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Sunday 14 July 2013
10:15 - 14:20
Morning ride (Car-assisted): Haldon Forest Park
Very hot and sunny
5 Participants: Lawrence Buttress, Ash Freeman, Michael Jones, John Rogers, Will Rogers
On another very hot and sunny day we decided that an amble around Haldon Forest Park shouldn’t make us overheat too much. John got all five bikes into his van and the other passengers went in Michael’s C30, and we arrived at the park at around 10.55.

First we rode the Blue track, called the Challenge Trail, supposedly of medium difficulty. Racing ahead of the group as we left a woodland area Ash failed to notice a tiny stone bridge as it was concealed by undergrowth. He went into the gully at high speed, was thrown over the handlebars and ended up with cuts and bruises on his right arm. Fortunately it was not too serious and he was able to continue with the ride.

The riding had been rather hot so when we got back at 12.45 we had drinks, soups and other refreshments at the café until 1.30 and then rode the easy Green track which took around fifteen minutes. We then went home for around 2.20 and had a games social after the ride until 3.30.
Friday 19 July 2013
19:00 - 22:00
Evening ride: Cancelled
Very hot and sunny
0 Participants: No participants recorded for this event
With Michael and Ash away in Cornwall for a few days today's ride had to be cancelled.
Sunday 21 July 2013
10:15 - 15:10
Day ride: Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Hot and sunny (24°)
21 miles (▲ 626m)
5 Participants: Lawrence Buttress, Ash Freeman, Michael Jones, John Rogers, Will Rogers
Today was thankfully a little cooler than recent days, but it was still hot at 24 degrees. We had planned a Dartmoor ride to Bonehill and everyone was up for it, so we took the old road to Ashburton and made good speed up Ausewell hill. When we got to Bonehill Ash entertained us by climbing what seemed to be a share rock face with his bare hands.

We followed the rough track to Natsworthy and then the lane down to Widecombe where we called in to the Wayside Café for refreshments. We chose it because there was a long queue at The Green café, but we ended up waiting just as long at the Wayside because of the slow waitress service. The food was OK though and the prices were reasonable so we didn’t complain.

We left Widecombe at around 1.40 and headed home at high speed via Leusdon. Michael at least was pleased to see that his favourite white ducks were back on the pond just below Leusdon. Spitchwick was stupidly busy today with police putting parking tickets on the many cars that had parked on the yellow lines – we had never seen parking officers there before, so the place must be getting more popular on hot summer days.

We finally returned home via Hembury Woods for around 3.10. Lawrence needed to get back but Will stayed for games until 3.45.
Friday 26 July 2013
19:00 - 22:00
Evening ride: Converted to Social
Dry
4 Participants: Lawrence Buttress, Ash Freeman, Michael Jones, Will Rogers
Will came up for the start and wanted to play some games. Lawrence joined in online and then decided to come up to join us at 8.30. After some fun on the trampoline we did a music quiz on US TV series and movie themes and then finished with some games of Modern Warfare 3.
Sunday 28 July 2013
10:15 - 13:00
Morning ride: Cancelled
Mainly dry after early rain
0 Participants: No participants recorded for this event
Early rain and the need to prepare for Tuesday’s Switzerland tour was enough to persuade everyone to stay at home today.
Tuesday 30 July 2013
07:45 - 23:00
Tour: Switzerland
Day 1 Home to Basel
Wet in London, warm and sunny in Europe
8 miles (▲ 15m ▼ 70m)
5 Participants: Lawrence Buttress, Ash Freeman, Michael Jones, John Rogers, Will Rogers
Our epic 2013 tour of Switzerland began at Newton Abbot rail station at 0745. This was the third time the club has visited Switzerland but the first time for most people in this group, so there was a lot of excitement in the air.

The 0806 train, which was a few minutes late, sped us to London by 1138 without incident. There was some rain around for our three mile ride to St Pancras International station, but Michael’s satnav led us efficiently through London’s quieter streets.

