04/08/19
124.31 Miles
9:31:55 Moving Time
8,504ft Gained
13mph Average Speed
I had planned this to be my ‘easy’ day. As much as you can take it easy while cycling through the Alps.
Waking up around 7am was luxury, and I even turned over and went back to sleep for an extra 20 minutes. This was something I shouldnt have really been doing during a race, but I didnt care in the moment, I was going to savour this.
I waddled down the stairs with my kit and even managed to get breakfast. Usually I left places before the breakfast was put out, so another advantage of having a lie in was that I could make the most of the buffet breakfast and I certainly did just that.
Eggs, bread, toast, cheese, coffee, eggs, coffee, bread, jam and some more bread to take with me in my jersey pockets.
The riding started with a tough short and steep climb out of the village, then what I thought was a gradual 30 mile descent. It was good for the first 10 miles or so, then I had some off road.
While planning the route, the TCR organisers ban certain roads and tunnels, understandably because they are dangerous and they don’t want riders on them for safety reasons and I was more than happy to go along with this, favouring quieter routes. In the alps as there aren’t many roads to choose from through certain valleys, sometimes the only option to avoid a tunnel is to take an off road track. So I doubled checked my GPS and headed down a rather steep off road track and fought with the bike to keep upright. I passed a few walkers and smiled and they just looked at me as if I was a bit crazy to be on this track.
Anyway, I re-joined the road after a few miles and that was the off road for the day, so not bad at all and it was nice to change things up slightly.
Riding through one village, I started to smell chocolate. I didn’t know whether this was just a craving for sugar on my behalf or what. I turned a few corners and right in front of me was the Milka factory. My word. The smell was like being surround by melting chocolate and my imagination got the better of me, thinking inside the factory was just like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, with rivers of chocolate. I needed some food.
Reaching the valley road, I passed through the border into Liechtenstein, which was extremely quiet for some reason. The sun was out, the gardens were perfect and the streets were impeccably clean. This is now my lasting memory of the country as it is all that I saw on my quick cycle through this very small country. Oh, also a well stocked shop with some tasty iced coffee and obviously some Milka chocolate.
Crossing into Switzerland saw me cycle some cycle paths along the Rhine for a while which was a nice change to not having to think about cars and just zone out.
The cycle paths ended and climbing resumed. The next major pass was the Oberalppass. The climb went on for around 40 mile from the first incline and what started out as a gradual climb, turned into some steep hairpin bends. I was climbing it in late afternoon, so luckily the road was not too busy and only a few cyclists and motorbikes were on the pass.
About half way up a guy on a MTB passed me, going downhill in the other direction. Around 30 minutes later he zoomed past me, then I noticed it was an electric MTB. Another 20 minutes later, I saw the same guy sat in a cafe enjoying a beer. I started to get a little angry and envious at this man. I definitely had too much time to think about pointless things in this race, the small things were starting to annoy me for no reason.
Another 20 minutes passed and this guy on the E-Bike caught up with me again and introduced himself. We chatted all the way to the top and he explained he was on a family holiday and had just hired the bike for the day to ride up the pass. He was a lovely guy and the chat saw me reach the top of the pass.
After a few photos, we said our farewells and I went downhill ahead as his MTB tyres were pretty slow on the road downhill. It was a nice distraction to meet this guy (whose name I cant remember unfortunately) and have a normal chat without rushing, something that I hadn’t done face to face for a while.
The descent was one of the best of the race so far. It was steep, with plenty of hairpins and the sun setting over the alps was something else. As it was sunset, by the time I reached Andermatt I was freezing, even fully layered up. So I went in search for somewhere to stay as sleeping outside at 1500 meters altitude in the Alps probably wasn’t the greatest of ideas. Even if I was in Switzerland and it was going to be pricier than I would have liked.
I managed to find the cheapest place in town and a place to eat. A shorter day today for my ‘easy’ day and I felt much better for it. My body was in a good physical and mental place, ready to tackle the rest of the race.
Jordan Matthews 