Ben's Cycle Tour of Switzerland

Hello! This will probably be my last blog message (sob)! We are due to leave France tomorrow morning at about 7am in order to see the Tour De France stage. The stage is finishing in Bourg-en-Bresse and we are going to watch it near Dijon I think. Should be amazing. Have done a final 75 miles ride today of the "Col de Mort" or "Col of Death" as it is appropriately named! The riding over here has been amazing. We did the Col d'Izoard yesterday and had another big slap-up lunch. Cycling is great, you can eat loads and loads and not worry about it. On the Col de Mort today, my HRM said I had burnt 900 Calories for the climb, which is about half a days food! We are all sorting the washing out now and Alex and Mikey are cooking up a nice curry. Its a night of packing tonight! If all goes to plan, we should arrive back in England in the early hours of Sunday morning. Just hope sam and Sean dont decorate the van again! Thanks for reading the blog, I have really enjoyed receiving emails over the last 7 weeks - thankyou - they have kept me sane. I will ut some photos on here when I get back home so check back! Cheerio! Ben :)

OK, so the BenHen technology was having a few problems below, but do not doubt the power of the BenHen! If you go to www.photobreton.com and enter the event "Marmotte 2007" somewhere and enter my number - 2175 - then you should be able to see some pics of me. As a group, we were numbers 2169 - 2176. Bye for now, Ben :)

Hello there! We have been out on our first ride today after the Marmotte and there have been a few sore legs. I detonated on the final climb after having eaten a massive pizza with chips in Les Des Alpes (where we stopped for lunch). Talking of the Marmotte, two random facts: they were playing U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" as we rolled out, and the first song I heard after finishing at L'Alpe d'Huez was James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" played by a big band. They played the intro and then a guy went up to the mike and sang "My Life is brilliant" and took a long pause and then carried on singing. Lol. We have planned the next 3 days riding, and there is plenty of climbing on the cards. Also, tomorrow (Tuesday) we are going to go up to the Alpe and get our Marmotte photos. Hold on, the BenHen technology might be able to do something here! Try and click the link below to see my pics. If it doesnt work it is just rubbish, but it should do.

Good News! Yesterday (Saturday) was La Marmotte. I finally got GOLD!

Riding up the Alpe d'Huez at the end, I had absolutely nothing left and could see the time ticking away on my watch. Pushed really hard to make it to the line in time, and went over the line in 8hrs 13min and 17 secs. It was a case of third time lucky this year! Felt really good riding up the Col du Galibier and then hung on on the descent of the Col du Lauteret. Hit the bottom of the Alpe at 6hrs 55mins and knew I had 1hr 30mins to make the ascent. As it turned out, it took 1hr 17mins and by the top I was in absolute pieces. Cream crackered totally. All the way up, I was not sure if I would make the Gold time limit of 8hrs 29mins. Really pleased when the lady printed out my certificate and it said "Brevet d'Or". They certainly dont make it easy to get a gold! This was the last goal of my trip and so really happy to have done it. All the times (approx) are below. All 8 Buxton CC riders finished and everyone did suprisingly well. Sean, Alex and Richard did especially well and survived their first attempt!

Sam Clark : 7hr 33min : Gold
Tom Clark : 8hr 04min : Gold
Ben Blundell : 8hr 14min : Gold
Simon Brocklehurst : 8hr 47min : Gold
Mike Howard : 9hr 11min : Silver
Richard Towse : 9hr 17min : Silver
Sean Williams : 10hr
Alex Harbord : 10hr 52min

Word up jean. Today, we cycled down into the valley and then over the Col du Sarenne. It is sooo nice to be riding a light bike! The col was not as hard as I remembered it to be actually, but it has been quite cool today and so that will have made it easier! We stopped in Alpe d'Huez for croque monsieurs and chips...hmmm....and then descended and climbed back up here to Marrone. On the way up, a 3 pronged combination of tiredness/can't be bothered and mini-mard hit me, and it took me about 1 hour to do the last climb, averaging a whopping 4mph! Have slept this afternoon. Hope to be OK for the Marmotte, need some rest I think! Ben.