This year for the first time we had been allowed to reserve proper bike spaces on the Eurostar instead of having to dismantle the bikes and put them into bags. We couldn’t load them onto the train ourselves of course like we had at Newton Abbot: we had to find the Eurostar Despatch office, sign a few forms and leave the bikes with staff there to load onto the train. This left us with many heavy panniers to lug around the enormous station – John was especially grateful for help from Ash.

Our journey to Paris on the 1331 Eurostar was enhanced by an American family who struck up a fascinating conversation with us. The teenagers were keen to tell us how much they enjoyed Dr Who, and the parents lamented the local bias in most of their news sources and explained how much they rely on BBC news to get the whole picture. We felt rather proud of our great national broadcaster.

The weather in Paris was hot and sunny, in stark contrast to London. If our train had arrived on time we would have had a clear hour and a half to cross Paris and board our final train, but it was late so now we were under pressure. And the train we had to catch was the last one of the day to Switzerland. We saved a little time by persuading the guard to let us have the bikes straight off the train instead of waiting for them to be taken to the Despatch office.

Michael’s satnav again did a good job at leading us the 3 miles through the busy Paris streets to Gare de Lyons station, but by the time we arrived we had nothing good to say about French road users. There was a bicycle lane but moped riders were allowed to use it as well, and they kept weaving around us without warning. Then there were the pedestrians who kept walking out in front of us, evidently expecting us to stop for them. To cap it all a bus nearly took out Ash and John by overtaking and trying to turn right in front of them: fortunately it decided to stop at the last second before actually running them over.

Somehow we arrived safely at the station by around 1753, half an hour before our train was due to depart, but then the real nightmare began. The SNCF train to Switzerland had no space for whole bikes so we had brought bike bags with us for this final part of the journey. Our task was simple: remove the wheels, mudguards, pedals, seat and handlebars, pop the bike in the bag and carry it onto the train. But it was very hot and many of the group had not practiced doing this before the tour. To make matters worse there were 23 platforms and the departure platform for our train was not yet displayed on the board. Michael tried asking someone at the information desk where the train would be, but they seemed to have no clue and helpfully advised waiting for the announcement.

We picked a quiet spot near one end of the station, got our tools out and worked as fast as we could on packing the bikes. Everyone felt stressed in the heat and some found it was taking longer than they had expected. When the platform was finally announced it turned out to be in the worst possible place, at the other end of the station concourse! So now we had to drag the bagged bikes and our luggage past 22 platforms!

Michael and Ash got their bikes and luggage onto the train and then went back to help the others, but the guards and station officials were looking anxiously at their watches when they realised there were more to come with only minutes left before the train was supposed to leave. In the end the last few bikes had to be shoved into bags with bits sticking out and zips not done up properly, dragged to the train at top speed and dumped unceremoniously into the luggage space. The guards didn’t seem to mind about the state of the bags as long as the train could leave on time, and somehow it did although we only got on with seconds to spare.

If there was one redeeming factor it was that our seats for the journey were air-conditioned. It took us probably half an hour of sitting quietly before we were cool and calm. We got a lot of strange looks from other passengers who seemed amused to see the state we were in. We obviously hadn’t had time to buy drinks on the station so now we had to pay extortionate prices on the train, but at least they were chilled.

We finally arrived in Basel a few minutes early at 9.20. We reassembled the bikes and bought lots of excellent food from some of the many station shops and cafes, including yoghurt drinks that Michael had not tasted for many years.

We had just over a mile to ride to Basel youth hostel, and once again Michael had programmed his satnav to take us there by the shortest route. Unfortunately trams ran along all the roads near the centre and their overhead electric cables completely blocked out the satellite signals. The maps were stored on the satnav however so we were able to navigate the old-fashioned way.

