2003
Across the Alps
Daily Trip Log
Summer, 2003
All nights were in established campgrounds, unless otherwise stated.
May 30 – Landed in Munich. Train downtown wrestling bike boxes on/off trains & escalators. Stored boxes at Hauptbahnhof. Grabbed nearest Hotel. Kids awake all night. Ugh…
May 31 – 22 kms. Bern to Schwarzenburg. Trains Munich to Zurich to Bern. Unpacked boxes, built bikes, met Werner, stayed at his home.
June 1 – 63 kms. Schwarzenberg to Interlaken (Unterseen). Werner gives us a bike tune-up, raced to catch up with us and bought us lunch.. Lovely signed bike routes. Cows. Impeccable green fields. Camped Unterseen.
June 2 – 25 kms. Unterseen to Lauterbrunnen. Gorgeous quiet trail. Rainy arrival. Camping Jungfrau in this ridiculously scenic Yosemite-like valley.
June 3 & 4 – Trains, gondolas, easy rides and outrageous dayhikes! Kleine Shiedegg, Murren, Trummelbachfall, etc.
June 5 – 55 kms. Lauterbrunnen to Innertkirchen. Swam in beautiful Brienzersee. Great waterfalls!
June 6 – 34 kms. Innertkirchen to Ulrichen over the GRIMSEL PASS (2166m). Steep, hard, and wonderful! 5,000 foot elevation gain in 26kms. Started riding 8am, 3pm on summit! Took it slow, lots of kid-breaks, screaming fun descent!
June 7 – Layover day in Ulrichen. Kid’s parks, lazy rides, fondue fiasco…
June 8 – 58 kms. Ulrichen to Chiggiogna over NUFENEN PASS (2450m?). Astounding climb, sun & strudel up top, snow & rain on the descent! 3,000 foot gain over 13kms; riding by 7am, reached pass at 12 noon. Great campsite with pool! Need new brake pads already!
June 9 – 50 kms. ‘Chiggi’ to Bellinzona. Gorgeous valley… castles, churches, quiet roads… Lovely old town center.
June 10 – 27 kms. Bellinzona to Locarno. Eliza’s chicken pox explode. “5-star” camping costs US$50!!! At least there is a lake.
June 11 – layover in Locarno. Doctor visits, lots of swimming in Lago Maggiore.
June 12 – Locarno to Baveno (ferry), 25kms. Baveno to Lago di Orta. Fun boat ride. Welcome to Italy! Loved Orta; quieter, wilder, and less developed than Maggiore.
June 13 – 25 kms. Orta to Arona. Trains Arona-Sethia-Vercelli-Casale Monferrato. Decided to skip 100 degree heat across the sweaty Po Valley. World-class mosquitos in Casale; We ran screaming to a cheap hotel!
June 14 – 89 kms. Casale Mft. to Agliano Terme. Blazing hot and sunny. Gorgeous hilly wine country. Lots of gelato and wine sampling stops. Rode a cool 15 kms. after dark…
June 15 – 56 kms. Agliano to Ovada. More amazing wine country… Ancient hot spring in Aqui Terme. Plenty gelato! Hotel Vittorio.
June 16 & 17 – Ovada layovers. Day ride to the PIOTA River for swimming and picnic! Day trip by train to Genoa for fantastic Aquarium and old city wandering.
June 18 – met Karen’s mom and sister in Ovada. Explored great hill towns by car.
June 19 – Ovada to Varni to Genova by car, in search of ancestral family village! Train to Vernazza, Cinque Terre. Evening drinks beside ultra-scenic village harbor...
June 20 - Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola on foot. Great dayhike along spectacular (and popular) coastal trail. Swimming in the Mediterranean.... ahhhh....
June 21 - Trains to Tuscany, via Pisa. Bikes and trailers no problem in designated cars on 'regionale' trains. Met up with Paul's family at a rented house south of Florence.
June 21-27 - Exploring Tuscany... Florence streets and cafes, Uffizi, David, Assisi, San Gimgiano, bell towers, gelato, swimming pool, feasting on fine groceries and good cheap wine, etc...
June 28 - to Venice by train! Family took direct Eurostar, we took the triple train transport option as we needed 'regionale' trains that allow bicycles... slower, but no problem. Stored all gear at train station. Venice is amazing!
June 28-30 - Venice... by boat... on foot... wandering the unique ancient city.
July 1 - Farewells to our families, all heading in different directions. Venice to Bolzano by train. First view of Dolomites. Rode out of town to campground in blasting rainstorm!
July 2 - 28 kms. Bolzano to Suisi (Seiser Alm camping). Steep climb into outrageous mountain scenery. So wonderful to finally be cycling again after all that 'touring around' in big cities!!!
July 3 - 25 kms. Suisi to St.Cristiana. Long uphill through lovely villages and farms, over Passo Pinei (1400m), then steep descent to St. Ulrich. Karen tweaked her ankle here, so we holed up in a "Privat Zimmer"for rest and ice!
