It was raining all night, and still raining by morning, with the surrounding mountains shrouded in cloud. Our worst fears from last night’s forecast were confirmed, so we were relieved we had decided last night to no ride the two passes we had originally planned.

We had our provided breakfast in the basement of our independent hostel, which was very cosy and warm. We particularly liked the interesting breakfast cereals on offer. A Swiss guy was having breakfast at the same time, so we chatted with him. As we were leaving the hostel just after 10am, Tao explained on video that we were in fact going to be riding the two passes today, but we wouldn’t be able to take any video shots because of the heavy rain. And if we did happen to look a bit on the dry side when we reached Fiesch, it would only be a trick of the light.

First, we rode to Airolo station to check bus and train times and discovered that train was the only option. There was a train every hour, so we booked our tickets at 10.30 and then rode on to the Airolo Cable Car which Joe was keen to try out. It had been raining all the way from the hostel (about 1.3 miles) and since we were unfortunately dressed for the train today, our trousers got totally soaked.

One woman was operating everything at the cable car. Tao and Michael paid her 15 Francs each to go up, but Joe, being Kinder, paid only 8 Francs. Joe managed to mess up the ticket machine on the turnstile, so the woman had to come and sort that out for him. She then went up with us in the Cable Car, doing her best to answer our questions even though her English wasn’t the best. It was understandably very quiet today, and she told us that the woman running the café at the top would be pleased to see us.

The journey was fun, and when we reached the top, with mist and low cloud all around us, there was only the café there to visit, as of course there is no snow at this time of year. The woman in the café was indeed pleased to see us, and her grandson, who was there helping her today, seemed even more pleased. He served us our drinks and food with great enthusiasm, and we had a good chat with both of them.

When we returned to the cable car station it looked like we had just missed the “down” car, but there was a video camera there watching, and when the woman at the bottom saw us waiting, she sent the car up to fetch us. It was all very efficient. Michael decided to change into his shorts for the journey back to the station, to avoid getting his trousers wet again.

We rode back to the station in time to catch the 11:54 train, which took us through a very long tunnel right through the mountain on which Andermatt sits, and emerged at Göschennen, on the other side of Andermatt. We changed there to a Funicular ratchet-train which took us up the mountain and back to Andermatt, with our bikes stowed in the cargo area. We got some good views from the train and took some video shots of the journey.

We arrived at around 12:20 with a plan to buy lunch while we waited for our third and final train, but once again we were in for a shock. Even here, most shops were closed for lunch between 12.00 and 2.00. In the UK we would never accept such a poor level of service, closing up just when people need to buy lunch. Browsing around we discovered that some shops were actually open, usually the ones you wouldn’t mind closing for lunch, like sports shops. Joe finally found and bought a Swiss penknife for 27 Francs in the new red style. There was a snooty American woman in the shop who was making things difficult for the shopkeeper with her demands.

Riding to the Coop Tao managed to fall off by striking the kerb off the cobbles, but he wasn’t hurt. We had to wait outside until the Coop finally opened, then we ate our lunch nearby, on a seat near the public lavatories.

After a last look in the shops we caught the train to Fiesch, a journey of 1 hour 20 minutes. In order to avoid the train having to climb to the Furka Pass, the Swiss had burrowed a 15km tunnel through the mountain. When it emerged on the far side, we were able to follow the cycle route, Route 1, that we would have taken if we had cycled, which from Blitzingen was pretty much all downhill. We managed to get the train to stop specially for us at the tiny station right outside the Olympic Sports training centre at Fiesch, where the Youth Hostel is located, so we really didn’t have any more cycling to do.

The whole site was totally amazing, with lots of buildings and incredible sports facilities scattered around an enormous campus. Many families and young people come to stay there to practice their chosen sports, so there are many accommodation blocks and a huge restaurant. The Youth Hostel was occupying Block 6 on the second floor of one of the residential buildings.

As it would be dark soon, we decided to play a round of mini golf before our meal, just for a bit of fun. And it was actually a lot of fun, as our video shots can verify. While we were playing, another train stopped to let off a huge group of youngsters who all flooded into the site – it’s good to see that Switzerland encourages its young people to get involved in sport like this.

Joe was just itching to use the internet for some reason, so we let him do that, then made our way to the huge restaurant at 6.45 for our evening meal. The three-course meal was not bad for 14 Francs, although we weren’t allowed to have any drink except water within the price, which was a bit crazy as drinks are the cheapest parts of the meal to make. While we were there, loads of kids came in to eat, presumably staying at the other accommodation blocks, so it did feel a lot like a school canteen.