We had a very comfortable modern dormitory and made good use of the individual showers that opened directly onto the corridor, although because we had arrived so late there were one or two complaints from other hostellers about the noise. Our beds were comfortable, conditions were quite cool and the sound of running water outside put us all quickly to sleep. A few had nightmares about frantically trying to dismantle bikes while the train was pulling out.
Wednesday 31 July 2013
08:00 - 23:00
Tour: Switzerland
Day 2 Basel to Solothurn
Hot and sunny
27 miles (▲ 235m ▼ 180m)
5 Participants: Lawrence Buttress, Ash Freeman, Michael Jones, John Rogers, Will Rogers
We awoke refreshed this morning in what many felt was the best hostel of the tour. Breakfast was included in the overnight price and we were able to sit on a table outside the dining area near the river in glorious morning sunshine.

Our bike bags were quite heavy so our first task was to get rid of them. We rode back to the station, packed all the bags into a single package and checked it in at the luggage office. We paid a small charge of around £8 to get the bags transferred to Zurich station, where the tour would finish in 10 days’ time, but we felt this was a price worth paying for not having the extra weight during the tour. We stocked up with food and drink from the excellent Migros supermarket on the station concourse.

Riding all the way from Basel to Solothurn would have been 58 miles - too far for our first day – so we used the train to take us as far as Olten from where the route was mainly flat. Swiss trains are very bike-friendly: you have to pay half fare to take a bike, but you can put it anywhere on the train without restriction. We put all our bikes easily into a bike area of our carriage and were able to sit near them. We passed the time by looking out for cranes which Michael said had been everywhere on his previous visits: we counted more than 25 that could be seen from the train in the first ten minutes of the journey, so it seems even more of the Swiss population have their own personal cranes these days.

One of the many delights of cycling in Switzerland is the network of well-signed national and regional cycle routes that criss-cross the country. We bought take-away lunch at Olten station and then immediately joined national cycle route 5 which starts at the station entrance. We followed it south-westwards along the river Aare, green with meltwater from alpine glaciers, enjoying quiet traffic-free roads and tracks nearly all the way.

The sunny weather showed off the real beauty of the Swiss countryside today, although it was perhaps a little hotter than we would have liked by the time we reached the HEP station at Rothrist. We were looking for a shady place for lunch and finally found it when the cycle route went offroad through a forest after Boningen. There was a very well made see-saw nearby which kept us entertained.

The cycling route continued all the way to our hostel at Soluthurn. Along the way we rode past fields of vegetables and sunflowers – Ash just couldn’t resist plucking a face out of one of the sunflower heads. Because the route was mainly flat we made good speed and arrived at Solothurn to find loads of people enjoying the river: they were jumping off a bridge near the hostel and floating downriver.

The hostel was very modern. Our room was on a high level, giving us excellent views across the river. Two of us used adjacent showers without noticing that one was supposed to be for females: a couple of women who came along later became rather irate when they heard the sound of a male in their shower.

Solothurn is a large town with many shops, so we were surprised when we walked all around the town and failed to find a single shop open. It turned out that we had picked the worst possible day to visit Solothurn: today was Swiss day when everyone in the country celebrates the birth of Switzerland. Shops close early and stay closed, and a lot of people come to Solothurn to celebrate because of its long and proud history. We ended up enjoying hot food in a little pizza restaurant but we did not have a great night: it was oppressively hot even by Swiss standards, and loads of people were outside eating and letting off fireworks until 2am! It’s normally quiet and peaceful here – we just chose the wrong night!
Thursday 1 August 2013
08:00 - 23:00
Tour: Switzerland
Day 3 Solothurn to Avenches
Sunny and very warm
48 miles (▲ 285m ▼ 255m)
5 Participants: Lawrence Buttress, Ash Freeman, Michael Jones, John Rogers, Will Rogers
When we awoke this morning it was as if last night had never happened: all the people had vanished and the whole place was tranquil and calm. As we were leaving at 9.40 the warden gave us the fabulous news that because today was Swiss day, every shop in Switzerland would be closed except those at stations.

