On to italy

Up, clean apartment,  on the road.
Tom tom wanted to take us on a ferry just before Davos, carried on to Fluela pass, wow.
Arrived Prato and straight into the pool, wander into town for food at night.
Up and on the bikes for 7 am, up the stelvio pass.  Over a mile up and 15  miles long, me and Tim had reached the top in under three hours. Coffe and cake at the top before a welcome decent.  Satisfied my urge to cycle a  big hill.  Roads were getting busy on the way down with over a hundred more cyclists attempting, it was best to start early when the temp was only 12 degrees. 24 now while we sit by the pool.

The ride

Up at 6.30am, woke up Dave & Nicki as per normal! Quick breakfast then off up Stelvio. Didn't see much of Dave as he naturally cycles quicker than I do. Settled to my rythmn and cycled up up up up. Scenery stunning and luckily not too much traffic at that time of the morning. Well Stelvio is big but just when I was thinking where the hell is the top, I saw it away in the distance but visable. Now  the gradient starts to increase but the top is in sight. Bend 20, 19, 18 and so on I count them off. For added excitment motorbikes scream past but one stupid fool takes one blind bend too fast and straight into a Lotus Caterham. No one killed but much damage and injury. By now i pass the 3km sign, yippee, keep going Baker. 2km, 1km, 500m, will the top ever come, 200m, 100m then I'm there. Dave too busy chatting, he's been there half an hour, nearly missing my arrival!! Excellent, coffee, cake and a rest... what stunning scenery.  The ride back down exhilarating. Yippee completed and excellent. Thanks Dave an excellent riding partner.

Extra extracts from day 3 Obersaxon

Just sitting next to Dave who is eating more bread (time 21.23), where does all his food go????? Lovely ride this morning, got wet but beat the worst of the thunder storms.

Raining in Obersaxon

Just got back from a short walk in the rain with thunder all around! Some stunning vistas opening up between the clouds! Enjoying a lazy day playing quizzes and reading and typing blogs! Tim and Dave are rolling back the zzzzzzzzzzzs at the moment! Such a hard life! Nicki is persevering with The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins but remains to be terribly impressed! Here are some nice photos from the walk!

Day 3 Obersaxon

After very hot weather for all the holiday so far....it had to break! Bit grim and rainy in the mountains today and the temperature has dropped to 15 degrees. BUT it didn't stop the intrepid cyclists doing an early morning bike ride! Dave and Tim went seriously downhill to the valley floor and back and Nicki went to San Martin in the rain. Gill didn't!! Had a lovely day touring the area yesterday visiting the Via Mala Pass with stunning gorges and ending up in the quaint village of Splugen. 26 degrees at the top and 34 degrees in the valley!! Cooled off with a nice swim in the lake at Laxx and coffee in a local hotel. Lovely day rounded off with a sausage and pasta meal and a walk around the village.
A thunderstorm is now happening, we are doing chores with the washing in and Dave and Tim are eating copious amounts of bread and jam!!! The men have just left who have cleared a blocked kitchen sink!

Day 2 at Obersaxon

Today I let Dave take King of the mountain title on our first real bike ride!!! Didn't want to upset him by beating him!!!!.... tomorrow wait and see me fly!!!!!!! This afternoon spent a lovely time finding the Reine gorge a truely beautiful landscape. A swim at Laxx later to cool down followed by coffee!!! The chauffeur was excellent!!!

Switzerland - Basel and Obersaxon

Thought I would attach a few more pictures from the last couple of days in Basel and Obersaxon!

At last I'm in!!!!

 Well at last I've managed to contribute. Having an excellent holiday with Gill, Nicky and Dave. We're now at Obersaxon enjoying Val Pete's ski chalet, lovely. Weather now cooler after some very hot days.  Enjoying a lovely dinner of the most expensive kebabs (but lovely they were !!!!!!)

Obersaxon

A great time in basel thanks to val and pete, without their help we might still be there!
At ingledorf we had charged my phone a couple of times and left the doors and boot open at times, when we came to leave my battery was flat. After jump starting the car was fine. After a single night at basel the battery was again flat.  There was concerns over finding a replacement on a Saturday but our hosts managed to organise a  new battery and fitting whilst we had breakfast,  big thanks.
The temperature reached 35 degrees on our journey but dropped to 30 when we arrived at Obersaxon.  Hoping for cooler nights now we are at 1300 meters.

Basel

After a morning bike ride down the river Sure we departed Luxembourg for a long journey to Val and Pete's house in Basel, Switzerland. Fabulous place complete with pool in a very pretty suburb. What fantastic hosts! After a very hot night we cycled into Basel at 8am accompanying Val and Pete to work! Val took us to the massive pharmaceutical complex of Novartis where she works as a research biochemist. We were given visitor passes and then headed into Basel old town on the tram. Lovely walk up the Rhine watching people float/swim down the Rhine through the city. We really wanted to have a go but alas not enough time!! We were treated to a lovely lunch in a Novartis Italian restaurant by Val and then we left her to go back to work while we cycled back to their house. Strenuous uphill ride and we were leaking when we arrived back so a dip in their indoor pool was fabulous!!

Dinner calls!!!

Nicki has had enough of all this technology that we have to catch up on in the bar!!!!!

From camp

Inglebrook

Rode down river 10 miles to reisdorf, coffe then back. We then had lunch with those nice folk at the care home, beef wrap.
Big storm this morn, thunder, rain. Did not get up till 9:20 when the rain stopped. Walked to deikirch,  coffe, bee museum, back. Very hot even after the storm. Travel to basel tomorrow.

Luxembourg

Another 250 miles today,  very hot 34 degrees
Lovely river location in luxembourg thunder storm welcome new tent holding up well thanks andy mike. Hope to bike to town tomorrow. Be good to not get in car.
filled with diesel, 37, 75 litres

Ferry

5 hours. 250 miles.
A couple of short stops.
Started with drizzle now with sun