The best way to spend a weekend?

This question is rather obvious and the answer is really simple - The mountains + your bike.

Despite not that great weather forecast I booked a place in Hospental, close to Andermatt - a perfect starting point to ride all giants of Swiss Alps: Susten, Gotthard, Grimsel, Furka, Oberalp and Nufenen passes.

Day one was really foggy and rainy. When I arrived to the hotel the rain was so strong that I didn't want to leave my car. The place I stayed - "Sust Lodge" welcomed me really well. Nice owner and chefs opened the kitchen and prepared delicious pasta, although it was too early for lunch. The rain slowly stopped and I was ready to go. 

First pass was Gotthard. Top of the col was grey with visibility on 2-3m, cold and windy. Quick recap and I started descending enjoying the fantastic spectacle of clouds uncovering the mountains...

It's unbelievable how quickly the weather is changing in the high mountains. Within one hour it all can turn really rapidly.

Hungry for more views I climbed up to the Oberalppass. The top of the mountain was also covered with low clouds so I could not feed my senses with the Swiss Alps landscapes too much...

I took few pictures and decided to return to the hotel for supper and longer sleep to be fresh for long Sunday.

And Sunday started really well. Sun and blue sky... just like in a different place than I was day before. Weather forecast was showing rain and storms coming only after 3PM so I had plenty of time to ride 3,4 cols.

First one was Susten pass. Long and steady climb with beautiful finish on the top.

Keeping my own pace I rode this one up really quickly. Nice scenery keeps the brain busy so it doesn't "slow down" the legs :-)

Early morning descent paid back with empty streets. Only few fancy cars and not so much motorbikes (yet...)

Second col was Grimsel pass. It turned out to be very windy and cloudy on the top so I didn't spend too much time there.

View on Furka from Grimsel is always stunning - no matter which time of the year is it.

Furka climb, although the shortest is the most steep one. Last two turns before Belvedere are really tough. Climbing there I met two other cyclist from German part of Switzerland and had nice chat. We rode together up to the top to look into the beautiful valley down there...

The descend was pretty packed with the traffic so I could not fly over the turns as I like.

When I got back to Hospental the rain came already. Pity as I wanted to ride Gotthard again but doing that when it's raining is nothing pleasant.

Despite didn't ride all mountains I planned to, five passes in one weekend with my Ritchey Road Logic recharged my batteries, made my legs tired and brain full of stunning views. 

This is what I call the cycling paradise!

Stay tuned for more road trips!

Tomasz

blog-roadtripping