We then set off to explore the grounds. There was a table tennis hall where all twenty tables were in use by young players. There were several courts, including squash, a BMX track and a climbing wall. We also found a gigantic outdoor chess set where all the pieces were stored in a huge box – Tao opened it and said this was his Pawn stash.

To conclude the evening, we went to the fabulous indoor swimming pool for a swim. There was a “Fat Check” machine in the changing rooms, which of course Joe had to try out – no, he wasn’t fat. The pool was nice, but as it was really only intended for serious swimming practice it had no toys or flumes, just a diving board. A few lads seemed to really enjoy showing off their diving skills to us – they really were very impressive. We stayed until the pool closed.

When we got back to our room, Joe realised he had left his swimming gear in the changing room. We went back with him to retrieve it, but it was now all locked up. We would have to return in the morning. Meanwhile, we had a good night’s sleep in this unreal junior sports academy.

We were woken very early this morning by the Dairy lorry clattering milk crates outside our second-floor window, presumably stocking up the restaurant for the hundreds of meals it would be serving today. Some of the sports facilities on the campus had been in use until very late last night, as we had heard some people returning to their rooms after midnight, so we didn’t get the best sleep. Breakfast back in the restaurant was good though, and Joe was able to collect his swimming kit from the pool changing rooms, although they had to be unlocked specially for us.

We had fifty miles to do today, but it was pretty much all downhill as we followed the River Rhône down the valley. After stocking up with supplies at the Coop Pronto just down from the hostel, we re-joined Route 1 and followed it as far as Mörel, about 6.3 miles from the hostel. Here we took time out from the ride to kill two birds with one stone – do some great cable car rides and see the largest glacier in the Alps.

The first cable car, or gondola lift as they call it, took us from Mörel to Riederalp, a picturesque alpine village that is notable for being totally car free. After a short walk through the village we reached the second gondola that would take us right up to the Moosfluh glacier viewpoint, 2337m above sea level. We some great views on the way up, and also noticed a Snowblower Station halfway up packed with expensive Snow Blowers, presumably to move the snow during winter season to provide the best skiing conditions.

The Great Aletsch Glacier made a fabulous sight at Moosfluh, and was unlike anything we had seen before. The glacier itself is 14 miles long, and flow marks right down its length confirmed that it is in a constant state of slow movement. We enjoyed nearly an hour there just soaking up the stillness and magnificence of the place. When we felt we had got our money’s worth from the trip we walked back to the gondola station to return to the bikes, but as we approached, the gondolas stopped moving. Closer inspection revealed that the Gondola Operator had switched it off and had sat down with his feet up to have his lunch break. He then went off to sleep! We really couldn’t believe that after paying so much for the journey up, they would keep us waiting while an operator took a lunch break, so we just talked about it on video while the time slipped away and our day’s busy schedule was put back.

We had half expected to be waiting an hour, but in fact he finished his break at 12:50 after just over half an hour. We were cold and hungry however, as we had packed light for the journey up and hadn’t brought much food. When we reached Riederalp again we complained about being kept waiting without warning, then passed some downhill karts in Funland that proved irresistible. Tao and Joe went up first, being pulled up with a lift system and then allowed to roll down the grassy slope. Then Michael and Joe went up, with Tao on camcorder. It was all good fun, although it made us even later returning to the bikes.

We stopped for lunch 15 miles from the hostel, near Lalden. Soon after that Route 1 was diverted because of a concert, but there diversion signs then disappeared so we wasted a bit of time getting back onto Route 1 again. It was all either flat or downhill however, so we covered a lot of miles.

As we approached Sion the landscape changed, with fertile slopes farmed in a unique style. We also saw the two castles of Sion on their respective rocks that seems to rise vertically out of the valley floor. It was approaching 6.30 when we finally arrived at Sion Youth Hostel.

The town of Sion was much quieter than other large towns we had visited. We were back in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, which made us all feel a little more comfortable for some reason. Today was Michael’s birthday so we were hoping our provided evening meal would be a bit special. In the event it turned out to be satisfactory, but Michael’s vegetarian birthday meal was just pasta shapes with spaghetti and very little sauce, so very dry and unimaginative.

Just after 8.30 we decided to do an evening walk through the town to Valère Castle, about a mile in total. The walk took us through the town, past an interesting waterfall, then through the old town and up the Rue des Châteaux, which was accessed via an alleyway and took us up between the two castles. Both castles were lit up, and with crickets or grasshoppers making a constant sound in the otherwise still evening it made for an incredible sight and magical atmosphere. We felt privileged to be able to simply be here on this wonderful evening as we looked back at the Sion town lights flickering below us.

