Einsiedeln: Zugfest!

August 3, 2017

Today was a Zugfest day. We couldn't seem to get our act together, and it all fell apart somewhere around Zug. Maybe we just needed time alone from each other! Who knows? Or maybe it was just the way touring acts after a spell. I actually have not toured as a triplet before. At least not for this long, now nearing three weeks through two countries. But here we were, all going in different directions.

Today's ride to Einsiedeln.

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The day started out great, actually, with an easy exit out of Lucerne headed north. Initially, it was a bit industrial, but after about three miles we were away from that and biking along the Reuss River and headed downstream, meaning downhill.

Leaving Lucerne on cobblestones. Always a good way to wake up in the morning!

The trail along the Reuss River is heavily wooded in parts, so while we were following the river, it wasn't always visible.

And other parts are on what looks to be just an unpaved country road, although we didn't run into any cars! My guess is that the adjacent farmer does use it on occasion.

It was very easygoing. But it was also supposed to be a longish day, 47 miles and 3000 feet. But it didn't feel like that for the first 10 or so miles when we entered Risch-Rotkreuz and stopped to get snacks. While there, we were passed by a horde of cyclists out for a day ride. At least 20 with a leader and a sweep. In between, it looked like just ordinary folks out for a ride, unconcerned about traffic and apparently experienced but not hard-core.

After Risch-Rotkreuz, we started into rolling hills, which is to be expected. Any lake tour is going to have to cross drainage divides, and rolling hills are precursors to major climbs. We had three lakes to visit today, and all the (mostly) flat work so far was not chipping much into the 3000 feet still ahead. But in this case, the reward came with little effort, and we soon laid eyes on Zugersee.

On the rolling hills overlooking Zugersee.

This was my second visit to Zugersee (and Lucerne yesterday). In 2010, I biked from Frankfurt to Basel and from there to Lucerne before turning east for Konstanz and Munich. But that year, I headed east out of Lucerne and took the south shore around Zugersee for Zug. But on this trip, we are following the north shore to Cham and around the lake to Zug, where we had agreed to have lunch.

So all the confusion started when I fell behind Happy and Jerry. I stopped to take some pictures of the waterfront and an art installation of some sort and afterward just took my time biking to Zug, which was, at most, two miles down the course.

A covered bridge over a tributary feeding the lake.

And an art installation, which I had some difficulty photographing.

But it is amazing what two miles can do! I expected to run into both of them at some point, but we never met! Not that there were many places to stop and eat. We were only skirting Zug, really, not passing through the core of the city, so there were few choices. Plus, I must have made more wrong turns in that town trying to find the course than I have made the entire trip! At least six or seven, depending on how you count them, all within minutes of each other. Garmins are great, but in urban areas they can be difficult to read! And sometimes the signal lags, so if you have turns in quick succession, it can be easy to overshoot them and make a wrong turn.

So I looked to no avail — no Happy and no Jerry. After recovering the course (and figuring out my bad turns), I decided to press on past the train station and headed out of town, thinking lunch was out today. I had my reserve food and felt comfortable skipping it. Then I made another wrong turn and was frustrated to the point that, rather than retrace my tracks, I went rogue and cut across several farm roads to rejoin the course. Unfortunately, as I learned later, Happy and Jerry had stopped at a restaurant on the outskirts of town, and if I had retraced and returned to the course, I would have found them!

But I didn't. So on I pressed, following our course along the Lorze for another mile or two before deciding to stop for a snack. That's when I noticed a text message from Happy indicating where they were. They soon caught up with me, a little unhappy and still without lunch, as for some reason, having found a restaurant, they didn't go ahead and eat.

Having regrouped, we decided the next place to look would be Barr, which was not far ahead. But to make a long story short, we stuck together long enough to find that all the restaurants were closed. But in our wanderings, Happy and I separated from Jerry, found a hole-in-the-wall place (Joy's Asian Food), got seated, but then could not locate Jerry. It turned out he had decided to go right and move on down the course, whereas Happy and I went left and found food! Jerry actually ended up eating in the nature preserve we were about to enter (at Restaurant Höllgrotten). I suspect he got the better deal!

