3000 km Switzerland - Ridereport page 5

Friday, 27.07.01, the 11. day:

Out of the blocks and into the Val Verzasca. After the first part of the climb, Lago di Vogomo shows on the left…the dam wall was featured in the james bond movie „Golden Eye“.
The Bunjyjump through the starting sequence of the flick was done here.
And, of course, the views are impressive !!
Further up the valley towards Sonogno, along the way is the Ponte di Salti to the left, the 2 arcs of the beautiful old stone-bridge spanning the Verzasca.

As mentioned above, Ascona is a true gem, the prettiest town in Switzerland.
The old, narrow lanes, the promenade along the shore, the Mediterranean flair, the backdrop, the small restaurants and boutiques…. it’s just drop-dead gorgeous.
Certainly a good spot for an extended break and a cappuccino at one of the cafes along the promenade.
Back on the road, the tack south along the western shore to Cannobio, then up a narrow, but sweet, stretch along the Val Cannobina to Malesco. It’s narrow and tight with 100 bends a minute…pure genius!! What a cracker…

Into the Centovalli, turning into the Valle Maggia just short of Locarno, the road rising from barely 200m to 2400m past the Lago del Naret .

Along the steep climb are Cavergno and Fusio. But boy…it’s worth the effort! Past Lago Sambucco, the narrow track keeps climbing steeply to the Lago del Naret, where the road tapers out into walking tracks. As the crow flies, it’d be barely 10km to Airolo at the foot of the St. Gotthard Pass.

Returning into the valley, a herd of cows blocked the way, forcing us to yet another welcome break.

Along the way to Locarno, we dropped into one of the numerous, beautiful mountain villages of the Tessin area

…before hitting some rain on our way to Locarno.
Was it enough to climb into the rain gear ? Dietmar took the plunge and suited up, the rest of us just kept going…the drizzle stopped as we entered the small city, it was getting warm again and Dietmar was still wearing his rain gear, slowly melting away in the plastic skin.
Some dark clouds were still threatening, but NO, not a drop. With each set of lights, Dietmar peeled of bits and pieces, but it only finally came off completely at the campsite.
Yet another brilliant day!!

11. Day routing:

Tour files for download:

CH-3000kmSchweizTag11.kmz

CH-3000kmSchweizTag11.gpx

CH-3000kmSchweizTag11.itn

Saturday, 28.07.01, the 12. and last day:

Back home!
After breaking camp and stowing everything on the bikes it’s off to Bellinzona and up the
Valle Mesolcina to cross the San Bernadino Pass (2065 m) – yet another plum-ride for any biker. Sweeping bends, magnificent views…even on the downhill stretch following the Upper Rhein Valley into Splügen, and up the same-named pass. The Splügenpass (2113 m) had already been a staging point on the previous trip, no-way we’d skip that one!

A smorgasbord of bends leads across the border into Italy at the top, then more of the same downhill into Chiavenna.
A Winnebago displayed some problems, partially mastering the bends with 3-point turns…

Up the Bergell valley and the Maloja-Pass (1815 m)…which really is a one-way pass, as it doesn’t drop down again, but the top of the pass becoming the valley-floor of the Upper Engadin-Valley.
Past those sparkling lakes of the Engadin: Lake Sils , Lake Silvaplana, Lake Champfer and finally Lake St Moritz.

Through St. Moritz, Samedan, Zernez and Susch/Süs. At Giarsum a road leads uphill to Guarda, a typical Engadine-style village, the buildings are gorgeous.
The road keeps going via Bos-cha and Ardez up to Ftan, before returning to the main road just short of Scuol.
To finish off our big Swiss loop, it was through Pfunds and Prutz – with the customary side-trip across the Pillerhöhe (1558 m) - into the Pitz-Valley.

Via Imst, the Hahntennjoch (1903 m), the Lech Valley and the Gaichtpass (1093 m) into the Tannheimer-Valley, finishing with the Oberjochpass (1178 m) back into Sonthofen.

Last day routing:

Tour files for download:

CH-3000kmSchweizTag12.kmz

CH-3000kmSchweizTag12.gpx

CH-3000kmSchweizTag12.itn

Wrapup:

What a grand loop !!!
It came to nearly 3000km in total, the team of 4 proved a brilliant group once again.
Some parts/ roads were new to me…but to wrap it all into one loop was a hoot!!
And apart from those 2 days of rain at the start, even the weather played the part.
A really recommendable route, that shows off:

…Switzerland at it’s Best!!

…Scenery at a GRANDE scale!!

…Roads? The dream never stops!!

And here alls pics from the tour (also the once who are not included in the ridereport)

Ridereport for download:

E3000kmSchweiz.pdf

and here's the whole tour - view from satellite (google-earth-file):

Here again the whole tour in google-earth view.

In the left window of google-earth the single days are listed. They can be activated or deactivated individually. This gives you the possibility to have a closer look at each day!

CH-3000kmSchweiz-gesamt.kmz

Unterkunftsempfehlung:
Italien: Hotel Cristallo (Levico Terme)