swisstim

haven't been on for a bit, as i've been out and about on that bike thingy. Had to pop on to blow my trumpet about my first (metric) century

did a great wee tour last week - 4 countries in 4 days. Started off in Schaffhausen in Switzerland, round the German side of Lake Constance, strayed over the border into Austria, then down through Liechtenstein back into Switzerland. Day 5 opened up the opportunity to go for my first ever century, back home to Zurich from Bad Ragaz

great run, country roads, some cool descents, some less than cool climbs, 20km alongside a gorgeous lake, through a couple of massive tunnels (easier than going over the mountains), and the only time I had to get off was to walk DOWN a 25% incline.

Disaster struck on 80km - caught the horns in a bush at the side of the road, handlebars whipped from under me - helloooooooo tarmac. hurt like hell, but not as much as if that truck hadn't braked.

Back on, revived by the medicinal properties of a chocolate croissant. At 90km, the clouds opened, torrential downpour and driving headwinds. Ever get the feeling the gods are against you? Still, the last 20km were part of my usual training run along Lake Zurich, so I can do them on autopilot. Which I did. 113km. Come hell AND high water.

Woke up yesterday to the expected litany of pain - you don't drop 400lb onto tarmac at 25km/h without some damage. Thought I'd got away with just a bit of road rash and some sprains. The Doc reckons different - says my shoulder is more of a concern than the groin injury. Easy for him to say. No stress on the shoulder for at least 2 weeks, so I'm grounded at the moment. Don't worry though - the bike is fine, just a few wee scratches that add that 'lived-in' character.

brute force and ignorance triumph once again!

Dr_Robert

Congratulations! I enjoyed the write up - can't wait for the next one.

-DR

(51)

At 400lbs, that was just an extraordinary ride! How many miles (km) in total did you cover those 4 days?

I was in your country recently and enjoyed its beauty. Pilates (above Luzern) and Zermatt were two of the most memorable experiences I have ever had.

What is the name of that ice-blue lake near Zurich? It is stunning! I saw it on the train from Salzburg.

Tom Stormcrowe

Now we know why the Swiss guard the Vatican, Tim.......

Y'All are a bunch of tough buggers, crash and be revived by the medicinal properties of a Chocolate Croissant! I'm gonna have to try that sometime!

swisstim

there's a few of them around here, but it was most likely Lake Zurich itself, which is where I go for my regular training run. You can cheat and get the ferry across half way - still works out at a nice 30km run.

On my big run we came past the Walensee, which is gorgeous - bike track along on side, sheer cliffs on the other. Switzerland is paradise for cyclists

Over the 5 days we did the dull end of 380km. Some hard conditions in there as well, and one or two wee hills

(51)

'Nuff said. If I could afford to live there (and my wife could stand temperatures below 70' Fahrenheit) , I'd be moving in