We all did our first ride todaz to a samll village on the hill called Oules. As usual the "take it easy, its a recovery day" turned into an out and out race on the climb and we were all pretty hot and sweaty by the top. Had massive portions of spaghetti for dinner and me and Simon have cooked pasta bolognese followed bz bananas and custard for everyone for tea. Sam and Sean are feeling better but Tom had the bad luck today when his frame came unbonded at the back. We are busy trying to formulate a plan to get him a new frame before Saturday and for now he is going to ride my Dawes that I did Switzerland on over the last 4 weeks. The Dawes lives on! Ben.

Bonjour! Have arrived at L'Alpe d'Huez at last (at Pete and Ann Clark's house) and all the guys from Buxton CC have arrived. It is just brilliant to see them!! They are all pretty knackered from the 20 hour van ride and Sam and Sean were sick on the way down! My day has gone pretty smoothly. Got the train from Geneva to Grenoble fine and then its pretty simple to ride out of Grenoble into the Oisans valley and then here. The mountains are as beautiful as ever. Found the first 6 bends of l'Alpe d'Huez a challenge on the touring bike, it was as absolute BUS but I made the climb OK. Glad they have brought the Trek down now, couldn't face another ride on the Tourer right now. So good to see everyone. This trip is ace. Pete and Ann have been very kind and prepared a wonderful tea tonight for everyone and it was delicious. So nice to have a shower with a proper cotton towel in a proper bathroom! Love it.

Well, this will be my last message from Switzerland. Have been on the street with the kids today and am starting to feel like a Genevan citizen. I have sort of lived in this country for the last 5 weeks and I will be sad to leave tomorrow, but it wont be the last time.

This morning I met Marian from New Zealand when I was sitting by the lake front. She is doing a mad cycle tour as well, but by the sounds of it, it is much madder and much longer than mine. She is preparing for Paris-Brest-Paris held towards the end of August. So far, she had been in France, then Spain now here and today she was starting a 6 day organised ride through the Alps. Wow! We had a good chat in the sunshine so thanks for that Marian.

Headed for the Red Cross Museum this afternoon. Saw the UN building and it was quite impressive with all the flags stacked up. The Red Cross Museum was pretty good and I learnt about the formation and purpose of the organisation. Its amazing how many wars there have been!

This evening, I wondered around the streets again, desperately trying to find something to spent my last francs on. Tie? No, they are too loud. Womans Scarf? No. 25 postcards? I was hunting for a shop which sold Swiss Army knives but the lady was shutting the door as I entered and the shop was crammed with Chinese people so I didnt bother. Had tea in a nice Italian Restaurant and finished off my time here with Spaghetti Carbonara - my fave. Just spotted at the Youth Hostel that I can buy knives here and so happy! Why do I need a swiss Army Knife? Because I am Ben Grylls, Bear`s brother. I drink from snow, and have a Ben Fogle Beard. I am a cycling survival expert here in Switzerland. Lol. Anyway going to pack kit now. Leaving at 10am tomorrow. The guys from Buxton CC will be trying to get to sleep now He He He - they have to wake up at 2am and start the drive down here. Due to meet up with everyone late tomorrow evening at L`Alpe d`Huez.

Bye Switzerland!

