuelling day ahead of the big climb up the Alps over the next 3 days, which culminates with a big descent into Lake Como. 

802 miles now covered, about 1200 to go.  Tomorrow is going to be beautiful as we travel around lake Lucerne, with a ferry crossing too!  

Tomorrows route, split into two stages:-

Stage 1 (taking us to the ferry) http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=599069

Stage 2 - Climb to Wassen at 900m 

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=599085

Today was spent eating as much as possible and enjoying the local Spa. 

At the Spa I met Kumar.....

Kumar is a Biology student, who mastered in physiotherapy in 1974, he also specialises in Chinese medicine . He treated Indira Gandhi 6 times in 1979 when she had neck issues, (so he told me). After promising me that I was about to experience the best stretches of my life, he proceeded to inflict severe pain, but in a very reassuring manner.  After discovering my knee and IT band niggles , he used his latest shock wave therapy machine on me...see him holding it in picture. It did the job. Legs fixed, I think.

Thanks Kumar. 

Dominique arrived at 5:47pm which is a great morale boost, she will drive the support car for the next three days down to Como. She quickly changed the dressing on my arm, (I was being a bit of a wuss about it) and then we caught up over an amazing meal, made by Mario and his team at the lovely Italian restaurant attached to our hotel, see me photobombing them here:-

Mario, the owner is a big Ferrari fan, my bike is in his garage next to spotless Ferrari. Check out his hotel toilets:- 

And the surprise? I will now be accompanied by Graham Stokes!  Who has this evening made a surprise comeback to the tour by turning up at Sursee, flying out of London at the last minute!  He will ride Clive's bike for as much as he can over the next two days. Lets see what he has left in the tank after his heroics from last week .

We set off at 9:30an tomorrow, 75 miles, some climbing, and some magic scenery around lake Lucerne. Plenty of great pics to come hopefully.  We will finish at an altitude of 900m, with the big climb upto 2100m (the highest point on the tour) to come on Sunday. 

One last mention has to go to my nephew Alex Cook who rode the first four days with me down to Brussels. He starts his first day at Nottingham university today.  Best of luck Alex, you are making your family very proud, especially your Mum and Dad. X 

Til tomorrow ....Brett 

Stage 12 Two wrong turns and a trip to A & E

Today's route: 101 Miles (after detour) 

Mulhouse -> Sursee (Switzerland)

Ascend: 1150m, Descend 905m

I got a great nights sleep and felt recharged enough for the difficult day ahead: Long distance with big climb. 

Domenico and I met at 7:15am for breakfast, keen to make an early start as he needed to be at Zurich airport by 7pm. Zurich airport is 90 minutes by train from today's destination: Sursee, Switzerland.  So we aimed to get to Sursee by 4pm to allow wiggle room on timing. 

I made great progress early doors, managing to exit Mulhouse quickly during their early morning rush our. The sun was shining (at last) and I had the wind on my back. All was good. I was even feeling a little smug as I had found a short cut on the planned route shown by the Nav on my handlebars. 

That little short cut turned out to be the first of the days wrong turns. In trying to be clever, I ended up traveling 9 miles in the wrong direction, realising late, I turned around. The days stage had automatically been lengthened from 83 to 101 miles . 

Trying to put that behind me I powered on. I met Domenco after about 40 miles, refilled my water bottles and applied the sun cream that he had kindly sourced for me. 

I crossed the river into Basle and entered Germany again:- 

Then hung a right after 1 mile and crossed the Swiss border: 

It wasn't long before I was out of Basel, and heading out into the mountains of Switzerland. 

I even stumbled across a garage which could repair my "F" niggles. 

Then I took my second wrong turn of the day. 

I was 75 miles in and following the sat nav religiously. I had to turn right at 90 degrees onto a canal path, so did so without looking ahead. Out of nowhere appeared a deep gravel crossing before the canal path. I didn't stand a chance.  I had a split second to think before landing heavily on my right elbow and leg in a cloud of gravel. 

Two women, out waking their dogs, came to my aid and were very concerned. They checked me for head injuries before I explained that I was English, on a tour, and with my mind rapidly turning to the blog opportunity, immediately requested a photo. 

The Swiss lady "Pier", cleaned my wounds with wet wipes that she had in her car and told me I had to go to hospital ASAP due to the large amount of gravel still stuck in my deep wound (Zoom in if you haven't eaten already).  Pier was interested in the ride, so I gave  her details of the blog site. So if you are reading Pier, thank you again. 

I phoned Domenico, he met me and also tried to clean me up as best he could. After applying Petes bandage from his nose injury, I proceeded to soldier on.

Then came the days big climb. 500m over only 6km. For Maldon readers, that is like going up 10 market hills back to back. 

Once at the top, I could see Sursee 30 miles below. I descended at speed (top speed 51mph) down the valley and finally made it into Sursee at 4:20pm.  101 miles completed, 1150 meters climbed, and a new injury. 

