Day 5 From Unterbäch to Visperterminen

After an evening thunderstorm that brought some cooling, the morning starts at 9:15 quite relaxed and we drive the first 900m elevation gain to Moosalp on a nice small mountain road at a moderate pace. You can have a nice conversation and the familiar sound of the carbon wheel is accompanied by a pleasant rattling of the guide wheel, which is supposedly due to the narrow-wide chainring.

Well, this should be the last joke about the fellow cyclists at the expense of their equipment...

Arriving at the top, there is even fog and overall it is a beautiful atmosphere at Moosalp.

We turn into the first long trail of the day down to Stalden (1100m elevation gain). The view opens quickly to the impressive landscape.

Up among the pine trees and meadows, we ride smooth sections. But as we descend further, the character changes to sometimes very steep and narrow paths, where you simply look further down into the valley while entering and observing the next hairpin turn. Defensive and concentrated riding is required here.

We arrive in Stalden at 12:30, feeling the heat of about 35 degrees, and have lunch break at the moderately beautiful marketplace. At least a woman opens the window and greets us cheerfully.

We skip the next 1000m elevation gain and take the cable car up to 1800m, to then ride from Gspon to Sadölti at 2200m on a beautiful and panoramic high-altitude trail. You can see some impressive 4000m peaks in the Valais region directly.

On the way, there are a few discussions about the remaining altitude gain. The plan was clear, though.

After some steeper and energy-consuming climbs, the very long (1600m elevation gain) and varied descent to Visp begins, with trails, along Suonen (don't fall in) and again with many hairpin turns, not all of which are easy.

Towards the end, I have a few concentration problems, which I compensate for by riding defensively. Also, towards the end, the brakes don't seem to be as effective anymore. But we come down well and everyone wants to go get some ice cream.

However, I suddenly realize that I can't shift gears anymore because the cable is broken. But since I'm standing right in front of a bike shop (!), I just go in.

The shopkeeper takes a look at it and immediately fixes the gear cable. When I also mention the brakes to him, he discovers that the rear brake pads are worn out AND the brake disc is bent (probably due to overheating) (it visibly wobbles in the axial direction). Fortunately, he has a replacement and also installs it immediately.

What luck, because I couldn't have continued otherwise.