We crossed the bridge, bought rather expensive provisions from the kiosk at Solothurn station and then rejoined route 5 for a day that would be a good deal longer than yesterday. It was already quite hot, so we couldn’t help feeling envious as we heard people splashing around and having fun in the luxurious Solothurn swimming pool.

Our first stop was the tiny village of Altreau, famous for its feathered residents, a family of storks, who get special nesting areas built for them on the local houses. As we were leaving the village Ash couldn’t help noticing an amazing grand prix race car in an expensive-looking display garage. The sign inside the window said it belonged to Swiss race driver Dominik Kocher, but many of our youngsters wished it belonged to them.

A little further down the valley we noticed planes taking off from a local airfield, circling a few times and then dropping out several paragliders for the long, slow descent to ground level. This was Grenchen, a fairly major airfield, but to us it just seemed like the Swiss were wealthy beyond imagination to be able to enjoy such exciting sports in such a rural location.

We took shelter from the sun on the ancient wooden bridge at Buren but didn’t bother visiting the town as there was no station there. We missed the turn for Bienne where there was a major station, but were fortunate enough to find a garage near Gummen that had enough cold drinks and snacks for us to buy lunch. We ate it in the shade of a tree by the river.

It was no surprise that everyone wanted to go for a swim. Michael remembered a delightful spot by the first lake at Sutz, but when we got there today it was packed with locals and tourists. Switzerland is landlocked, but the locals get plenty of water fun with their lakes which have beaches and waves just like the seaside, but have the advantage of being fresh water, shallow and safe. The lakes are enormous, quite large enough for hundreds of people to be out on them in their expensive boats.

We continued along the route looking for another lakeside bathing spot. Ash’s mind must have been elsewhere: going around a bend he was looking up at the trees, veered off the rough path, hit a gully concealed in the grass and ended up being projected into the air. He had a nasty groin injury and needed ten minutes to recover!

We soon found another nice spot by the lake, at Täuffelen Harbour, but there were still a few people around so we just used the drinking fountains to refill our water bottles and sat in the shade near the many boats for a rest.

On a previous tour the Hagneck HEP station made an impressive site, extracting huge amounts of electricity from the fast flowing Aare-Hagneck canal. Evidently it had not been impressive enough however, as now it was being rebuilt to be bigger and better than before. Unfortunately this meant we had to negotiate a hilly detour around the building site.

Next stop was Vinelz where we branched off national route 5 to take the short-cut to Avenches via Ins. By the time we had climbed a long hill across fields and through woodlands we felt we might have done better to stay on route 5 which would have been flatter!

After Ins the route was flatter and quite fast. We worked our way around the smaller Lake Morat to Murten where Michael was sure everyone would enjoy a swim. But in the end they preferred to be closer to the hostel before getting wet, so we carried on around the lake to Faoug. Here at last we found what we had been looking for. There was a busy camping site by the edge of the lake, Camping de la Plage, that was all set up for fun bathing. Everyone went in, wading out through the warm, shallow waters and then swimming the last few metres to the first leisure platform. It was so refreshing to be in the water after such a long, hot day of cycling. Some went out to a second platform but everyone had fun diving and jumping into the water. When we eventually returned to the beach there was an outdoor shower ready for a rinse off. This was a truly idyllic spot, demonstrating yet again that the Swiss really know how to enjoy themselves.

