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More ups than downs

An epic day of changing scenery today. We started by pootling into Lucerne. If you could picture an idyllic Swiss town this would be it: a castle, a clear river spanned by centuries old bridges, grand hotels in chocolate box style and architecture straight out of Swiss caricatures. And at the end of it lies an azure lake.

We rode the northern shore, pulling up to the ferry point just as one arrived, then drank in the views of the mountains plunging into the water. Swimmers, kayakers, yachties, paddle boarders – they were all out. And above, parascenders drifted gently down.

On the other side, tunnels with gallery-like views framed the moments. At one point the authorities must have deemed the road to narrow for bicycle traffic so without warning we find ourselves boarding a minibus to be transported to the next town, from where we could pedal off again.

Steve and I parted ways at Altdorf at the southern tip of the lake, Steve to catch a train on the long journey back to Karlsruhe and eventually the UK, and me to take on the Alps.

It’s been beyond my best expectations having Steve on the ride. A wise head full of wisecracks. Both are *essential* skills on a ride like this. From the first breakfast – where we found ourselves making the exact same choices – we opted for the same decisions at each step. It’s been a perfect time with you Steve, thanks mate!

I had to steel myself though. The climb ahead was an unrelenting 1000 vertical metres over something like 20kms. I didn’t take much video – I couldn’t! – so just put my head down and ground it out at a steady pace. I even ended up overtaking some of the racers I got mixed up in. Them with their super lightweight bikes, me with 25kg of bags.

Tomorrow I take on the Gotthard Pass, most likely the highest point of my entire adventure.