Infinite number of hairpin bends

Yesterday on July 16, 2021, the final stage took place from Splügen (Graubünden) over the San Bernardino Pass (2066 m above sea level) to Bellinzona (Ticino). I was at breakfast on time at 6:50 a.m. and started cycling at 8:05 a.m.

The first section was unfortunately much hillier than expected, but scenically beautiful. So after only 1 km, I pushed my bike again because firstly, I hadn't warmed up yet (it takes 30 minutes) and secondly, it didn't make sense to exhaust myself at the beginning of a long stage. On the contrary, I tried to ride this section with only half power.

After an hour, I arrived in Hinterrhein (Graubünden, north side of the Alps). There begins the San Bernardino Tunnel, which almost all motorized vehicles take. The weather was somewhat unsettled and I heard thunder-like noises that I couldn't place. It was either the military again, or construction work, or actual thunder. But I didn't see any lightning. The ascent was made up of an infinite number of hairpin bends, and once again I realized that I am not a born mountain climber. In between, I pushed my bike again for recovery. It was windy and freezing cold, so when I reached the top, I put on a T-shirt over my sweaty clothes as planned for the subsequent descent.

The descent (2000 meters downhill) was a huge blast. I felt like a motorcyclist again and even briefly reached 70 km/h. No one overtook me during the descent. In between, I took a planned brake cooling break, and my modest technical skills were quite helpful and demanded during the descent. The valley that opens up after crossing the San Bernardino Pass is beautiful because the mountains on the sides are very high with waterfalls and streams, and the climate is already Mediterranean. You immediately feel like you're in Italy, and Italian is spoken. In addition, the weather completely changed. From single-digit temperatures, rainy, and windy to up to 25 degrees and sunny.

In Mesocco (Graubünden, south side of the Alps), I had lunch. Since I don't speak any Italian, I had to have the menu translated (thanks to deepL). For the first time on my bike trip, they wanted me to pay with cash instead of a credit card. So I had to go to the ATM and withdraw a 50 CHF note. The rest of the descent was less steep but no less beautiful.

Finally, I arrived at Bellinzona train station shortly before 3:00 p.m. after 77 km, 930 meters uphill, and about 2000 meters downhill, in 4 hours and 25 minutes of net travel time (my calculation assumed 5 hours and 18 minutes net).

The journey home was very difficult

because the German Rail hotline had booked a regular seat for my bike on the Giruno (the Swiss Federal Railways),

because 2 stops of my ICE were cancelled due to delays, so I had to change trains twice as often, and

because a lot more happened, so I arrived home this morning with a 2-hour delay.

The positive thing about the journey home was that I drove through the longest tunnel in the world (Gotthard Base Tunnel) and that I crossed Switzerland from one end to the other, which has beautiful lakes (e.g. Lake Lucerne).

Throughout the entire trip, I was impressed by the scenery of Switzerland. Switzerland is not cheap, but everyone knows that. I will visit Switzerland again someday.