Domenico and I had time for a beer, he helped me check into the hotel (read carried all my luggage again for me), then I dropped him off at the station, we man hugged and said our goodbyes. 

What a top tour support driver Domenico was. Plenty of laughs, and always there. Tks mate. 

I then set off to A&E at Sursee hospital. Supreme efficiency in motion. They saw me immediately, and after a good look at my wound, "Hans" and his soft hands went to work. See here: 

He administered a local anaesthetic and then managed to remove 10 large bits of grit from my elbow. I was all done in 30 Mins.  Not bad for CHF 110. 

What an eventful day. Lessons learnt. 

I'll make sure to look ahead a bit more, especially at speed, and also try to work a little more on my erratic navigation skills. 

Having just nailed a pizza AND spaghetti bolognaise AND a bottle of red, I feel very sleepy all of a sudden. Thank god I'm in bed already .  Fortunately I have a rest day again tomorrow, ahead of the big big climbs to come in the days ahead and another support driver change. Dominique is coming back! 

Until then. Brett x

Stage 11 Alone on the Rhein

Today's route: 97 Miles ( after detour) 

Strasbourg . -> Mullhouse 

Ascend: 250m, Descend 150m

First the good news, the bad weather had blown through overnight, which changed the forecast for the day to just "showers", interspersed with sunshine. 

I still required full wet weather gear unfortunately, and sure enough, as I set off, it poured down.  Wind direction was now a northerly, which meant I was going to be facing a 10-15 mph headwind all day as I would be cycling south along the Rhein. 

I was riding solo for the first time as the next co rider will not be joining me until I reach Milan. Domenico (support driver for today and tomorrow), felt sorry for me, so decided to raise my spirits. He parked up and joined me on Clive's Bike for about 5 miles before riding back to the support car, Here he is in action:-

About 7 miles into the days ride, on the east side of the Rhine (the German side of the border), I was riding along the top of the levy making good progress despite the wind.   Then I came across a big problem. 

I had put faith in the German side of the border having better roads down to Mulhouse, but it seemed the Germans were half way through a huge repair to the levy , hence my route became impassable. After a chat with the local workmen in Franglais/German, I realised that I would have to double back about 10 miles and cross the Rhine again further south. This increased the distance for the day from 86 to 97 miles. It's quite soul destroying heading back the same way you came from too. 

The bridge I used to eventually cross the Rhein was effectively motorway, I had to squeeze my bike down the very narrow path available to the side of the barriers - over the whole length of it - not pleasant. 

So who would of thought it eh? I was undone by the German side having poorer roads than the French side, it's a funny world. Which is where I now seemed to be heading. 

The rest of the journey down the Rhine was fairly uneventful, the overriding thought going through my mind was cursing the headwind that was taking a lot out of me.  The mountains of the black forest to my left were a welcome distraction to the monotony of a lengthy flat ride. 

By the end of today's long ride I seemed  to have picked up a few new niggles in my hands and knees. I am hopeful that they are nothing too serious.  

Going to have to sign off for tonight, I badly need to sleep. I'm absolutely shattered after today's long ride, 9:30 am - 5:30 pm, with just an hour for lunch. Into that damn wind. I think Im the most tired I've been since the trip started. 

Night. Brett x

Til tomorrow Brett x 

Stage 10 Rest day - New Driver

Stage 10 Rest day - Strasborg,

Distance 0 miles

Thank goodness it's a rest day today. Here's a very happy me in a selfy this am:

The thing about rest days is that they are not too eventful, lets be honest, it's going to be a bit tricky to fully engage  the "Clive remembrance tour" blog audience. I'll try my best.  

Firstly, another £1000 has been donated in the last few days, from friends and family of all those that have ridden so far as well as complete strangers that we bump into along the way. There have now been 180 separate donations. Each rise in the total gives me a huge morale boost, thank you so much ...yet again. 

Now, some facts and figures of the tour so far.:-

1. Distance covered: 654 miles

2. Countries: 5 (excludes Chatham)

3. Rain days: 8 out of 10

4. Rest days: 2 out of 10

5. Cycling on rain days: 7 out of 8

6. Height climbed: 7,157 metres.-  This is the equivalent of cycling up Kilimanjaro, then sauntering up Ben Nevis. 

7. Gruffalo sightings have risen to 7, but there are still no confirmed reports. 

8. Weather forecast for tomorrow: RAIN

9. Tomorrows distance: 87 miles

10: Tomorrows destination: Mulhouse, here is the (expected) route : 

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=607768 - cycling along The Rhine River on the French/German border. I've elected for the German side as the roads are better. 

There is talk of the weather clearing by the weekend, it had better, because the Alps are getting closer and they will be hard enough on their own.  My biggest climb of the tour comes this Sunday when i will climb to 2100 metres, with a 1200 ascent in only 25km.  It will be horrific. Lets not think about it for now. 