We rode the final few miles to Avenches hostel feeling damp but cool and invigorated. Sadly the warden could offer us no food, but we rode the short distance to the local garage and managed to get enough provisions from there. It was another very warm night, but by leaving the windows wide open we managed to get enough of a breeze in our room to get some sleep.
Friday 2 August 2013
08:00 - 23:00
Tour: Switzerland
Day 4 Avenches to Lausanne
Hot and sunny
56 miles (▲ 445m ▼ 520m)
5 Participants: Lawrence Buttress, Ash Freeman, Michael Jones, John Rogers, Will Rogers
Today was to be the longest cycling day of our tour, and the excessive heat also made it the most exhausting. We planned to follow the relatively easy national route 5 to Lausanne rather than take the more direct but hillier route 1, so our first task was to use regional routes via Payerne to re-join route 5. It took us a good deal longer to reach Payerne than we had anticipated, but when we arrived we were rewarded with a huge co-op with a cool and shady multi-storey car park on top, so we used the opportunity to buy takeaway lunch and plenty of drink for the day from the huge range of products on offer.

We got away at around 11.30, then while following route 34 back to lake Neuchatel we misread a sign and ended up in Payerne military airfield! There were no warnings or barriers, no sign of life and no obvious security cameras, yet we had ridden alongside the runway and ended up next to some enormous locked hangers that looked as though they may contain some impressive military hardware. We found out later that the site is currently home to the Swiss Air Accident investigation board, and that by 2015 it will have been converted to a spaceport for satellite and space flight launches.

There was no respite from the intense heat until we reached the tiny village of Bussy. Here we luxuriated in the shade provided by a farmhouse and refilled our bottles from the village water fountain. These fountains can be found all over Switzerland, in virtually every town or village and even sometimes in the countryside. The water is always fresh and ice-cold. The Swiss pride themselves on never needing bottled water, and these fountains are yet another reason why Switzerland is the perfect destination for cyclists. Lawrence couldn’t wait for lunchtime so started eating his chicken while we rested.

We soon reached route 5 at Estavayer Le Lac and followed the flat cycle path along Lake Neuchatel looking for a nice lunch spot. We hadn’t found one by the time we reached Yvonand but Michael noticed a forest track heading off to the right in the general direction of the lake and thought it would be worth investigating. A few hundred metres later we had discovered the perfect place for lunch: plenty of shade, fabulous views across the lake, nobody else around and even a few benches to sit on! We spent an hour here just soaking up the tranquillity. Ash fell asleep on one of the benches, but he was still sore from his gully accident yesterday.

We had to press on now as there was a long way to ride today. Will and Ash managed to get separated from the group in Yverdon Les Bains but we soon met up again on the far side with the help of a phone call. Ash and Michael bought ice-cold drinks from the multi-storey co-op and the rest found refreshments in a nearby shop.

Despite the intense heat everyone was keen to cycle the rest of the way to Lausanne, although I’m sure the fact that our cycle route followed the train line all the way played a part in their decision. So we set off at around 3.30 on a route that was mainly flat or downhill.

Will was desperate for drink by the time we reached Chavornay so we detoured over the bridge to find a water fountain in the town. We did find one, but unusually this one was marked as unfit for drinking, so instead we refilled bottles from a local shop and public toilets. Ash was now suffering a bit with knee problems, no doubt caused by his accident yesterday. He toyed with the idea of taking the train, but in the end Will convinced him to cycle.

There was a climb on the route up to La Sarraz, but after that it was pretty much all downhill to Lausanne, through many interesting field and forest tracks. When we reached Echandens we were so tired with the riding and the heat that we decided to leave route 5 and take the direct route to the hostel for the last few miles: it was a main road but was still relatively quiet. We finally got to the hostel by around 8.15, totally shattered but pleased to have made it without using the train.

After much-needed showers John and Will ventured down to the lakeside for a pizza meal while the rest of us made do with food we had brought with us. We were soon in bed, but the room was uncomfortably hot without air conditioning.
Saturday 3 August 2013
08:00 - 23:00
Tour: Switzerland
Day 5 Lausanne to Chateaux d'Oeux
Sunny and hot
17 miles (▲ 410m ▼ 445m)
5 Participants: Lawrence Buttress, Ash Freeman, Michael Jones, John Rogers, Will Rogers
After last night’s ridiculously-late arrival we were all very tired this morning and had no intention of leaving in a hurry, even if that meant we had to use trains later to make the day’s ride manageable. Ash needed some Sudocrem for his saddle chaffing, so Michael and Ash left around 9.55 to visit the nearest chemist shop. When we got there we found it was closed on Saturdays, so we had to ride a little further to find one that was open – they sold it by the tube for around £7.