Went to CERN (the particle physics laboratory) today and it was ace. It is about 10 minutes on the bus and a bus saying "CERN" collects right from the station! You cant actually go down into the 27km particle ring underground and see the particle accelerator and detectors without going on a guided tour (which are all booked up to about Christmas) but you can go in a bit called the "Microcosm" and I did. Its like a museum of CERN. This place has really special relevance to me because I used to be seriously interested in this stuff when I was about 13. The Microcosm had a history of CERN, what had been discovered, and what they were trying to achieve. There were lots of interesting exhibits and the level was actually quite advanced - stuff wasnt in simple language and they went into quite a bit of depth with some stuff. There were old MASSIVE particle detectors which had been decomissioned that you could walk up to and gaze at the infinitely complicated electronics inside. You really got a feel of the collosal and I mean collosal project that CERN is and how much expertise, time and money has gone into it. The instruments are SO precision that they can detect a 1mm difference in the particle accelerator ring at certain times of the day due to the bedrock moving with the moons tide! The minds that come here and work on this stuff are absolutely phenomenal. I saw some familiar faces and names from when I used to read about it in about 1995. I spent 4 hours in the museum floating from exhibit to exhibit. It was great. Had lunch at about 4:30pm! Will put some photos on this blog when I get back home. On the bus on the way back, a guy got on and randomly started playing the accordion. Then a group of 4 guys were marching through the street in Geneva in black robes playing trumpets, saxophone and drums. Little brids came around my feet pecking at crumbs from my sandwich! It is a cool place here. Had a nice pizza for tea which had a fried egg in the middle and was called the "Popeye". Going to Red Cross Museum tomorrow which should be fascinating as well. Have been inspired and so have spent the afternoon jotting down ideas for my Master project. Nice and sunny again all day. Bye for now. Ben.

Imagine Tony Tiger off Frosties. Thats how grrrreat Geneva is. Wow - have been wlking around today and there are just so many people. Along with Bern and Lucerne, Geneva city has to be one of the favourite places I have stayed. There are loads of little creperies and food shops open even now, and loads of bars. Have been into the old part of the city this afternoon and there is a pretty minted shopping area, and if you walk up the hill a bit you get to lots of old cobbled narrow streets and sidewalks and old historic buildings where conventions and stuff happened. There are people playing the accordion on the streets, miming artists, the beautiful river Rhone, and trams and weird pedestrian crossings. Have been to the cinema tonight and saw Oceans 13. It was OK (a bit like Hustle on the BBC), a bit predictable and cheesy and probably better if you fancy George Clooney. Also, bought my train ticket down to Grenoble today - I go on Sunday 1st July and arrive in Grenoble at 12:30 after a 2 hour journey. Am back at the hostel now and it is getting busier again. Earlier today, it was totally empty but it seems to get bustling every evening. Going to CERN tomorrow. Oh yes, when I was in Montreux yesterday morning, a guy came up to me and said "You're a long way from Buxton!" - he was in the Matlock CC! Didnt catch his name as he scampered off. Wonder who is on my room tonight? Last night there were 3 guys (including me) and 3 girls. This afternoon, I have spotted some religious statue things on the bed underneath mine. Had a nice pain au chocolat today. Ben :)

OK, I will try and type the last message again. The main jist was ***I HAVE FINISHED MY CYCLE TOUR OF SWITZERLAND!!!!! ***. I past through the Geneva sign at 5:25pm this evening punching the air! What an epic!! 4 weeks ago, I was here talking to Vladimir about reading unabridged dictionaries. Now I am here again, 985 miles later and with a Dale Winton going on Terry Wogan tan, less money (much less!) and ripped legs. So happy this evening, have been smiling and walking around in a haze. I have met so many people and done so much stuff in the last 4 weeks - I am not going to cliche but it has been amazing di lingo, fantastico di mastico and even brillo McFillo. When I got here to the Hostel, I went to have a shower and thought hmmmm, this toilet block smells very nice and is very clean. There was even an attractive girl brushing her hair. Hold on. "I am in the ladies?" I enquired. Erm, well, OK, I`ll be going then. Just met a nice guy called Willy from Oban in Scotland and he has ridden down here on his motorbike and is heading into the Alps tomorrow. Will miss this place when I leave on Sunday. I am ready to finish my trip now I think, have slept in too many different beds but have loved every minute. Over the past 30 days, have experienced about every emotion from being happy and laughing to being so miserable and cold thinking I was going to die! Really pleased. YESSSSS. Came around a corner on final descent and suddenly saw Geneva and the water fountain - what an incredible feeling. Tour est fini, Finito. The last few miles felt like an eternity and my legs caved in as I was idling at 8mph. Got soaked in Thonon in another thunder storm but as I got to Geneva it cleared up and was nice. A lady who took my photo on the pier said "Well done. You are crazy" in a dead pan way. Thanks for reading my blog, and if you think I am a fruit cake then you are right, but I am a nice fruit cake so that is OK. I will be sending some more updates over the next few days and will keep posted on my attempt at Gold in La Marmotte in France on July 8th. Going away to smile some more now. This is captain Benny Birk signing off. Bye, Au revoir and Tschuss.