So we did not see Jerry again until later that day.

Well, he's an experienced touring cyclist, and we are all going to the same place anyway . . . eventually! So Happy and I finished lunch and started back on the course. And it was probably the best part of the ride, in my opinion, although this is in retrospect, and I'm sure Happy has his own opinion!

It was uphill for 6-1/2 miles! But it was a gentle climb. It started out paved but became an unimproved road after about two miles. Just dirt and gravel as we followed the Neue Lorze upstream to the Ägerisee, our second lake today. The area we biked through seemed to be a nature preserve, but I can't identify the name. Regardless, it was nice and seemed untouched. But clearly it was also a recreational area. And the stream had weirs built into it at very regular intervals to slow the flow of water and mitigate erosion.

The early part of the climb, on a paved road.

Further into the park, a gravel road, which closely followed the river.

Above, beside the craggy rocks of the pass and the towering trees, were two bridges. Two tall bridges. One for the railroad, which looked old as it was an arched stone bridge, and a second, modern, sleek concrete structure carrying the highway traffic. But, at the time, we were on dirt and gravel, and I thought to myself, "This is the best road!

An older stone arch bridge carrying the railroad and, behind it, the more modern highway bridge.

And still a little more climbing to get to the top.

That about put us at the top. But there was no big descent to Ägerisee. It flows into the Lorze, so must be at least level with it! And it was. And we biked all the way around it to our next pass!

Four miles around the lake, and then we made an innocent-looking left turn onto a secondary road. It looked easy at the start, and I could see the top of the pass as we climbed through some nice fields with great views of the lake.

Our innocent left turn looked very inviting.

And it was nice to bike with little or no traffic surrounded by farmers' fields. You can see the mainline road in the distance.

The "bypass" eventually returned us to the main road, but only for a short distance, and then another left . . . and the real climbing of the day. A real ball-buster of a hill. I mean, it was steep. And this is where I dropped Happy. Because when I start climbing, it's hard for me to stop. I have to do it at my pace, or I'm defeated!

Back on the mainline, but only for a short distance. Note the great bike facilities! But we turned at that first left, right before the road curves to the right.

Taking us into this beguiling but beautiful valley.

Followed by this climb up to Sattel (courtesy of Google Maps).

Followed by an even steeper climb just because it was there!

I was not expecting such a tough climb, but I certainly enjoyed the descent into Rothenthurm. It was there that I decided to change my course! We were routed to go left and climb a farmer's track to the top of a ridge line, but instead, I opted to go right and follow the main highway. It had a bike lane, mind you, and allowed me to reconnect to the course later. So that's what I did.

So, at this point, I was fully separated from Happy AND Jerry and off course to boot. I knew Happy was behind me but didn't know where Jerry was. I texted both with my plan and recommendations but did not receive a response. Well, it didn't matter much . . . we had already spent much of the day apart! So on I carried! And it was a beautiful ride either way, and I recovered the course on a fairly stunning section as well. Plus, it was downhill all the way. I had earned that!

I rode on the mainline for only two miles before turning off onto secondary roads . . . which became something more like single-track paths that gave me great views and . . .

. . . returned me to a beautiful section of the course.

This section was quite nice, and I carried on till I got to a Shell station that also had a convenience store. There, I bought a one-liter bottle of San Pellegrino and downed it! Well, mostly. I put some in my empty water bottle. And as I hung out and was about to leave, there appeared Jerry and Happy. Not sure how they connected or how we passed Jerry (although I suspect it was while he was having lunch in the nature preserve), but it didn't really matter. We were together again!

And, being together, we reviewed the last three miles into town and to our hotel. More uphills were ahead of us! We tried to minimize it . . . to no avail! That's OK, we finally laid eyes on our third lake of the day, Sihlsee. Time for a beer and a sunset!

The main road into Einsiedeln, which took us beneath this pedestrian bridge, which did not connect anything in particular . . . just a connection over a river. Connections are important, though!

Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 707 miles (1,138 km)

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