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It took quite a while to navigate our way out of Basel today. With hindsight we should have chucked our bikes onto a tram that would take us to a southern suburb. But we didn't think of that till later.
The tram system in Basel is amazing. There's no point in running for one as the next one is only a couple of minutes behind. They have trams on tracks, trams with normal tyres powered from overhead lines and a network of bendy buses. The result if all this investment us that the city 'ticks' in a way that most UK cities don't.
An hour after leaving Basel the climbs started. We didn't go that far today but I think we climbed more than we've done since leaving Rotterdam. We climbed for over an hour on one ascent. There's nothing like a Swiss climb to get you sweating. I think we pushed sweat through pores we didn't know we had. If there was a place to test a dodgy knee this was it. I came through the test fine: the knee is better!
My hill training around St Chinian paid off. Felt strong. Jackie's lack of training should have been exposed, but she hung on grimly. She's very tough.
We've started dividing our lunch into two. We stop for a small first lunch at around 11:30, then stop for our second lunch at around 2 pm. This seems to work better. In between we nibble dried fruit and chocolate, (white if possible).
Lunch number one was taken on a bench in a small village. Close to where we sat was a guy who introduced himself to us as Harold. He was a fifty-something guy who was practicing his knife and tomahawk throwing. We chatted to him and he invited us to join him. He then proceeded to train us in how to throw these weapons with power and accuracy (Jenny and Simon beware not to tangle with us !). I think I could throw these weapons whilst riding my bike!
After the long climbs, the descents were exhilarating. The scenery was stunning. Very 'Switzerland '. The herds if cows could be heard a long way off with their jangling bells.
Whilst we were heading for somewhere further on, we ended up stopping at the first picturesque village we found. The beer was half the price of downtown Basel. At around £3 per 'big beer', we'd really landed on our feet!
Tomorrow we will pick up one if he Swiss velo routes, which will take us, eventually, all the way to Geneva.
- comments
Wolfie Is the map supposed to make sense?
Jill Harris This Harold guy seems to be popping up regularly - did he make his special coffee again? Just caught up with your blog - hope the knee holds up for you