I went to the spa after breakfast and spent two hours there, closely followed  by a sleep. I re-awoke at 1.30pm and wandered into Strasbourg city centre. Strasbourg is beautiful, the buildings incredibly historic, whilst the cathedral has to be considered jaw dropping. 

I wandered around, had a bratwurst, and loaded up on as much pasta as I could. Then set off, in the tour support car, to pick up Domenico Avellini from Strasborg international airport. As you know, navigation is one of my strong points, checking the signs, it looked right to me. 

Domenico went straight into support driver mode when we got back to the hotel, helping me change tyres on my bike, fitting the kit back on from Clive's bike after yesterday's switch over, and having a good look at tomorrow's route with me over dinner. Here he is enjoying a beer with me tonight. Would you trust him? 

He's a top guy, and has already had me in stitches. He'll be driving the support car for the next two days down into Sursee (Switzerland). More about Domenico in the coming days.

Despite having Domenico, I have no co rider with me for the first time since the tour started 10 days ago, I will be "solo" now all the way until Milan in 9 days from now. 

Thank you again....Roger Webb, Angie Cruise, Simon Spong, Graham Stokes, Alex cook, Stuart Cook, Paul Rushton, Domenico Avellini, Stephen lee, Darren Heatley, Grant Woodthorpe and Mike Staveley for riding alongside and effectively catapulting me as far as Strasbourg. 

Until tomorrow, let it be a little less wet than yesterday. Please? 

Brett x

Stage 9 - Into the Storm

Today's Route 63 Miles

Hellimer - Strasbourg

Ascend 557 metres,Descend 686 metres

See map of route here:-  http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=611694

Last nights accommodation was a no frills two star guest house in Hellimer (aka the middle of nowhere - see yesterday's blog). The owners were friendly and helpful and kindly booked us in at the nearest restaurant 9km away for the evening. 

Breakfast sitting options were 6:30am or 9am as the owners had to complete the school run for their granddaughter who lived 25 miles away. 

We opted for 6:30am,  in order to be on the road by 8am and to ensure that we arrived in Strasbourg in time to allow Graham and Dominique to catch their Eurostar. 

Our spirits were high at breakfast , although mentally and physically we were feeling very tired. What a journey. 

Graham has been on an incredible journey himself to have got to this point. Six months of cycling, training on the roads of Essex with me, gradually stretching out distance, increasing speed and gaining fitness to make the prospect of cycling 320 miles in 4 days actually possible. He has been a good friend through the most difficult of times for me recently and It is a privilege to use this blog to thank him again, for listening (he's a good listener) and supporting me on this ride. 

We set off in full wet weather gear into a storm. The temperature was 12 degrees and we faced driving cold rain. There was no let up for the next 4 hours, in fact conditions worsened at some points. We tried to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, it felt like a proper test of our determination.  

Only about 10 miles in, and I suffered my first serious mechanical failure. The cable that controls my gear changes at the rear wheel snapped.  This left me only gears 18 and 27, way too high for the climbs ahead and to attempt to limp home, so we called Dominique in the support car and arranged to meet her 8 miles down the road in a town called Munster. 

This french chap was watching us struggle from the front gate of his house. 

We had to sneak a picture of him, have you ever seen anyone this French ? 

Clive's bike is on tour with us. Other than having a slightly larger frame, it is identical to my own. Given our lack of time to get to Strasbourg, we figured it would be quicker for me to switch onto Clive's bike, rather than attempt a by the side of the road cable switch in the driving rain, especially as Graham and I were soaked through to the skin and were already shaking in the cold at having to stop. 

We changed over the kit from my bike to Clive's (front and back lights, saddle and nav), adjusted the handle bars (Alex was riding it last) and we set off again.

It was very emotional riding Clive's bike today - he should have been riding it with me, I couldn't stop thinking about that fact. I nearly went after a few miles but held it together, however with about 10 miles to go before Strasbourg, I found myself having a proper blub about it all (still cycling of course).

I pulled myself together after a quick chat with Graham, and attacked the last part of the ride into Strasborg.  Due to the lost time, we were cutting it mightily fine again , and as we pulled into the hotel, Dominique was waiting with the taxi, ready to head off to the station.

She had got there early, checked all of the luggage in, GOT MY BIKE FIXED, and had Graham ship shape very quickly. 

You've got to love my wife, she's one in a million.x 

Graham just had time for a 5 minute shower, we had a very rushed goodbye and then they were gone. (My phone was wet - apols for the poor picture)

I will miss them both, although Dominique will be back with me as support driver for the weekend as I climb the Alps. 

My good friend Domenico Avellini joins me as the next tour support driver tomorrow evening , I have a rest day in between (Sports massage booked already!)

Off to sleep now, I need a solid 12 hrs. 

Brett x