Alps 2008
  
 

Day 14

July 2

  
 

I look out the window this morning and see something that makes me very happy - Dave's bike. I holler out to him -

"Hey old man, it's about time you showed up."

  
 
 
 

I make my way over to the campsite where Peter is fixing him up with some 'extra' breakfast that he picked up on his daily forage for vittles.

 
 
 
 

Today Peter, Fi and Bob head out for bike rally in Greece by the long route, and we head back toward England. As I give Dave a big hug he says

"I'll just borrow your room for 30 minutes or so and I should be fine."

"No problem" I tell him. "I'll just have to move some stuff off the bed so you'll have a place to lie down."

He's been going at it since 2 AM this morning so I know he is a pretty tired.

"We'll just take the rest of day as it goes - just no big deal . But it sure looks like we could hit the Susten Pass on the way out and not be too much out of the way" I say with a grin as Bob winks at me.

Bob and I had looked at the map earlier and figured it would be an easy little 'detour' on the way to Eguisheim, France where Dave and I will be spending the night.

I figure he needs some sleep pronto, so I go ahead and show him up to my room, clear out a space and let him get at it.

  
 
 
  Meanwhile the mail carriage comes through blowing the bugle - I'm glad Dave is not quite asleep yet!  
 
 
 

I slip quietly back downstairs over to the campsite. I tell the gang -

"I know Dave said 30 minutes, but we've got plenty of time. I don't have to be out the room until 11, so I believe it will be more like 2 hours" I tell them with a big grin. "I know that's about right for me so I'm just gonna let him sleep."

They have to get on their way pretty soon, so Bob begins to pack up his stuff.

  
 
 
  And Peter and Fi have their stuff pretty well ready to go in short order. I still don't know how they travel, camping and all, with so little 'visible' stuff. My hat's off to them - however they do it. Maybe it's that invisible trailer that they pull behind their ST1300 or some hidden support vehicle in the shadows.  
 
 
 

The time passes rather quickly, and Bob, Peter and Fi are ready to pull out. I give them all big hugs and wish them a safe journey.

"Thanks again for taking up Dave's slack. I know it was a tough job" I tell them.

"And I still would like to know just where he got that knackered bearing."

We all laugh, and soon my friends are on the road again. Check out time is getting close, so I wander back upstairs to wake the sleeping beauty - but not with a kiss you can be sure! He's gotten almost 2 hours of shut eye and seems refreshed. I finish packing up my stuff and haul it downstairs to load up Snow White. I settle up with the Hotel Aurora and soon Dave and I are making our way up the cobblestone main street of Andermatt.

  
 
 
  On our way our, we cross over the Teufelsbrücke, known as the "devils' bridge". It seem the steep gorge of the river Reuss, called Schöllenenschlucht, was a great obstacle for folks of the area trying to pass through. The legend is told that they made a deal with the devil to build the first bridge and got the best of him. Needless to say, we passed through this area pretty quickly!  
 
 
  Once again, I really enjoy the road up to the Pass Susten with it's many sweepers. And it sees that Dave is not suffering too much for it either!  
 
 
  Soon it's time for a break and a snack, as Dave sorts out the route for the rest of the day on his GPS. This pass riding and all of this beautiful scenery just wears out the eyeballs and requires frequent bouts of fresh nourishment.  
 
 
  Next to the cafe is this roaring waterfall tearing down the mountain side.  
 
 
  As we come down the back side of Pass Susten, I make it a point to stop and get a shot of this waterfall. When I was with Peter, Fi and Bob I just whizzed right by it then later regretted it. The way it splits around the rock fascinates me and I sure would like to walk up to it and stand in it's spray - but not today.  
 
 
 

As we descend into the valley where the city Of Giswil is located, I radio to Dave -

"I'm going to stop here and take a picture of that gorgeous lake."

He replies "I'll just keep on going then" as he disappears down the mountain.

  
 
 
  I get my shot then proceed down until I get caught at a construction stop. I radio ahead to Dave but I can't seem to reach him. Soon I'm moving again.  
 
 
 

I just figure he'll be stopped somewhere ahead, so I pass through a couple of long tunnels and keep trying to raise him on the radio. It looks like I am about to get on a major motorway but I don' see Dave anywhere, which is highly unusual. Could I have a missed a turn that he radioed to me and I didn't hear? I start playing various scenarios in my head as to what might have happened. I pull off at the forks and break out the cell phone to see if I can reach him or at least leave him a message. It rings but then I get this strange message on the phone -

"This call is being diverted ..."

then the automated attendant proceeds to explains to me in fluent German exactly what has happened just before I get the 'turkey tone'. I sure would love to know what she just said but my German is a little bit lacking, but I figure that it translates to something like -

"Sucker, you are just out of luck!"

