Ride: EF Alpine Roadie Adventure Day 1 - Andermatt - Furka - Nufenen - Gottard - Andermatt

Distance: Approx. 108 km.

Ascent: approx. 3200m

Start time: 9.30am
Finish time: 7.15pm

Rating: Difficult


When I first suggested this event, I must confess I honestly had some doubts. Utmost was my own abilities, given I had never riden much over 100km on a flat road let alone in the Alps. The weather possibilities also had me concerned, as a wet or windy day in the mountains can be a recipe for misery even in Summer. My last concern was the group ....personalities, how we would ride together, would we all make it, the possibilities of disappointment, dropouts, accidents, etc.


Basically, I was worried about everything that could go wrong.


I arrived at Andermatt at 8.10am, and found my hotel. They were nice enough to give me my room straight away, which saved me some trouble. I got myself ready by 9am , before getting a message that the train bringing Yokine, Hillseeker, and PTKate was delayed. Good thing too, as I was missing a glove. I raced into the local sport shop and purchased some climbing gloves, the closest thing to what I needed. There I ran into ChrisW, who needed a set of sunglasses. ChrisW and I then finished our purchases before getting to the train station in the nick of time to meet the others.


I realised at this point how badly organised I was; little more than picking a time and place was all I had accomplished. Fortunately ChrisW had all the maps and gradient charts, and he briefed us on our ride ahead. My group concerns faded immediately, as the group meshed immediately with immense team spirit and positive vibes needed for this challenge.


Hillseeker and PTKate set a fashion standard difficult to beat, with matching Assos Swiss jerseys. Yokine had brought his trusty tourer instead of a roadbike. This gave him a distinct weight disadvantage (5kg +) as well as added rolling resistance of bigger tyres. By the end of the day, Yokine’s performance on this rig made him without a doubt the star of Day 1.




We kicked off very close to 9.30am, and headed out of town with a distinct morning chill in the air. After a group shot at the first roadsign, we glided along through Hospintal to Realp where the 900m climb to the Furkapass began. All smiles and full of energy, we all made relatively light work this grade, stopping to take a glimpse of the old steam train chugging its way up the old rack-and-pinion track with a load of tourists. That whiff of burning coal in the fresh alpine air was a taste of nostalgia that conveniently distracted us from the task at hand.




We paused at the top of the Furkapass to gear up for the descent, and we were all in awe that Yokine was never far behind. After a quick group picture we commenced the speedy drop down to Gletsch. However as soon as the full panorama over Gletsch became visible, we hit the brakes to wonder at the view...the Swiss Alps just don’t look better than this. The rain the day before had cleared the haze, and you could almost see all the way to France!




After snapping some more pics we continued our descent into Gletsch. The inner tube I had stashed under my seat came loose and caused a scare by ravelling itself around my rear axle at 60km/h; fortunately nothing came of it. With another steam loco puffing away at Gletsch station, we broke for lunch, finding a nice table in the sun. We ordered our meals of chicken breast and (dried) spätzli and soaked up the wonderful atmosphere and great company, leaving thoughts and stresses of our daily routines to another time.




When lunch was over, it was an easy run down into Ulrichen. The mercury was pushing 27 degree here, and keeping hydrated was a constant requirement. We hooked right towards the Nufenenpass. ChrisW and I entertained the others with an amusing but successful attempt at applying sunscreen whilst riding uphill. With an average grade of 8.5% for the 1100m ascent, this was a tough ask as we geared down and grinded our way up..and up..and up... . We made one or two stops along the way, as even a quick couple minutes break was enough to give us “fresh legs” as PTKate called it. Once again the panoramas proved extremely distracting, and some of us developed a talent for taking pictures from the saddle.




ChrisW and Hillseeker reached the top of the Nufenpass first, with the rest of us not far behind. Once again, we had so much awe and respect for Yokine, as he powered on with his tourer. We celebrated the highest point in the tour with an ice cream, and the obligatory group pic. After that it was gear on again, and a tailwind for the drop to Airolo.




The combination a tailwind, concrete road and lack of hairpins gave us acceleration we hardly expected. Even without an 11 tooth gear, reaching 80km/h was no trouble, some of us even reached 85km/h or more. But a couple of us (including me) experienced a scary case of front wheel wobble, something that can result in a very nasty spill. Fortunately, we all made it to the bottom, and we took our jackets off to cope with the warm Ticino weather.




As we rolled into Airolo over some very poor road surfaces, we were all starting to feel quite drained...and the “contact points” , as Yokine likes to call them, were bitterly complaining. A water fountain was found near Airolo train station to fill up for the climb up the Gottard.


We had reached this far as a group, and it was great that nobody chose to pull out of the last climb. The team spirit and motivation was as unrelenting as the grades we were climbing, so all ten wheels headed on up the infamous Gottard, supposedly the “easiest” pass of the day.




We didn’t get far until we reached the cobblestone sections. After a day in the saddle this type of surface is hard on one’s contact points! Fortunately this section lasted a few km before we were able to rejoin the new road, which to this point was motorway classified (bikes not allowed).



The wind began to play a factor, often hitting us sideways or head on, draining what little we had left in our tanks. With the Panorama lookout in sight, we were hit with an exceptionally vicious headwind that almost pushed me backwards. With one last stop at this lookout, we topped up with water and pushed on as the shadows over the peaks grew longer and longer.



When we all reached the peak of the Gottard, the sense of achievement was euphoric, with High 5’s all round, as we knew it was all downhill from here. We had just enough time for a group pic, as the fading sunlight, the biting wind and falling temperatures added a sense of urgency to get going.


Back in town, we said farewell to PTKate and Yokine, as they still had a trip home ahead of them.

As I put my bike away and headed back into the Hotel to freshen up, I was overwhelmed by the experience of the day. The Alps had set the stage, the weather gave us the perfect atmosphere, and the wonderful, cheerful and determined group made this day a truly memorable experience... a true team effort. I am glad that collectively we have plenty of photos to give others an insight, but even these can’t explain the feelings... the aches, the pain, the feeling of personal and group achievement.

ChrisW: Thanks for the maps and other preparation, and sharing of your riding experience...without you we might still be lost somewhere! It was great to have you out front.


Hillseeker: Thanks for the motivation, encouragement, team spirit, and being up front there with ChrisW. You really are a Hillseeker!


PTKate: An awesome performance, especially for someone facing a marathon the following weekend. And thanks for the encouragement to do Day 2 back-to-back.


Yokine: You were the star of the day, proving that you don’t need a flash rig or fancy gear to climb hills, just strength and determination.


ChrisW, Hillseeker and myself, staying for Day 2, enjoyed an evening meal before greeting HeatherM and contemplated Day 2 over dessert. The forecast meant doing the Days 1 and 2 back-to-back....