Hello! Today, at 5:25pm I went past the Geneva sign punching the air (to the amusement of drivers).

Hello! This will be my penultimate message before I reach Geneva tomorrow (Wednesday 27th June). Have been resting today at Chateaux d`Oex (which is in the hills and mountains above vevey and montreux). Have slept alot and dried my kit out plus put a load of stuff in to wash. Yesterdays ride knocked me out a bit, but I am feeling better now and I reckon Im ready for the ride tomorrow. Have booked the Geneva Youth Hostel until Saturday evening.

There were only 5 of us here today at the Youth Hostel as everyone else left at some ridiculous time like 6am this morning. She cooked us tea which was chicken covered in a nice coating of some sort and little potato chip squares. My cyclists appetite was noted! I managed to polish off all the extras and have just had a chuppa chubbs lolly. Cola flavour. Have been trying to teach myself some french this evening from my language translator thing. A group of spanish girls have arrived this evening as well on their way to Montreux and Lausanne. They look like they are eating raw potatoes out of a pan outside now. Going to get the train to Montreux tomorrow and then just bowl it along the shore of Lac Leman through evian, thonon-les-bains and finaly Geneva. I guess you guys arent ready for that yet, but your kids are going to love it. Ben.

Yesterdays ride was probably the most miserable ride I have ever done! I left Sion at 9.30am and headed up to the Dixence Dam. I under estimated this climb - it was 16 miles and took 2.5 hours to get to the dam wall. As I went up, it got colder, mistier, and at the top it was a total downpour and freezing. I was glad to get back down into the valley where it was fairly warm and cloudy. The cimb had sapped quite a bit of my energy and so I stocked up on bananas, peaches and dried fruit at the coop ready for a rolling lunch on my way to Chateau d`Oex. Found some quite back roads in the valleey which were nice, but there was the most massive headwind blowing all the time. I saw a massive wind turbine at one point and so this headwind must be a feature of the valley. After going on some horrible wide busy and dragging main roads around the bex area, i arrived at Aigle with 71 miles covered. The sky was going black and I knew what was about to happen. Looked at the train times and there are no trains to the Chateux from Aigle, or to anywhere even close to it. I resigned my self to the fact that I would have to ride up to it. At the base of the climb it said I had 33km to go. What a great feeling. As i went up the climb, I really started to suffer and by mid point I was close to being sick and passing out. I kept eating and kept the rhythm steady - I knew i would be OK if I kept it steady and didnt waste energy. The rain didnt stop. There was fork lightening and huge claps of thunder. People wênt comfortably by in their turbo charged Audis. at one point I though of flagging down a van for a lift, but no vans went past. I finally reached the top of the Col des Mosses at 6.15pm - what a relief. I was studying the map carefully to make sure there was no more uphill. After a freeeeeezing descent of 30 mins I reached Chateau d`Oex and luckily the signs for the youth hostel were well placed and informative. If the hostel was 2km further, I wouldnt have made it. Had a hot shower and a nice meal and then met a guy called Blaine from Peterborough who was out here with his mates for a week mountaineering. Slept well last night. resting today and drying my kit and will make it to Geneva tomorrow - 1 day later than planned. Epic. Ben.

