Over the Hills and Through the Woods to Switzerland We Go

Montbelieard, France to the Col des la Rangier, Switzerland

Day 49 - Sunday - July 31
There is a Foucault pendulum inside that takes 32 hours, 28 minutes, 37 seconds to make a complete  rotation.

Goodby France, hello Switzerland. Another border crossing station with no one present except us. The wall took the picture.

We really liked the name of this bike shop.

Get your firewood here.

Our first experience with the Swiss bike route system. We are in Porrentuny where we finally found a place to eat lunch.This is the French-speaking part of Switzerland so words are still looking somewhat familiar. They don't use the Euro though so we had to switch to Swiss francs. Delemont was only 15 miles farther which seemed quite doable at the time.

Just one very fancy snowmobile trailer. Maybe it snows here?

Looks like hills in our future.

We climbed for a long time. When we saw the sign that said 12% grade ahead our thighs tried to abandon us. At one point we weren't sure if it would be more painful to turn around or keep going and not having a detailed map did not help. We did get off and walk for about a mile to the group of houses you see downhill in this picture.   From that spot we could see the top of the Col des la Rangiers and thought that just maybe we could pedal from there....with a few rest stops. 

And then we were at the top........and there was a restaurant.

These are mountain bike routes with the estimated times to the different destinations rather than kilometers.

A little Swiss forestry management across from the restaurant. After sitting to rest and have something to drink we decided to check into the motel. Our bodies and our brains were done for the day even though Delemont was "only" 5 miles farther. A good warm shower, dinner and some time on the internet gathering better route information helped our mood considerably.

Day 50 - Monday - August 1
We woke to fog blanketing mountains below the Col.

Our haven. We didn't get a good picture last evening of all the motorcycles parked in front. It is a very popular resting spot even for those with engines powering their 2 wheeled steeds.

Christine is the owner of the hotel and restaurant and a wonderful hostess.  She even let us print out some route profiles on her computer. She also warned us that today is Switzerland's national holiday, that most food places would be closed so we should stop at gas stations for food.

We had to stop to dry off the glasses and warm up a little going down that hill in the fog. And  it really was mostly downhill to town.

Bicycle art outside a bike shop.....closed of course.

BUT if you need an innertube to get you on your way they have this handy vending machine to meet your needs.

Squeezing the bike path in between the road and the railroad tracks.

Some major highway construction for a road that will parallel the one we were riding on.

We are headed up the river so climbing ever so gradually.

Montier, where we found a handy gas station which had good sandwiches. It was right across the road from this park by the river which is getting pretty little by now.

There were also 2 major tunnels being constructed on this route. It is definitely changing the feel of the area where the small road and the highway intersect.

The farm roads are paved and much of the 64 route followed them as we climbed.

This was a side road that Doug went up to get the picture above. Even it had hardened tracks.

The guide we read last night said that the last section into Biel was too dangerous for bikes and to take the train. We met Roland there. He is a paraglider and that is his chute in the pack on his back. There are so many train stations that he just picks one to land near and hops on a train to get back to his home in Bern.

This handy symbol lets you know which car to board. There  is a very large space for the bikes and a hefty strap to hold them in place.

Our home for the night. Almost all those other tents are bike tourers as well. We shared a table at dinner with one couple from the Netherlands who have toured all over Europe, Turkey and New Zealand over the last 20 years. They had their own chairs. They were headed from Venice to home.  We also talked to 2 other groups that had crossed the Col des la Rangier that day and nobody had an easy time with it. The fireworks started at dark from all quarters, some little and some quite big but none seeming to be an organized display. They went on for well over an hour.