July 3, 2006
Day 5: Sirnach - Zurich: Hot weather in Zurich
Again we have blue skies. In this part of Europe you can't depend on summers to be warm or sunny and you can easily have rain or grey skies for weeks on end. We appreciate our good fortune.
We start through lovely countryside with views over hilly pastures and pass half-timbered farm houses and gardens brimming with flowers.
From Turbenthal we follow the bike path along the River Töss and a slight, continual incline makes for effortless pedaling. At noon we find a fast-food shop in Effretikon offering a wide variety of sandwiches and cold drinks - and it's air-conditioned. What, air-conditioning in Switzerland? I didn't expect this but we do welcome the cool, by now it's become very hot on the road.
We leave Route 5 and make our way directly to Zurich. We try to find the roads that circumnavigate the mountain ridge to the east of Zurich and have a long ride through the outskirts before we finally reach the center.
Today around noon we telephoned the Zurich tourist office and reserved a room for the night. A good idea because at the end of the day nearly everything is booked out, especially in an affordable price category. It's very practical that the book for the Mittelland-Route 5 includes telephone numbers. We are in Hotel Hirschen, close to the train station and in the old part of town. The hotel is not prepared for this unusually hot summer. We could use a fan in our stuffy little room.
Today's ride: 61 km (38 miles)
Total: 339 km (211 miles)
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