Bonsoir. I am now back in Sion after catching the train down from Zermatt today and luckily my bike is still where I left it here at the Youth Hostel! This morning in Zermatt, I went around the Matterhorn museum and learnt about the history of the mountain and the catastrophe of the first ascent of the mountain on July 14th 1865 where 4 people in the climbing party lost their lives after falling off the North Face on the descent. When you go outside again and look up at the Matterhorn you see it in a different light and really respect it. I must say that the climbers who attempt it are really brave - the climb looks like absolute hell on earth near the top. I cannot imagine spending a night on the north face either. Even today the moutain claims 3 lives per year but there are many more attempts on it these days and equipment is substantially improved. On the train on the way down, met a guy called Joe (hello joe if you are reading this) who is a photographer and has lived in Zermatt for 19 years! He was telling me aboout the myriad of crazy MTB routes in the area. Going to bed now because have had a change of plan and am riding to Dixence Dam then Chateau dOex tomorrow because this hostel is fully booked tomorrow night. On tuesday, I still plan to do the Pass du Morgins to get back to Geneva. Pretty tired now and I am randomly falling asleep in the day. Bye for now, Ben.

Leaving Zermatt this morning after visiting the Matterhorn Museum. Will miss this place, it is great. Ben.

Hello, its Beetroot head. I was orange a la Dale Winton, but have now turned into beetroot Ben! Must have caught alot of sun today - took the train from Zermatt up to Gornergrat at 3100m. Honestly, I have never been on a railway like this one. It has a separate toothed rail in the middle that the train locks into and so it can go up really steep gradients. The train ride took 40 minutes and offered spectacular views as it wound its way over stupidly high bridges, tunnels and hairpins. The vista over the alps at Gornergrat was absolutely breathtaking and the Matterhorn felt like it was within touching distance. It was so peaceful as well. Away from the crowd spilling off the train, all you could here was trickling water and birds calling to each other. The air was really fresh as well - in fact it was noticably harder to breathe when walking around at this altitude. From the train stop, you could look over a cliff face and see the Gorner Glacier, like a slow motion river oozing off the surrounding mountains. I wondered what it would be like walking on the Glacier but talking to David back at the hotel, he said that it would be dangerous becuase they are full of deep creveces, and if you went down one, you would come out the other end of the glacier ground up about 250 years later. The leaflet for Gornergrat said that it was in the midst of 29 mountains over 4000m. The Matterhorn looks the most drastic, isolated and impressive by far, but some of the more innocent looking mountains are actually higher than the Matterhorn! Gornergrat was the highest I have been so far in my life - before was at the top of the Col du Galibier at 2645m. There was a neutron telescope at the top as well catching cosmic rays. Had dinner in the restaurant and came back down after doing a bit of a hike in my weedy cloth shoes. It is like a moonscape with lots of piles of snow everywhere, trickling rivers and sparse rocks with metallic flecks in them. If anyone is thinking of coming to Switzerland, come to Zermatt and go up to Gornergrat. Have had some tea now and have met some more roomates. One guy called Josh has just arrived and he is here studying German in his second year of uni. He has come up here on his own and seems like a determined little nubin. I have been looking at the map this evening and I am planning a MISSION back to Geneva on Tuesday. I want to end the tour with an epic, and so I think I am going to ride to Geneva from Sion via Monthey, the pass de morgins and thonon-les-bains. It will be about 80 miles or maybe 90 but Im going to get stuck in. Bye for now, Ben.

I am in Zermatt now after getting the train from down in the valley. It was another AMAZING train ride and the train screetched its way up some really steep sections of track rising from 500m to 1500m here. The railways here are some amazing feats of engineering. After getting into town here in Zermatt, I walked around a bit and then walked over this bridge, looked to the right and WOW. WOW. The Matterhorn is spectacular. It stands like a sharks tooth in total isolation with everything else and imposingly overlooks the town, covered in snow and the summit (4438m) shrowded in cloud most of this time. It is such a severe mountain. Met a nice guy called david at dinner and we have just had an evening walk around the car-free village and visited the graveyard where countless climbers who have perished when climbing or descending the Matterhorn are buried. Most are in their early or mid twenties, but there are some power-grandads who have had a go. David is really into stories of mountains and climbers and has visited the Eiger (near Interlaken) before coming here - he has recommended a book called "The White Spider" full of climbing tales on the Eiger. Going to bed pretty soon because back in Sion this morning I climbed up to the Castle on the hill and my body is beyond tired. I will have to try and learn to REST on rest days, not do everything else! I have left the bike at the Youth Hostel in Sion because it costs another fare on the train to bring it, and the train up here is already pretty cha-ching. I was going to ride down from Zermatt back to Sion, but I am not going to now because I never want to ride along this valley floor again! It is just so flat and boring and there is so much traffic that doing it yesterday was enough. Going to get train to Gornergrat at 3000m tomorrow. Nanny bye byes.