We checked train times and found that we could take a train from Vevey to Montreaux later and then a second train right up through the mountains to Château d’Oex, cutting around 38 hilly miles off our journey. This would leave us free to properly enjoy the lakeside journey to Vevey. After some group photos outside the hostel entrance we left very late at around 10.55.

After riding through the grounds of the International Olympic Committee we quickly found ourselves on the banks of the enormous Lake Geneva at Vidy Promenade, making an idyllic sight in the morning sunshine. After two miles or so we had reached Ouchy, the central area of Lausanne, with the impressive modern fountains at Place de la Navigation. A quick detour up to the station to verify train times brought us within sight of a McCafe, and as John and Will were keen to go there we all went in, even though it was against Michael’s life policies to go to such a place! We all had McFlurrys – Lawrence and co had Toblerone flavour while Michael and Ash tried Ovaltine flavour, which is very popular in Switzerland, and were very pleasantly surprised by how good it was!

Returning to the lakeside we continued eastwards through Place du Port, where many bateaux boats were waiting to be hired, looking for somewhere that sold food or coffee for lunch. Ridiculously we reached the end at Quai d’Ouchy having found absolutely nothing! There was a nice quiet little beach place there near the Tour Haldimand statue with swans and ducks, so most settled down there to eat what they had while Ash and Michael rode back along the lakeside path to buy pizzas they had seen earlier. Ash cleverly managed to ride back one-handed with a pizza box balanced on the other hand. The swans got very interested in our food and got very close in their attempts to get some. After not being too successful, one came along near the end looking rather aggressive!

Leaving there at about 2pm we continued along the Cycle Route 1 to Lutry, stopping for water refills wherever we saw a water trough. It really was turning into a very hot afternoon. The cycle route then started climbing through a hillside that was covered with vineyards, with one climb being almost vertical, so our leisurely ride didn’t turn out to be quite as flat as we had hoped. We were rewarded with some fabulous views of the vineyards and Lake Geneva, however, so it was definitely worth the effort.

By the time we reached Grandvaux we were hot and tired, so when we found a restaurant there, the Hotel Du Monde, with outdoor shaded seating, commanding exceptional views across the lake and also selling iced drinks, we didn’t waste any time finding a table. This turned out to be one of the finest places we visited all day, and we were in absolutely no hurry to leave.

We eventually set off to continue along Route 1, which started with a little more climbing but ended up mainly downhill to Vevey Station. By now we were really exhausted by the heat, so we were very glad that there would be no more cycling today.

We took the first train the short distance to Montreaux and actually arrived there in time to catch the 5.42 train to Château d’Oex, but we needed to get food from somewhere, and this seemed like the largest town we would see for the rest of the day. We went to a nearby Coop to stock up and also visited a café near the station where Michael and Ash shared a crepe.

We then boarded the later train to Château d’Oex, which probably left around 6.42. The train zig-zagged up the mountain pass above Vevey offering superb views of first Lake Geneva and then the mountains with peaks reaching over 2000m. We ate our Coop food on the train, then Lawrence spent much of his time annoying everyone by zooming in on them with Michael’s camcorder – at least it kept him amused.

From Château d’Oex station it was all downhill to the Youth Hostel, where we had another late arrival, although we weren’t as late as last night, and we had already eaten our food. The beds in our room were arranged in an interesting manner, with two bunks pulled together so they were adjacent!

John organised a chess tournament after showers, which kept us amused for the last part of the evening.
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