One of the slightly annoying things we have discovered about Swiss breakfasts is that they don’t seem to provide dessertspoons for eating cereals, and Sion was no exception. Only tiny teaspoons were available – you could just about squeeze two Sugar Puffs on a spoon if you were lucky, so it took ages to eat a decent bowlful of cereal. Still, there were at least a nice range of cereals from which to choose.

After leaving the hostel at around 10.15 we took a quick look around the shops and set off following Route 1 along the Rover Rhône. Stupidly, however, we had forgotten to buy lunch, which meant we would be at the mercy of shopkeepers to stay open over lunchtime. The route was long, straight and flat, missing Martigny but taking us past huge fields of grapes that were ripening in the hot sunshine. We also came across some delightfully-friendly donkeys that deserved the attention they got from us.

We arrived at Saint-Marice at around 1.10pm after covering around 25 miles. This was the first place with shops on our route, and since our route took us right past Migros we stopped there to buy our food. We were annoyed but not totally surprised to find AGAIN that the supermarket had closed for lunch at 12.00 and wouldn’t reopen until 1.30. Michael was hungry, so we wandered across the road and amazingly found a bakery that was actually open. There was a good range of pasties and other baked goods there, but only one vegetarian item on display, a cheese and onion quiche. So Michael bought that and sat down in the shade outside Migros to eat it. The others, for some unknown reason, decided nothing in the bakery was good enough for them, so they waited for the supermarket to open, which of course wasted a bit more time. Still, we were out to enjoy our day, so it didn’t really matter. Tao used the time to record a video of Michael eating his lunch, commenting that he had “scoffed an entire quiche”.

It was very hot under an almost cloudless sky, so Michael stocked up with a pint of iced lemonade from Migros and we then continued along Route 1 through Massongex and Vouvry until the Rhône met Lake Geneva, then turned right to cross the Grand Canal. It was a delightful spot, and as we were queueing to cross the narrow footbridge we heard English voices from some of the passers-by and ended up having a conversation with a woman and her son from England.

Now we had arrived at the very popular, very busy, very touristy Lakeside region. Villeneuve was packed with people, as was Montreaux, but at Place du Marche we found an idyllic scene right beside the lake. There were water fountains bursting out of the ground where children could try dodging the jets. There were also Bungee trampolines, restaurants, a seating area that overhung the lake, fabulous views across the lake to the alps and a dreamlike lazy atmosphere where nobody seemed to be in a hurry to do anything. We could happily have stayed there for hours. Michael wondered why the Lada Diana Spencer memorial in London couldn’t have been made like the fountain here, so children could actually play in it instead of just having to look at it.

We pressed on along Route 1, which followed the shoreline past many more fountains and pools. We were desperately looking for shade, and eventually found some in the form of a single shady tree near Pully. Ice creams were being sold nearby, so we grateful settled down under the tree to cool off, rest and enjoy our icy refreshments.

Time was getting on however, and though it felt this long day would never end we continued onwards to Lausanne, where our tour had started what seemed like weeks ago. As before it was a happy, playful place to be, and we were glad to return. We quickly found the hostel this time where we arrived by 6.50. We had been put in exactly the same room as before, which didn’t seem like it could be a coincidence since there were many rooms in this enormous hostel.

We were very grateful to have meals provided on this last night in Switzerland, and tonight we were treated to Steak and Fish, all prepared to a good standard.

We would have to leave early tomorrow and didn’t want to make any wrong turnings, so after our meal we cycled to the station and collected our bike bags which had been kept for us there. Returning to the hostel we got an early night and slept well, although perhaps feeling slightly sad that tomorrow we would be going home.

We were up a bit earlier than usual this morning, at 7.30, had a quick breakfast in the dining hall and left at 8.25 for the two-mile journey to Lausanne station. We arrived at 8.45 which left us 37 minutes to dismantle our bikes and pack them into the bike bags, which we did on the platform. All went smoothly and we boarded the 09:22 TGV train for Paris with plenty of time to spare. And this time there were no problems with the tickets.

The train sped along at very high speeds, but it was still a long journey, getting us to Gare de Lyon by 13:24. As before it was hard working carting the bike bags and luggage to the RER D train, and then lugging them up to Gare du Nord overground station, but the advantage of doing that was that we at least had time to buy lunch using the last of our coins along with our card. We found a quiet corner of the busy station to eat it at around 2.45.