Hello and boujour. Madame et Monsier, Je habite a Manchester. J`mappelle Ben. Je suis "slighty crazy". Madame, deese Ferrero Roche are zreally zspoiling us!!!! Sorry. This morning, I have been a walk around Sion town and went up to one of the 2 castles on the hill (Chateau Valere). Man my legs hurt! Just quickly back at the hostel to pick up my washing - yes I managed to get the washing machine door open this morning!!!! - and then I am going to catch the train to Zermatt. This canton of Switzerland (Valais) seems pretty expensive! Speak to you from Zermatt, Ben.

Well hello there! I have quite a bit of blog updating to do! First off, I am now in Sion and in the "home straight" back to Geneva! Today (thursday) I watched the Tour of Switzerland (stage 6) from Giubiasco (near Bellinzona) to Crans Montana -- it was great - but I will first recap the past few days! Have done 200 miles in the last 3 days and so my legs (and bum) are screaming stooppppp! Also, frustratingly, the washing maachine has finished but I cannot open the door and so it will have to wait until morning whenn reception is open.

Tuesday 19th june: Left Lugano quite early in the morning and headed north on some pretty back roads to Bellinzona and then west through Locarno finally reaching Verbania about 5pm. Oh yes - on monday evening, cooked my own tea in the Lugano hostel kitchen and there was a swiss school party staying there. The teacher and her young assistant were pretty impressed with my culinary skills i think and kept looking in the pan and raising there eyebrows! Anyway, tuedays ride was really good. Got a bit lost approachig Bellinzona becuase all the roads said "no cycling" and I ended up riding into a construction site (which was a dead end). Finally found a weird one way road into the city on which bikes were apparently allowed. Bellinzona was really italian and pretty and I had a slice of yummy pizza in a cafe. Then I headed off to Locarno and planned just to motor straight through because I knew I still had some distance to cover. Got pretty lost in the Locarno traffic system and several times nearly ended up on the motorway! Went round and round in circles and then finally found a road with a load of construction vehicles on, but it connected me to the road which ran around the shore of the lake. This lake, Lago Maggiore, is absolutely beautiful, maybe even more so than Como if that is possible. My ride took me the whole distance of the western shore. Passed through the Italian border again and arrived in Verbania. Asked in the bike shop where the hostel was and he drew me a map and let me put 100psi in my tyres with a track pump. Had tea in "Euro Bar" and ordered lots to carbo load. Then sat on bench on lake side until 10pm and talked to some german grannies who were on holiday there. They knew a bit of english, and I knew a little german and so we coud sort of understand each other.

wednesday, 20th June: Simplon pass day. This was another 70 mile day like yesterday and my leg held up fine. Headed to Domodosolla along the vally floor for 30 miles and then started the acent of the Simplon. At first, the gradient is just draggy, it drags for ages and ages on long wide straight roads. When you go past the simplon train tunnel entrance, then it starts to kick up. I went through tunnel after tunnel after tunnel and then reached the swiss border. More switchbacks and tunnels and then you reach a place called Gabi where, as Paul Sherwen says, "The climb begins in earnest". You go around one huge switch back and then through a half tunnel which llast for an eternity before you reach Simpon dorf. There road is then pretty steep for a while - no let up, and then you start to see the summit. In the tunnels, the lorry engines sounded like tie fighters from star wars. There were also a few porches ripping up the road and screaming past. The signs warned lorry drivers about burning brakes! New I was at the top because it looked like the photo I hve from Wikipedia. Stopped at the summit cafe - had climbed to 2005m from 200m. Had a big slice of fruit cake and the lady let me charge my phone so I could take a few pics. I asked a lady outside to take my pic and it turned out she and her husband were from Hull. They were here on the motorbike and had ridden here from Rimini in Italy today - wow that is some serious distance. They even knew Whaley Bridge and the Cat and Fiddle and so I was well impressed. All the way out here and people still know! The Simplon descent to Brig was scattered with roadworks, but the road went over some impressive bridges on stilts and loads of tunnels. It was alot easier than the climb! I kept checking my stuff because if I left anything t the top, there was NO WAY that I was going back for it! Got to Brig ok and my legs were like jelly. Hoped on the train up the valley to Fiesch where I stayed the night.

