Riding and Running Around Europe

Following Switzerland 70.3, I spent about 1.5 weeks exploring Switzerland and Northern Italy.  During that time, I had the chance to swim, bike, and run at some pretty cool places.  I have posted pictures below from three of these outings.  The first set is from a run in Cinque Terre, Italy, between Monterosso al Mare and Vernazza.  The next two sets are from rides in the Mountains of Switzerland.  The first ride was to Grosse Scheidegg Summit.  The second ride was to one of the famous mountain passes in Switzerland, Grimselpass.

Cinque Terre, Italy - Monterosso al Mare to Vernazza

This run was a short (but very hilly with a lot of steps) run along the coast of the Ligurian Sea.  It was very scenic.

There are vineyards on the hills hovering over the towns.

It was cloudy in the early morning, but the sun soon came out.

I think this is the best picture I took of the coast.

The next day I went for a swim in the Sea.  It was a very nice change from the chilly Pacific Ocean.

Grosse Scheidegg Summit (Switzerland)

This ride was a nice loop from Interlaken.  The first half was essentially flat.  The second half of the ride was about a 5,000 ft climb to the Grosse Scheidegg Summit with some pretty steep sections followed by a descent back to Interlaken where we started.  My couch surfing host, Hayden, joined me on this ride. 

There were a lot of clouds, but still some beautiful views.

I made it to the top.  Now it is time to take it easy on the descent so that I don't lose control and smash into a tour bus.

Grimselpass (Switzerland)

On this ride I had planned to do both Grimselpass and Furkapass.  Those plans changed for two main reasons.  The first reason is that I needed to head back to Zurich in the evening so I realized I did not have enough time to also do Furka.  The second reason was that when I got to the top of Grimsel it was essentially 0 deg Celsius.  I realized that if I descended towards Furka, I would need to come back over Grimsel on the way back and I don't think I could have handled the cold.  Even though I only ended up doing one pass, it was still a great ride.  I'll just have to come back again (later in the season) to ride some more of the passes.

This video was about 10 miles into the ride. Turn your speakers down before watching this video...the wind noise is pretty loud.

Such a calm lake.

The early morning view of the mountains across the valley was beautiful.

This is the valley with the town Innertkirchen. The start of the climb to Grimselpass is right in the center of the  valley.

Stopped to take some pictures before I got to the snow.

I caught up to another rider from South Africa at the beginning of the ascent to Grimsel.  We chatted for a while and then I went ahead on my own.

As I ascended to the to of Grimselpass, it got colder and colder. So, I didn't want stop to take pictures...I just wanted to push up the mountain so I could rest and grab a coffee when I got to the top.  I finally stopped for a picture when I made it there...

Panoramic view of the top of Grimselpass.

Not very scenic...but very cold.

I packed cold weather gear, but I was still cold.  I had to stop several times on the descent so I could let my hands warm up.  That allowed me time to take pictures.

Switchbacks galore...These make the Ranchos Palos Verdes Switchbacks look like nothing.

I think this is a cool view of the road.

Just below the cloud level.

I thought all of these little water streams running down the mountain looked neat.

Later in the day, my bike was all packed up and I was on a trolley thinking of when I was going to come back again to ride through the mountains in Switzerland.