Europe Day 14: 36 Miles

Attinghausen, Switzerland to Lucerne Switzerland

Based on the weather reports from last night I knew I would be in the rain all day today. My train ride yesterday had placed me just 36 miles from Lucerne, about 20 miles closer than I had originally planned. This turned out to be advantageous for today’s ride, because it saved me an extra couple hours of riding in the rain.

I was in no rush to get on the road and left the hotel around 9:45 after eating the continental breakfast buffet that was included with the room. Within minutes I was completely soaked and just accepted that I would be wet and cold until I reached Lucerne.

The riding today would have been great on a sunny day. My route took me along the north side of Lake Lucerne climbing up and down the cliffs that border the lake. The climbing wasn’t all that difficult, but there were more than a handful of climbs that were 200+ feet in elevation gain which kept me from getting into a rhythm. For the most part there was a separate bike path that kept me away from traffic. There are several tunnels along the route which provided some coverage from the rain and views of the lake. At points I was on the main road with fast traffic blowing by. The trucks and buses got close and sprayed me several times.

I have been following Swiss Bike Route 3 which called for a ferry ride today. When I arrived at the ferry station I found it was going to be a long wait. Riding was the only thing keeping my body temperature up, so I opted to follow bike route 38 around the lake instead. This route only added a few miles but meant I could make the day a continuous bike ride and stay warm.

Before I knew it I was only a few miles out from Lucerne. I entered the city and about 2 miles from my end point I was routed onto a bike path. This involved going around a road barrier which had an old railroad track immediately on the other side. I know how slippery these can be in dry conditions, but with the rain still coming down hard I had no chance. My rear wheel spun out from under me, sending me and the bike to the ground. I was able to catch myself, luckily keeping myself and the bike unharmed. In the process I somehow knocked the GPS off its mount and tore a small hole in my rain jacket. This was a great test of Garmin’s emergency sensor. By the time I had picked my bike up and found the GPS it had already sent a text message to my mom to check in with me. I of course got a concerned text moments later and assured my mom I was fine.

I arrived at the hostel at 1:45 and was completely soaked and cold. All I wanted to do was take a shower and put on dry clothes but I had to check in and store my bike first. Dealing with the normal tasks of unpacking and getting settled in a hostel is so much harder when everything is soaked. By 2:45 I was finally ready to head into town in search of food. I hadn’t stopped for food at all during my ride.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another rainy day so I am going to take a day off and use it it to plan out the rest of my trip. I had planned much of the trip from Rome to Basel before I left home, but going forward I have some gaps that need to be filled in. A rainy day is the perfect day to get this done and it should be warmer and rain free on Thursday for my ride from Lucerne to Basel.

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Musings:

• Horse meat is apparently a thing in Switzerland. I had dinner last night at the restaurant attached to the hotel and was surprised to see horse on the menu. I decided not to channel my inner Dothraki and skipped tasting the delicacy. What I found most disturbing was getting back to my room and realizing there was a horse path directly outside my window. I heard the clip-clop of a horse walking by and could not help but think it was being marched directly to the kitchen.