Finally, that brings me to today, Thursday 21st June. Rolled down the valley from Fiesch to Brig and then along the long flat, boring and busy valley road to Sierre. My legs had NOTHING in them to start and it was raining. It brightened up though and in Sierre it was boiling. had some lunch and then rode up the crans montana climb to a place called lens and setup camp ready for the tour de suisse at a spot 6km from the staage finish. Got some free stuff from publicity caravan and quite a crowd had gathered by the time the race came through at 6pm. Saw Jens Voigt, Simoni, Stuart O Grady, Robbie McEwen, Roger Hammond, Matt White, erik Zabel and loads of others. It was gret beinng so close to them. Helicopters flew overhead and there were loads of lead cards and poilce marshal bikes plus sponsors vehicles. Have 2 min left so will be quick. Rolled down to Sion and this is where I am now Fancied a McDonanlds for tea and it was late and so I have one and it was great. Going to bed now and catching train to zermatt. 2 rest days coming up byeeeee

Hi! Just I quick update because I have about 3 minutes left online. No actually, I have put some more money in now. Today I have gone down into Lugano town and had a wonder about. It is pretty much like Italy - there are lots of dark and smooth characters around smoking cigarettes with style. The town centre has lots of shops selling ice cream, and baguettes which are made with this really salty white bread and filled with salami. There was an almighty thunderstorm last night and it rained REALLY heavy for about 2 hours, but it has all blown over and today has been warm and cloudy. I had dinner last night in the local pizza restarant and had my favourite - spaghetti carbonara, hmmmm. It is so much nicer in Italy than the carbonara sauce from Tesco. Aqib, who I mentioned before and his brother Adil joined me for dinner later on: Aqib was my room mate and has worked in Italy for the past 3 years and so can speak fluent Italian. Its amazing how many languages people out here speak! After dinner, I got a lift with them into town and I had a look around some shops whilst they went to a mosque to pray (they were muslim).

This morning, I met another nice roomate called Bom from Korea. He was over here looking at Swiss architecture and was off to Vals to look at a strange church thing on the side of a mountain. We had breakfast together, and then bid our farewells.

I am back at the hostel now, I am am going to make my own tea for the first time on my trip! Recipe:

Boil spaghetti looking pasta
Drain, add tuna and fry in pan with olive oil
Add chopped tomatoes
Add spinach herb thingy seasoning

I should be pretty nice and provide some much needed protein and carbos for tomorrows ride. I am going north of Lugano to Bellinzona, and then I am going the follow the shore of Lago di Maggiore to Verbania - about 55 miles I reckon. Wednesday is Simplonpass day and possibly the hardest day of my tour since I didnt do the susten pass, or albula pass come to mention it. OK, thats it for now, see you later, Ben.

Hi there! I didnt have chance to update yesterday because there were no computers, and so I will do it now. Well, yesterday was the first day back on the bike after 3 days rest, and I cycled from St. Moritz in Switzerland to Menaggio in Italy. The ride was really easy - you could just free wheel downhill for the first 25 miles! I went from the Upper Engadine Valley (where St. Moritz is), down the Maloja Pass and then into the lower Engadine valley. The road just kept going down and down and down. The Maloja Pass was awesome, and I really wished that I was riding up it instead of down. On every hairpin corner, you could smell burning car clutches and it reminded me alot of Alpe dHuez. From the lower valley, I went through the Italian border to Chiavenna, and then cycled along the coast of Lake Como to Menaggio. The Italian towns are really beautiful, and there seems to be alot more people around and more bars and stuff open than in Switzerland, but the road signage and directions are no way as good. To reach Menaggio, I had to go through alot of main road tunnels and one was really long. I really hate the tunnels because you feel so vunerable against the motoring traffic and it is pretty noisy and dark and so you cannot see where the curb is, which is never good when you are riding a 60 pound tank! when I finally reach Menaggio I had done 65 miles and the leg was hurting again, but not as bad as last time. The view over Lake Como was just breath taking. I cannot stress how peaceful and beautiful Lake Como is, I may be the the prettiest lake I have ridden along. In Italy, everyone has been whizzing about on scooters and there are loads of shops which sell Gelati. I found the Hostel OK and met three American girls outside who were waiting the check in. Gina, Katherine and Kristin were studying something in Florence and were up here for the weekend. For tea, I strolled into Menaggio village and had some proper Italian risotto (to see how mine compares).

