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Day 12
Leuk to Champex, Switzerland
Friday, August 12, 2005
Distance: 75.1 (605.6)
Elevation Climbed: 1,115 m (9,576 m)
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Day 12 - Leuk to Champex, SwitzerlandA round of applause from guests and the owner of our hotel sent us off this morning from Leuk and a chorus of bravos from drivers greeted us this evening in Champex as we reached our goal. In between was a day of extreme contrast: 60 kilometers of slightly descending flat grade along the Rhone River and then a brutal 20k climb (1,000 meters, 3,280 feet) up insanely tight and steep switch backs to the tiny village of Champex (population 100).The long flat prologue was not all easy riding. Somewhere in the middle of the extensive vineyards we traversed, a headwind suddenly picked up, slowing us down to a slow crawl for miles on end. Previously, long straight gravel roads wore us down a bit with their bumpiness and unpredictability. We took many breaks along the way, admiring the valley's scenic delights: mountains in the distance and vineyards and walnut, apple, or pear orchards stretching out between the small towns. At Martingy, a fairly large town, our group grew by one with the addition of Karl Wigert who despite having just taken a transatlantic flight and a train, immediately assumed his role as additional bike support. He arrived just in time for our climb from Martigny to Champex, a road whose twists were ridiculously frequent and numerous. Cars sharing our path didn't help since they often showed up at the moment one tried to avoid the steeper inside of the hairpin. Though the climb seemed to go on forever, thankfully. it didn't. We arrived in our twin wooden cabins where Nathan and Dana prepared a lovely meal of pesto pasta and avocado salad for the ravenous riders. Happily, we have a day off to enjoy the activities of the area and rest up some more. We had a head start with our nightly ritual of playing hearts, this time using two decks with eight players. The round of games went deep into the night. A special feature of the day: at some indefinable but noticeable point, we stopped hearing "Gutentag" and started hearing "Bonjour." The German town names (remember Leuk from the start of our day?) shifted to French ones (Martigny, Champex). This also translates to a great bonus in the culinary department, with our first bakery stop already promising good things to come with pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants), raspberry tarts, and coffee éclairs. As Nathan once said, unicycle tours are all about the food. Rider of the day: Andy Cotter Age: 36 Hometown: Hutchinson, Minnesota Perfect day: "Day 8. We climbed two passes, Grimsel and Furka with beautiful weather. I climbed up the Grimsel Pass without stopping. My second perfect day was the day we climbed Grosse Sheidegg, because I made it and it was a really hard climb. Even bicyclists are amazed that we did it." Hardest moment/day so far? "Doing the Oberalppass, because it was blasted ass cold, I was still wearing my shorts, the tube for my Camelbak was caught so I couldn't drink, I was getting hungry, I couldn't eat because my hands were getting numb, and I had a hang nail. It's all fun and games until you have a hang nail. I was totally soaked to the skin, and snow was sticking to me. And then there was a cow that tried to gore me (just kidding), and then it was really windy." Memorable training moment? "When I bonked on Kim's hill workout in St. Paul, MN and I made up an acronym for the llama farm, LAMB (Llama Association Member Bureau), and I thought it was so hilarious I couldn't stop laughing." Memorable Alpine sighting? "Looking down the Furkapass and seeing the intestinal roads of both Furka, and Grimselpass and later where we were staying that night next to a large green Alpine lake." Weirdest item in your Camelbak? "My ID tag, which has my name, where I live, and a bunch of phone numbers that probably won't be useful around here." Favorite Alpine Food? "Apfelsaft" (the German name of a sparkling apple juice). Favorite bathroom? "The one in Vaduz, Liechtenstein because you pushed the pedal on the floor to flush and once again to make it stop." Have you lost anything so far? "No. But I found lots of pretty flowers that I took pictures of." What do you do to get through the toughest part of the day? "It used to be music, it would always get me through. I don't really need it anymore. Now, it is focusing on the ride and eating lots of food. As many calories as I can take in really helps get me through." What size cranks are you going to use for most of the tour? "140s" Funniest moment so far? "Listening to John talk about life experiences, or reenact the tour." Quotes of the Day: "Insane. Insane!" -Karl on his first Alpine climb "Do you have a heart in a heartless world? Do you have compassion for the little ones.". -The beginning of Beau and John's saccharine song during a hearts game, the conclusion of which is too painful for publication |
Move your mouse over the images for a pop-up caption. Click on the image for a larger picture. Created: August 14, 2005 09:06
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