So I have to assume that for some reason my phone is not working properly in this zone.

  
 
 
 

Maybe I'll get into a different cellular service area back in town. It seems kind of ironic that he drives way early in the morning so we can ride together and now here we are a few hours into the ride and we've lost each other again. Since this appears to be the last easy place to turn around, I head Snow White back the way I came, keeping a close eye open for anything that looks like an ST1100 headlight, especially in the tunnels. As I come back into Giswil, I look closely at every little cafe and fueling stop to see if maybe he is sitting there and missed me. I finally come back to a roundabout at the edge of town where there is a parking lot just off of it and I pull in. When I try to ring him again, I get talking Matilda once more and the turkey tone. At this point, I'm at a major dilemma - I can't reach him by radio or by phone. I can sit where I am and roast in the sun, or I can head in the general direction we were going and hopefully I'll see him somewhere on the way. I make one more phone call but with the same results, so I head north on A8 toward Lucerne. I figure maybe somewhere along the way I'll pass into another cell phone coverage area and we'll be able to communicate.

  
 
 
  Soon A8 turns into a full fledged motorway E35 and rushes me on toward Lucerne. I keep looking and radioing at intervals, but I have no luck. As I approach the outskirts of the city, I look for a service area or something that's in view of the road, but there are only exits that lead to parts unknown. Soon it's decision time again - I either stop in Lucerne or I continue on to Basel which is in the general direction that we were headed. I find an exit ramp that has enough of a shoulder to pull off on, and try to call Dave again, but I come up with the same results. At this point I figure our best odds of hooking back up will be at a motorway rest stop and maybe they will have a pay phone that I can call him on. So I continue northward past Lucerne toward Basel, looking for a good place. I'm blocked off by traffic at the first one I see so I keep rolling and move over in the far right lane so it does not happen again. Finally, somewhere in the Swiss canton of Gunzgen, I find a rest stop that has a restaurant and some shade trees. I give Dave another call with no luck so I decide I'll go in and collect some cool air and see if they have a pay phone.  
 
 
 

There's a convenience store, a restaurant, plenty of seating - but no pay phone that I can find. So I pick up a sandwich and some drinks and pay the cashier. I wander over to the seating area and begin to eat my $20 worth of food (which back home would have been about $5) when a lady walks up to me. Basically she tells me in emphatic German -

"PIKNIK OUTSIDE."

I start to get aggravated but then I remember this ain't Kansas, Dorothy. I assumed since it was one operation that the tables were for the public use. I could buy a Diet Coke from the restaurant to be legal, but I just decide I'd rather enjoy the heat outside than the heat I'm getting where I sit. I gather up my meager fare and wander out to 'piknik' under a shade tree near Snow White.

  
 
 
 

I'm once again talking the Lord about how I need some more 'angels' to get me and Dave hooked up as I eat. Before long, a couple walks by and notices the British plates on Snow Bird. They are Patti and Ray from close to Newcastle in the U.K. and have been over here on holiday. We chat a little bit, then I explain to them my curious phone problem.

Ray says, "No problem, give me his number and I'll ring him" which he does.

He gets the same results, so at least I feel a little better. Then he tries to text message Dave to see if he can get through. I also try to call Dave one more time, and this time we connect.

"Where are you?" he asks.

"The second rest stop on E35 north of Lucerne. The sign says something about Gunzgen. I kept getting this diverted message when I tried to call you so I figured my cell phone wasn't working right" I tell him.

"Okay, well I will head that way. I kept seeing you ring me but I was on the road. By the time I stopped and rang you, all I got was voicemail" he says.

As it turns out, Dave has a new cell phone and the voicemail appears to be acting up and not answering. That finally explains it in my head - the system was 'diverting' to his voicemail but then the voicemail was not answering. Ah, the joy of modern day electronics!

"I've got water, I've got a shade tree, so I'll just sit tight until you get here, my friend" overjoyed that we finally connected.

I thank Patti and Ray for their kindness in helping me and we talk a little bit about riding and such. I give them my website address and let them know that they will now be 'internationally famous' since I will post their picture in my trip journal. They head back out to finish their holiday and I am once again left to my own thoughts.

  
 
 
  It is hotter than blazes, so I take occasional trips back into the shop to buy more water. It takes while, but I sure am glad when that Wineberry ST1100 and Dave pull into the parking lot. He sat for over two hours back where I took the picture hoping I would come back. We verify the roads we were on but somehow we passed each and our radios didn't connect and we didn't see each other. Some days it just don't seem to add up! But at least we can proceed to Eguisheim now. The traffic getting around Basel is a bit crazy, with some sort of border traffic stop when we cross over into France. Fortunately, they wave us both on and we make haste quickly to leave the crowds behind.  
 