July 4 - 26 kms. St.Cristiana to Corvara. Injured Karen and kids took the bus. Spectacular climb towards the Sella group, pounding rain approaching Passo Gardena (2200m), sunshine for amazing descent to Colfasco camping. Luscious polenta and mushrooms for dinner!
July 5 - 23 kms. Corvara to Falzarego. Karen back on the bike to 'test' the ankle. She cranks all the way up Passo Valparola! Wild camping at Passo Falzarego.
July 6 - 27 kms. Passo Falzarego to Cortina. Watched Dolomiti Marathon at the pass all day. Afternoon zip downhill to Cortina. Met up with friends in town for drinks and dinner. Camped north of town.
July 7 - 4km... into Cortina. big riding day! Drei Zinnen dayhike. Joined friends with large van. Drove up to Auronzo Hutte for tasty dayhike around Tre Cime de Lavaredo. Dropped us with bikes at Misurina camping. Thanks Sean!.
July 8 - 75kms. Misurina to Lienz. Glorious downhill day through marvelous mountain scenery! Enjoyed old town Dobbacio, ate last Italian gelato and cappuccino, rejoiced on the 50kms of bike path downhill to Lienz! Great Falken camping.
July 9 - 51kms. Schladming to Bad Mitterndorf, after morning trains from Lienz-Bishofshofen-Schladming. Overcast and some rain, rolling through nice towns, mostly on bike paths and routes. Excellent evening ride along narrow reservoir after our steepest biked ascent... 26%! Short but painful! Dumpling feast in downpour at Knodl Alm!
July 10 - 35 kms. Bad Mitterndorf to Hallstatt. Cool scenic overcast ride through Bad Ausee, up steep gravel grade, then blazing downhill to Obertraun. Met Paul's parents for a feast... stayed indoors at lovely Pension Sarstein. Lake swims galore!
July 11 - Hallstatt exploration... salt mines, swimming, dayhikes, etc.
July 12 - 79kms. Hallstatt to Salzberg. Long semi-rainy ride, partly on bike paths, some on busy roads. Gorgeous lake scenery! Swam in Wolfgangsee. Exciting downhill blast dropping into Salzberg city limits! Rejoined Paul's parents. Excellent campsite, "panorama-stadtblick."
July 13-15 - Savoring Salzberg... White family joins us, kids are thrilled to have more playmates! Sound of Music site visits to fulfill Eliza's fanatasies. 2 hour music mass in Cathedral. Castles, museums, play-parks, bridges, palaces, fountains, and beer gardens... A very fun & welcoming city!
July 16 - 35 kms. Salzberg to Konigsee. Good bye to the White family. Afternoon ride to famous fiord-like lake. Throngs of tourists. Last boat of the day for quick swim and sightsee on the See. Set up tent in the dark, 30 seconds before downpour began. Great lightning show all night!
July 17 - 41 kms. Konigsee to Ruhmpolding. Beautiful mountains and canyons. Some busy narrow roads. Sunny midday, howling thunderstorms late afternoon! Soaked us, but sleeping bags and gear still dry in their low-tech Hefty garbage bags!
July 18 - 54 kms. Rumpy to Aschau. Nice rolling ride all day, mostly on bike paths and quieter roads. Great villages. Alps rise to our left, and flat Bavarian plains stretch out to our right. Wild cherries along route. Eliza has 'best' tantrum of the trip...
July 19 - 35 kms. Holzkirchen to Wolfratshausen, after trains Aschau - Rosenheim - Holzkirchen. Karen did gondola & morning peak hike with Sylvie. I packed camp and ate doner kebabs with Eliza. Train rides, then gorgeous cycling through villages, fields & forests. Hard to believe we are less than 15 miles from metropolis Munich... Excellent 'Haxn Alm' restaurant in our friendly municipal campsite! Big roast pig legs and tasty weisse beer! Bavariaaah!
July 20 - 25 kms. Wolfrats to Starnberg. Great rolling green terrain, with views south to the Alps. Half the ride along StarnbergSee, with rough gravel radweg (bike path). Swimming galore at lakefront beer garden. Rejoined White family & Bay Area friends for their band's evening outdoor concert. Camped in Sven's uncle's backyard.
July 21 - 22 Touring Munich... Bikes on the S-Bahn to get to 'downtown' Munich camping. So green with mature trees! Plenty of rainstorms. An awesome city! Deutsches Museum, fountains, church tower climb, beer halls, markets, and play parks. Paul scrambles to find cardboard bike boxes... visits 5 shops... finally gets boxes... midnight rainstorm with high winds at campground almost destroys them!
July 23 - Departure day! So sad that it's over... Drying the fragile boxes, U and S-Bahns to the airport with friends. They rent a car to continue their Europe trip, while we dismantle bikes and trailers and pack 'em into boxes... Lots of twine and packing tape. 3 big boxes, and just 2 duffels. Board Lufthansa with no window seats, but still got some ridiculous views of icebergs and glaciers in Greenland & Baffin. Home to California! hmmm... what's next?
July 20 - Wol
To be continued….