Chur - We Were Expecting an Easier Day But... - Poking Around Europe 5.0 - CycleBlaze

August 29, 2018

Chur - We Were Expecting an Easier Day But...

Disentis to Chur

We were expecting an easier day today, but when you plunk yourself in the middle of the Swiss Alps, what can you expect?  We had plenty of stunning downhill swoops today, but still climbed over 1100 m to achieve those downhills. The scenery and weather were amazing, but by the end of a 30 degree day, when we were presented with the mother of all head winds I had had enough. I plugged in my music for motivation and tucked myself behind the Chief Navigator. One of the benefits of being married to a big guy. 

But back to the beginning. We had a good breakfast at our hotel and were on our way in a timely fashion. We should have realized what was coming when we were immediately routed down all the way to the river. We had some traffic problems to get there too. Keith made it around, but I was stuck in the traffic for at least 5 minutes. 

One last look at Disentis and the monastery.
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We were watching with interest, until we realized he was herding them on to the road.
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Keith made it by, but I was stuck.
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These girls weren’t in a hurry.
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Finally, my big chance to pass. We were on our way.
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We went all the way down to the river, and guess what happened when we got there?  We started right back up the other side, and it wasn’t a gentle hill either. Once at the top, guess what?  Back down to the river. Yup. 

We have been down and up for the first time here, and this isn’t the top.
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The buildings are so appealing.
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On our second return to the river, the CN took one look at the official route back up and decided on a deviation onto the road. We are pretty sure we didn’t save ourselves any climbing, but at least the road was paved. Traffic was very light and when we got to the top of that climb we had a lovely swoop down into the next village. By now though we were wary of the loss of elevation. We ran into Gerhardt from Switzerland Mobility in the village and had a quick chat. He was surprised to see us there as he had come via the official route. We left him seeking a coffee and carried on. 

We returned to the official route and it was very rough. Much more suitable for mountain bikes than fully loaded touring bikes, but we persevered and the surface eventually improved. It was also primarily a gentle down hill at this point, rail trail grades I would say, with a few small hills thrown in for variety.

Down to single track here.
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And here we are, way up high again.
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Larry CadeStunning scenery as a reward for your climbs!
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6 years ago
We ran into another bike tourer, going the other way and we discussed the best way to go for a bit.
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We love our encounters with people on the bike paths. There were nine very well behaved dogs out for a walk on a beautiful day.
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Just some eye candy on the trail.
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We made new friends. We fed these guys and apple. They were so sweet.
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Then came the absolute highlight of the day. We headed up, up again on the most spectacular road you could ever imagine. It paralleled Switzerland’s Grand Canyon and the ride was stunning. There was virtually no traffic, and the few cars we saw were travelling slowly to take in the views and because in many spots the road narrowed to a single lane. It was amazing. 

Looking back down.
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Going down, and yes, we went back up.
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It was hot. We were grateful every time we came to a little bit of shade.
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Larry Cade30C is only bearable next to a swimming pool or other water - how did you manage?
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6 years ago
The views were unbelievable.
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A look out over the canyon.
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Just an amazing ride.
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There was so little traffic crossing the highway to stare was never a problem.
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Another wee tunnel. We don’t mind this kind.
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The water colour is beautiful.
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We ran into a man with his son who had come up the other way at a lookout. They had come from the a nearby village. He told us it would be downhill all the way to Chur. He was wrong. We had a few more short, steep ascents and short steep descents before we hit the flat. When we hit the flat there was a ridiculous head wind blowing. We both agree it was the strongest headwind we have ever ridden in. Honestly, as I was riding behind Keith I was astonished he could do it. By the time we got to Chur we were both tired but happy. 

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There wasn’t much to block the wind here!
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We had booked our hotel on a bench by the bike path in a gale. It was quite funny really. We had a little bit of navigational confusion once we were in the old cobbled streets but finally made it to discover we had to carry our bikes down an ancient winding (into the former dungeon?) staircase to store them. This is a very old building. I looked at the stairs and at Keith. I honestly wasn’t sure I had it left in me at that point, so we carried them down one at a time, him at the front, me at the back. That made it easy. Then it was shower and supper time followed almost immediately by sleep time 😀.  A simply amazing day. That ride along the canyon was so fantastic. 

https://www.relive.cc/view/1805585994

Keith sent me this screen shot from his phone. The rough part of the track was on the gradual downhill section after the first big climb. That certainly made it easier.
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Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 246 km (153 miles)

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Comment on this entry Comment 9
Scott AndersonWow, Kathleen. Hats off to your CN! I’ve never looked at this part of the map before, but it looks like a route I might have chosen. Anxious to see where you go next!
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6 years ago
Valerie BakerMy legs are tired just reading this; makes the 3 Ferry Ride seem like an easy day!!
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6 years ago
Kathleen ClassenTo Scott AndersonIt was a stunning ride. Today we are off in the rain. Probably not too far as there isn’t much point in riding through such spectacular scenery if you can’t see it.

We are loving your journal and your new lifestyle. I am not sure we are brave enough to make that plunge! I do find though that once we leave home I just don’t think about it. Interesting isn’t it.
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6 years ago
Kathleen ClassenTo Valerie BakerI should have done that ride with rocks in my panniers. Just a note as well...three weeks in July glued to the Tour de France is not a legit training strategy! We are both feel strong though. We are just having breakfast and contemplating the next few days in the rain. We probably won’t go far today.
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6 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Kathleen ClassenI’m not sure that ‘brave’ is the best adjective for describing what we’ve done to ourselves, but thanks for the encouragement. As far as bravery goes though, I think the edge goes to you - I’m very impressed that you’re back in the game so soon after your awful accident.
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6 years ago
david alstonKathleen and Keith,

You've got us all scrambling back to our ancient journals. Maun and I did a modified version of this ride in 2001. I don't know what kind of camera we had then but we certainly didn't take many pictures.
We couldn't ride on the path either because of rain. We ended up on the road and the hardest climb I've ever done. I don't remember the route but I do remember the names Ilanz and Flims. It was ten years post heart attack for me and I was taking lots of medicine in order to avoid the surgeon. This included a beta blocker that limited my heart rate to exactly 110 at which point I would simply have to stop. Led to a lot of walking.
Re St. Moritz: There is an afterword in that journal entry saying what a mistake it was not to go to St. Moritz (and Davos). In the meantime we are looking forward to wherever you go next.
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6 years ago
david alstonKathleen and Keith,

You've got us all scrambling back to our ancient journals. Maun and I did a modified version of this ride in 2001. I don't know what kind of camera we had then but we certainly didn't take many pictures.
We couldn't ride on the path either because of rain. We ended up on the road and the hardest climb I've ever done. I don't remember the route but I do remember the names Ilanz and Flims. It was ten years post heart attack for me and I was taking lots of medicine in order to avoid the surgeon. This included a beta blocker that limited my heart rate to exactly 110 at which point I would simply have to stop. Led to a lot of walking.
Re St. Moritz: There is an afterword in that journal entry saying what a mistake it was not to go to St. Moritz (and Davos). In the meantime we are looking forward to wherever you go next.
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6 years ago
Keith ClassenTo david alstonHi David - thanks for your note. Fortunately we did not have to go through Flims as our day was demanding enough following the Oberalp pass the day before. We did consider taking the road for one section to get off the gravel trail but wisely took the official route. We rode the rails today which also s wise decision. It was 6 degrees C today in St Moritz.
Keith
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6 years ago
Larry CadeAll I can say is Kudos to you both for Tour-worthy climbing and overall ride!
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6 years ago