Gersau - Fate Takes a Hand

After the Klausen Pass it started to rain at an incredible rate. Refuge was taken at a bike store where the affable chap in charge did some minor repairs to the brakes on Dave's old touring clunker.

It was decided that the safest way around the lake was across it and so we jumped on board a restored paddle steamer that took us leisurely to the town of Gersau, about 17km further around the shore.

With the Bastard Pass still in our legs we trailed into a youth hostel run by a ditsy woman and Grumble Stiltskin, the total prick of customer service. Having discovered that the only place to eat was in the town centre, we jumped back on our bikes and headed in. We had never been out for dinner in our cycling gear or on our bikes, but we were stuffed and couldn't be bothered with the effort of changing. And this was when fate played its hand. The prices on the shore-front were ridiculous, so we turned up the hill and into the backstreets. While standing in front of a seedy looking hotel a woman appeared and told us in Swiss German to go up the hill and look for a restaurant on the right hand side. This was probably the first thing we had understood anyone say in Swiss German and as we rode up the hill we could hear her voice urging us on a little further.

We came into an open space and there before us was a restaurant terrace populated with the finest riders of the Gersau Cycling Club, resplendent in full cycling regalia after the final stage of their yearly jaunt to France. They immediately recognised us as fellow cyclists as we had not bothered to change, and invited us into their company for a beer.

What a fun night! Obviously being athletes we all drank a bucket load of beer and ate things drizzled with melted cheese. We discovered that one of their number was Oscar Camenzind, 1998 World Road Cycling Champion, winner of the 2000 Tour de Suisse, and the man that we will always remember as the one to introduce us to "schnupf"or scented snorting tobacco. So here's a big thanks to Caesar, Spartaco, Rene, Roland and the boys and girls of the Gersau Cycling club for making Switzerland a great place to be. We want to reserve a special thanks to Oscar for the jersey and a story to impress the cycling crew back in Melbourne. Cheers!

We write to you from Interlaken with only 200km of Switzerland remaining before we meet with our destiny in the French Alps.

Stage 11 - 81.7km