Ride; Rire

I plan to write up a longer reflection on the route and event/ challenge because it was a great experience. Suffice to say that I will never do the Panixerpass again on a mountain bike (I kinda knew that before though, it was just such a... logical choice?), the event or challenge is amazing and everyone should do it.

Managed to sneak in some gravel during a much more road oriented Easter break in the Jura. The region around St. Imier/ Chasseral is truly one of my favorites. I knew the region fairly well from a mountain biking perspective, but it’s really a gravel (and road) paradise as well, I discovered.

Took a day off to go for a little trip looking for fatbike perfection in Schwyz, after we finally got some snow proper snow somewhere close to Zurich. Schindellegi-Gottschalkenberg could have been nice but there had not been a lot of traffic on the forest roads yet and I struggled to break trail uphill. After the Gottschalkenberg, going down from the Mangelhöhi toward Menzingen was pure fatbike paradise, with amazing powder and a great, very rideable trail.

Crossing the Passo del Sole the next morning was a downright surreal experience. I have always done the crossing late in the season, but this was the most snow we have ever had up there. Funnily, this made for the fastest ascent yet, as we were able to ride on most of the hard-pack at higher elevation - up and down. Riding on hard-pack on 2300m above sea level on a mountain bike in November has been one of the strangest things I have done on a bike yet.

Bikepacking Alta Via dei Monti Liguri in July 2020.

Bikepacking Alta Via dei Monti Liguri for five days, July 2020.

I might have to adjust the route a bit for next time around Ibergeregg, but Indi and Beni were very good sports and put up with my route experimentations. They also are in quite a bit better shape than I am, which showed once we actually got to the Pragelpass. So not only did they have to carry their bikes and put up with some quite harrowing descents to get to, they also had to wait something like half an hour for me on top of the final pass... Let’s see if they will come along again for a next iteration of the route :).

We had originally planned a loop from Ambrì via Passo Campolungo over to Fusio in the Valle Maggia and back to Airolo via the Passo del Naret. We had to return at 2300hm from the Passo del Naret though, because there was still too much snow and things got sketchy. So we had a beautiful ride down along the Maggia instead (well at least the upper parts of the Valley). 

Panixerpass - another last hike of the year. Quite snowy this time (October 5th).

My ten favorite photos taken during the 2019 Italy Divide race. 

Jura bikepacking overnighter on the fatbike (Olten-Solothurn), with Adi and Raffi including Switzerland’s steepest paved road to the Balmberg for the finish. The weather was downright incredible.

Domodossola - Airolo Indian Summer 2018.

Memories of a trip from Tiefencastel to Julierpass, Engadin, Flüelapass and then into a very cold descent to Davos.

The top of the Pfannenstiel, the hill on the foot of which I grew up. Even though home is the city for me now, this is still another kind of home I like to come back to.

Memories of an incredible indian summer ride this October on my brand new Specialized Diverge.

(I will not mention that I spent the ensuing days stuck at home with a bad cold)