September 5, 2009
Orbe: Switzerland
We made it to Switzerland but not easily. We started on a fine cold morning in Pontalier when someone finally arrived to let us get our bikes out. Managed to find a way out of towns the first 12km on the busy N57 road. As we approached the road we went into a dense fog in the valley as we went up. It was fairly dark also with our flashing lights not working well, mine not at all and Tricia's on steady only. We walked for a while with the bikes off the road and us on the very edge. Then it got a bit easier to see so we tried riding and in the end rode most of the way. It was bitterly cold so we stopped and put on our coats. Finally with great relief we got off onto the D6 going uphill. It had some traffic but a great improvement. We had to push for an hour or so but gradually the sun came out. The gradient eased and we began to ride. It was still cold. Then came a tiny village and we got a baggette and a lovely big hot coffee. By now it was really beautiful, cows with grassy fields ski slopes and lifts. We got up to 1125m before starting to go down a bit. Then we came to the Swiss-French border where there were a couple of buildings but no one there. The country was lovely and it was then a fairly steep push to the pass where there were lots of large concrete defense structures, a massive pill box and extensive tank barriers. Then down into St Croix which was a nice looking town overlooking Lac du Neuchatel and Yverdon le Bains where we wondered about staying.
From St Croix it was downhill for 10+ km mainly through forests. There were some cyclists struggling up and lots of cars. The brakes seemed to hold OK Finally we reached the bottom , it was still cold. There we took the decision to go to Orbe. It was a very nice trip through fields - wheat, squash, sugar beet, harvested sunflowers and suddenly just before Orbe hillsides of nearly ripe grapes mainly ripe grapes It was a beautiful sight, they didn't seem to be tractor worked and there were only few nets.
Orbe is a neat little town, we found our way to the centre and I minded the bikes while Tricia set off to find somewhere to stay. It turned out to be only 10m away. Had a shower and a snooze then went to explore. Discovered a nice camp ground on the edge of town that was not in the book. We are planning a hamburger meal next door - the prices of this beautiful hotel seem very high
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Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 1,092 km (678 miles)
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