August 21, 2019
On my own again
Heading west from Zurich to Aarau
This morning I set off on my own west to Aarau. My cycling companions have returned to the USA. I am touring solo to a small Swiss village of Pieterlen where my mother was born.
I needed to rent a bike and panniers for this segment of my tour. I found Eurotrek on Swiss Mobility, an excellent resource for cycling in Switzerland. I am cycling two segments of their Mittelland route, Swiss bicycle route 5.
This morning a Eurotrek driver picked me up at my Zurich Airbnb and took me to the Eurotrek offices in a northwest Zurich suburb, Unterengstringen. This saved me the stress of navigating through a busy metropolitan Zurich.
My first impressions of Euroterk are quite positive. I had an orientation of Swiss Mobility of which I had some knowledge. Ruedi of Eurotrek gave an overview of the tour package and what to expect. He also gave me his mobile phone number. He told me to use it any time I needed some assistance. Nicely done start of the tour.
I was fitted with my bike. Ruedi took me to a nearby trailhead of Swiss bicycle route 66. This route goes diagonally to Baden and joins Swiss bicycle route 5, the Mitteland route. It was a mostly dirt, gravel, or limestone. It was a little confusing at times, but I did make it to Baden.
I passed through Baden and Brugg. Both are beautiful Swiss towns with the typical charming old town. I chose to eat lunch at a sidewalk cafe in Baden. I gave the doner kebab a try. I have seen them frequeny on this tour. It is similar to a gyro with the filling being beef, veal, and chicken. It was dressed with a variety of vegetables including cabbage and carrots with a sweet sauce. Pretty good.
I was halfway to Aarau after passing through Brugg. The route turned very natural. I cycled along the river mostly on a limestone path through the woods.
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Aarau is my destination for the night. I used Google Maps to get to my hotel and lost the GPS signal several times causing me to wander through the old town. My hotel is adjacent to the railroad station which is quite different than railroad stations have seen so far this tour. It is modern metal and glass.
Tomorrow I am off to Solothurn. I will be spending two nights in Solothurn. That allows me a day to cycle to my mother's birth place. My goal is to see and experience the place she was born and spent her first four years of life before immigrating to the USA.
Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 294 miles (473 km)
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