Day 12 – 95km – Liestal to Lucerne

The calm before the storm?

We had a training hill for the Alps first off. Thirty minutes of switchbacks reminding us we’re in Switzerland. We were glad to tackle it in the relative cool of the morning though.

From there on it was miles of gravel and tarmac through pretty towns and pre-Apline pastures.

At lunchtime we learnt – by the fact that all shops were closed – that it’s a Swiss public holiday. Managing to find groceries in a petrol station (shopping with the rest of the population, judging by the queues) we stopped on the shores of an azure lake, cooling off to eat lunch.

Tomorrow there’s a choice. We’re now within striking distance of The Big Climb I have to do in order to get over the Alps – the Gottard Pass. Steve is leaving tomorrow, so I lose my cycling buddy with his cool headed advice, and also head back to camping, since the economics of single rooms, especially in this country, don’t work.

I could camp at the bottom of the climb, in Altdorf. It would mean one massive day of climbing on Sunday then.

Or, I could attempt to tackle half the climb tomorrow afternoon, getting up 1000 vertical metres to camp at Andermatt.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each. A decision will be made related to our progress in the morning and how my legs feel when we reach Altdorf. Watch the “Where is Ben right now” link to find out which one we take.