 
  It's motorway and an occasional tunnel, which give me a much needed relief from the cooker that Snow White has become in the traffic.  
 
 
 

Eguisheim is just a little south of Colmar, right on the France/Germany border. So when I see this sign I know we are getting closer.

 
 
 
  I can't pronounce the name of the hotel, but as long as it has a cold shower it will work for me just fine.  
 
 
  Dave goes in to get us set up as I watch over the bikes. It's been an interesting day and all is well that ends well. This marks the end of the pass and hairpin business, for now we are pretty much winding our way back toward London. We have left the Alps behind physically, but I will never forget them in my memories.  
 
 
  Across the street are some 'dancing' fountains that seem to rise and fall to the rhythm of an unseen conductor's baton. The little girl is mesmerized by it all and stops, waiting in anxious anticipation of the next performance. But her parents are not so patient, and call to her to come on along.  
 
 
  We pull our bikes around back to a secure parking area and unload them. It's been a long hot day, and Snow White seems to rest a little easier when she is relieved of her heavy burden. We both clean up and then chill for a little while in our rooms, then go out to walk around the town proper.  
   
  This place is just like you see in the movies, with narrow cobblestone streets and beautiful flowers hanging everywhere. I expect to see the film crews any minute bop around the corner, but thankfully I don't.  
 
 
 
Even the square has beautiful flower arrangements adoring the central fountain. It speaks of a slower, quieter, gentler time that seems to have been forgotten by the rest of the world.
 
 
 
  Thirsty as we usually are, we stop at the first cafe that appears to be open to get some cokes. It has a hard name to remember - 'Le Cafe'. But the owner seems about ready to shut down, so we finish our cokes and move on, still in the search of something to feed the internal beast.  
 
 
  The first place we chose does not have any empty tables, so we continue down the narrow street until we see this place. There is an empty table and it's next to a sizable fountain so it works for both of us!  
 
 
 

The young lady that waits on us does an excellent job though she does not speak much English. I decide to go for the steak, so we work through our order and then she leaves to get it going. While we sit there enjoying the coolness coming from the fountain, we get a little free entertainment in the bargain. Small birds, who obviously work the diners like old pros for tidbits, frequently land on the edge of the fountain. All they need is signs like those panhandlers back home at the interstate exits -

'Will Chirp For Food'

and they would be in business.

  
 
 
 

She quickly brings us our salads and they sure fill the bill. When the steaks arrive, I am pretty impressed with mine. Usually they are kind of thin, tough affairs terribly overcooked, but this is looks pretty tasty. Not as good as Kansas ribeye, mind you, but still pretty nice.

  
 
 
 

Dave and I talk about the passes we've ridden, the 'repair affair', getting lost and the many rides that we have been together on. We also decide that we can probably 'squeeze in' at least part of the Black Forest since we have a short day tomorrow - assuming we don't get separated again. Then our conversation turns to the inevitable - what to have for dessert. It has been a strange thing, but I have not been able to get chocolate ice cream at any of the places we have stopped. It appears that here they make some sort of confection with it, so I decide I'll try to explain what I want to our server. I tell her

'Three scoops chocolate - nicht nuts."

She makes a motion like she is spraying whip cream, and I nod with a big smile in the affirmative. Dave orders something healthy again (at least he says so) with a small amount of fruit buried somewhere in the mounds of ice cream. When she returns, it is exactly as I ordered, and I thank her. Then a mysterious thing happens - it seems to evaporate right before my eyes as if magic. I guess it just must be something in the air is the only thing I can figure. Before long, the sun starts to go down, and my eyelids want to follow it. So we settle up with our sweet server, and I give her a pretty nice tip by American standards. She must have been impressed, because I notice that she is showing it off to her coworkers. As Dave and I head back to our hotel, we pass another lovely fountain, accented by flowers.

  
 
 
  I waddle up to my room, and find that it is still very warm. There's a small fan in the room but it's pretty anemic. Since it's the only game in town for moving some of the air, I aim it directly on me as best I can. I make a mental note that the next time I come over here, I've got to figure a way to bring a small, powerful fan. None of the hotels or B&Bs we have stayed in have air conditioners, and very few of them have fans. And as I am usually hot natured, I don't sleep well when it is warm in the room. I toss and turn most of the night, never ever really cooling off, but I do at least catch some sleep.  
     
 

Totals For The Day -

Countries - 2 (Switzerland, France)

Miles - 204

Passes - 0 (Susten again)

Hairpins - 30