6000 Feet of Cycle Climbing and Still Smiling

Given that we both enjoy cycling almost as much as skiing, we decided to fly Nancy's tandem to Switzerland to ride some alpine mountain passes. We did this at the end of June, 2022. We hired Bike Switzerland company for the independent cycling route and hotel planning. Despite the company's concerns around our undertaking, we proved that you should never underestimate two middle aged women on a tandem! After a year of planning and training via spin, bike, and other exercises, we were ready. We learned to disassemble and to reassemble the bike before the trip, when Kris joined Nancy in Oregon in May for a week of cycling training. It took 6 hours to disassemble and to pack the tandem into two large suitcases, then 3 hours to reassemble the first time - good thing we had time to practice! Nancy went to Switzerland for a week before the cycling trip to spend time in Adelboden doing hiking and kayaking. She did not, however, learn to yodel. We met in Geneva and reassembled the bike in the hotel room, taking only an hour and a half this time! The next day, after our orientation from the Bike Switzerland assistant, we visited the CERN campus to learn about particle colliders and the origins of the universe as we know it. (See Nancy if you want to learn more.) The Bike Switzerland company shipped the empty bike suitcases to the train station in Glarus for us to pick up at the end of the trip. Our great adventure began with a ferry ride out of Geneva in the rain. The weather quickly improved after we started riding, as did the hills. The route took us on the pending Tour de France 2022 stage 9 route! We approved of the climb for the boys of the Tour; if we can do it on a tandem, so can they! During the week, we traversed alpine passes that climbed 4000ft to 6000ft with steepness grades of 8% to 17%; we kept smiling and laughing all the way up. And yes, we walked the bike at greater than 13% grade, wondering if better gearing needs to be on the next Christmas list!. The descents were exhilarating and scary! We were so grateful to have added a rear disc brake, which Nancy controlled, in addition to the rim brakes that Kris managed. We successfully kept the speed under 30 miles per hour on the straightaway descents and at about 12 miles per hour at the hairpin curves. Nancy's tandem has the shifters in the back (known as the stoker position), so she controls the gears. Kris only had to steer, to brake, to sing, and to pedal. The front derailleur challenged our bike mechanic skills, but once again - never underestimate two middle aged women on tandem! We adjusted the set screw and made better time once we could shift between chainrings without stopping to do it manually. Cow bells filled our ears, and bread and cheese sandwiches filled our bellies as we pedaled over alps and across valleys from Geneva to Glarus, just south of Zurich, about 300 miles in 6 days. The weather was perfect, sunny most days and cool. In Glarus, we disassembled and packed the bike in less than 3 hours, a new personal record. The bike was safely transported to Zurich and home to Oregon, as were the riders. Our pearls of wisdom from the trip: Nancy notes that it's often brought up at the International Ski week how guides and skiers feel the sync of team work and camaraderie. She appreciated our teamwork while assembling and disassembling the bike, and while cycling together up and down the Alps--as well as our constant laughter in tough situations. What an amazingly awesome adventure! Kris gained a deeper appreciation for a can-do attitude: Stay positive and keep moving! And cheese, lots of cheese! Stay tuned, we may do a special interest session at SFL 2023, where we will play some of the sound-bites from our trip and show amazing videos of the stunning scenery!