We thought we were in good time joining the Eurostar queue – until we realised we were in the wrong queue, for a later train than ours. We then had to rush and only just got on the 15:19 train before it left. This time we were able to sit together, so it was a more enjoyable journey than the one from London at the start of the tour.

Our train arrived at London Waterloo at 16:54 local time. We reassembled the bikes on the platform, got some good food from the station shops and once again only just caught the train, this time the 18:20 to Exeter. As previously it was the slow, stopping train, getting to Exeter at 21:51. Then we had to change for the 22:05 to Newton Abbot, finally arriving at 10:43.

It had been a very long day, and a very long tour, so it’s not surprising we were all tired out when we arrived home. But we had some very happy memories of our second ever tour to Switzerland, which surely must be one of the best countries in the world to go for a cycle tour.

Our first weekend trip of 2006 should have had six participants, but Ryan was ill, Joe was doing ten tors practice and Matthew, well, he was just too busy in the end. So just three of us set off by car from Buckfastleigh on a warm and sunny Saturday morning.

This was Glen's first weekend trip, so we didn't want to do more than 20 miles of cycling each day. We took the Torpoint ferry to Saltash, then leaving the car near Downderry we rode along the coast road to the beach at Seaton and then on up the long climb to Murrayton. Glen and Tao were both interested in the Monkey Sanctuary, but as usual it was closed on Saturdays, so Glen couldn't even say hello to the inhabitants!

We continued down a steep track to the beach at Milendreath, then Michael had to give Glen some help carrying his bike up what seemed like a hundred steps - a short-cut to Looe. Scenic views from the final stretch of coast path brought us quickly to the busy fishing village of Looe, where we bought lunch from one of the many Cornish Pasty shops and enjoyed it on a seat overlooking the harbour. Unfortunately the tide was out, making everything look rather messy, but a few minutes later Glen had the same problem when one of the many seagulls targeted his left shoulder!

When we had checked out the local joke shop and Glen had bought himself a £1 pellet gun we set about the steep climb out of Looe. Tao did the map-reading for the next section, taking us through some fairly quiet and mainly flat roads to Bodinnick on the river Fowey. As we descended to the ferry we could see the gigantic china clay loading terminal, used to transfer china clay onto large boats.

We expected to be charged nearly £2 each for the short 2-minute crossing, but in the end the ferryman didn't charge us for the bikes at all. Arriving on the other side with plenty of time to spare we decided to explore the picturesque village of Fowey and purchased some refreshments to prepare us for the final climb to the hostel.

Glen led us down the final track descent to the hostel, a large country mansion set in its own private grounds overlooking the river Fowey. We were greeted at reception by an Australian with very large holes in his ears who told us of the YHA's plans to sell 35 hostels over two years. When we asked whether YHA was in some financial difficulty he thought a sarcastic reply was most appropriate, so we made our way to our top floor dormitory and set about the business of showering. One of the showers was closed "for health and safety reasons" - the large notice on the door explained that the cold water supply to the shower cuts off randomly, leaving the occupant showered with boiling water!

An interesting New Zealand family kept us company in the members' kitchen, having emigrated from the UK several years ago. They watched with interest as Glen prepared his can of meatballs, but in the end he decided that Michael's vegetarian opinion of them was probably correct and moved on to his second course of packet rice. Once the dishes were washed and the kitchen was tidy we spent some time playing pool in the games room and running around the garden in the dark, exploring the wigwam and woodlands at the far end. And of course, Glen wasn't scared at all!

Next morning we were expecting rain and had planned a provisional route that included a cheap train journey from Par back to Looe. Instead, sunshine and blue skies greeted us, and it was still dry when we had finished our breakfast with our New Zealand friends. They were travelling by car to Salisbury and wanted an interesting stop off point along the way, so we suggested the steam trains at Buckfastleigh which seemed to be exactly what they were looking for.

Our new plans for the day involved riding back to Looe and calling in to the Monkey Sanctuary, but this time we would ride close to the coast and call in at the quaint fishing village of Polperro. The ride was a little hillier than Glen had expected, so he was glad to reach the village. Once again the tide was out, but we stopped to admire the view and eat some refreshments before heading out along the coast path.

Once again the views were excellent, and we all enjoyed the ups and downs that the path offered us. Sadly Glen didn't see the Basking Shark he was looking for, but with cloud cover increasing and the occasional light shower dampening our spirits, perhaps it wasn't quite the weather for basking!

The hill from Talland Bay was challenging to say the least, and we were all grateful to reach the top and the familiar Looe road that we had climbed the previous day. Michael was overruled regarding ice creams at the local cafe, so we bought lunch again in the old East Looe and enjoyed it on the same seat as before, Glen taking care to watch the seagulls this time! He finished his lunch before Tao and Michael, and helped some local boys catch crabs from the harbour side.

We retraced our previous day's journey along the coast path and up the steep climb to the Monkey Sanctuary, arriving with just 55 minutes left to look around the many enormous cages at the selection of Woolly Monkeys. The Woolly Monkeys were originally unwanted pets, and the sanctuary always planned to release them back to South America. We were sad to learn that the plans proved impossible ti implement, as the monkeys kept looking for food on the ground, so they took the decision to stop breeding and let the colony die out. Ollie, the last baby born at the sanctuary, was now half grown but still having a lot of fun.

But the sanctuary won't be closing: they are now taking on unwanted Capuchin monkeys, the favourite monkey pet of the moment, and they certainly seem to be a lot of fun to watch!

With the time now at 4.30 we sped back through Seaton and Downderry to the car and headed for home, only to be delayed 45 minutes at the Torpoint ferry which had mysteriously stopped working for no apparent reason!

Congratulations to Glen, who performed admirably on his first youth hostel trip. He's looking forward to the next, when hopefully his friend Ryan will be able to join us too.

The weather next morning was excellent, with bright sunshine greeting us as we set off for Postbridge. There was time to call into the Post Office and village stores so that the lads could buy some drinks, then we took a look at the famous clapper bridge before heading off along the main road towards Two Bridges. Both lads were very interested in the derelict buildings of the Powdermills that can be seen from the road, so we detoured down the driveway and took a look at the proving canon, originally used to test the strength of the gunpowder manufactured on the site.

As we continued along the main road we noticed that we were picking up cobwebs as we rode! Looking around, there were cobwebs lining the roadside vegetation and huge lengths of cobwebs floating through the air, all glistening in the morning sunshine. Maybe the weather had been good for spiders last night?

Next stop was Princetown, where we checked that the prison was still there before heading for the Foxtor cafe. The fire engine was there, having just put out a fire in the cafe's kitchen, but the cafe was still open for business. There was a special menu on today for riders of the CTC's Dartmoor Devil audax, and well over 200 riders were expected during the day. None had arrived yet so we got fast service.

With plenty of time to spare we then set off along the old Princetown railway, now a very pleasant cycle path. The riding was easy and the weather perfect as we enjoyed the excellent views and scenery. Some sections of the track include long loops to avoid steep gradients, but we weren't in any rush and the youngsters enjoyed the bumpy sections just as much as the smooth bits. Eventually we met the main road and headed back to Princetown for further refreshments, this time meeting some friends taking part in the Audax.

Dark and ominous clouds had spread quickly over Dartmoor while we ate, but fortunately no rain was forthcoming and we made it back to Dunnabridge and over the track to Bellever without getting wet at all. Both lads were quite tired after the day's riding, which came to more than 23 miles, and they were glad to see the car. They were very keen to take part in another weekend as soon as possible, which just goes to show how much they had enjoyed their weekend on Dartmoor.

Our November afternoon ride was headed for one of our favourite destinations. Progress up Nurston hill was hampered by Chris Mabin's wide tractor: Ben and co decided it was too wide to be passed, so they went back down the hill to a wider part of the lane!

It was nearly 4.15 when we arrived at Shipley Bridge. The car park was nearly full, but most visitors were heading back down from the dam as the light began to fade. The only other person heading up with us was a woman on horseback, but her horse had other ideas when she tried to pass us. Apparently the animal was terrified of bicycles, and this was part of the reason she had brought him out today! Well try as she might she could not get the horse to pass us, so with gritted teeth she told her mount that he'd do it backwards then! With that she turned him around and backed him past us, which, whilst a little ungainly, seemed to do the trick!

We soon passed the picnic table that Zac had assured us was there, and when we finally reached the reservoir it was not as deserted as we might have supposed: several people (and dogs) were still soaking up the tranquillity and admiring the views from both sides of the dam. We stopped just long enough to eat some refreshments, then set off at a good pace with Michael chivvying everyone along in the diminishing light.

The sunset over White Barrows was magnificent this evening, and as we climbed the hill we were faced with a bright, full moon rising over the horizon. During the descent of the Abbots Way the moonlight became increasingly our main source of light, so this turned out to be one of the eeriest rides we had ever undertaken to Avon Dam!

It was close to dark when we finally reached Cross Furzes, but we had plenty of lights between us for the final descent to Buckfastleigh. We finished the ride just after 5.30 with everyone having thoroughly enjoyed the ride.