OK, and so that brings me to today. Today has been beautiful and sunny, like yesterday, and the temperature (again) has been about 26 degrees - you can understand how there are palm trees growing here! This morning, I caught the Ferry to Bellagio, which is a small town located on the peninsula in the middle of Lake Como. Like everywhere around here, it was chilled out and steeped with old italian architecture. The ferry ride was excellent as well. Afer getting some slabs of pizza, I headed back to Menaggio and got changed ready for the ride. The ride started with hairpin bends out of Menaggio and then the road plateau'd along another high valley. My left knee was strangely feeling much much better today, and I actually felt like a proper cyclist again instead of an injured heap! Such was my enthusiasm that I took a detour to a high village on the cliff face of the valley. I reach Lugano about 3pm, the ride has only been a short 25 miles. After puzzling for ages looking at town maps, I could not see where the youth hostel was, and so I went on the internet on my phone - still no joy. Eventually, I asked just the right lady in a newsagent at the station and she knew exactly where it was! It is weird how fate intervines! On my way through the hostel gates I though "I have one bad leg, why don't I deck the other one?" and so I fell off as the bike went over a cattle grid where the spacing was too wide. Nah, I didnt really do it on purpose and luckily nobody saw!

The Hostel here is really nice - like a big house with different camping barns in the grounds. There is a fountain, a greenhouse and a swimming pool. I have just met my room mate called Akib from India and I am hopefully going to get some food with him tonight, he is on his way to Dublin in Ireland. There are quite a few school parties here as well and about 1 hour ago a group of 16 year old german guys were playing loud rap music right outside my room, but hopefully they will have some planned activities tomorrow! I have a rest day tommorrow and so I think I will go into the town on the bike and have a look around and a rest. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are pretty intensive riding days with Wed being the Simplonpass and Thurs being the Tour De Suisse stage 6 which I will catch at Crans-Montana. Bye for now, Ben.

Hey, Jeremy Beadles about. No, only joking. Sorry. I am a bit drunk as I type this so it should be interesting. Right, Ill stop laughing. I have just finished having the nicest meal ever ever ever at the Hotel Bellaval where I am staying tonight. The restaurant overlooked the Lej da San Murrezan (lake of St. Moritz) and you can also see all the Rhaetische Bahn trains parked up at the station (as well as the Fancy Glacier Express train). I am totally full now - I think the ice cream was the final nail in the coffin. Anyway, today it has rained pretty much all day and so nearly everywhere was shut. Last night, 2 other guys were in my Hostel room and I found out that they were up here altitude training for something called the "Gigoklone" which starts on July 8 and is basically a 5 day race across Switzerland. You do it in teams and there are 5 events each day (1 person does 1 event). One of the guys was doing the cycling part and the other was inline skating. OK, so I walked around town with the bike for a bit, and then checked in to the Hotel so that I could leave the bikes and the dreaded pannier behind. I then went back into town on foot and found a bar which was actually open and had a really nice burger and chips. Oh, and I also bought a chocolate smiley face which I wuufed down under a canopy in the rain. This afternoon I have been chilling out and watching TV at the Hotel. It is really nice having a Hotel room as opposed to a dorm and I have been making full use of the towels and soap. I came down for tea about 7pm and have met an elderly coupple from the Black Forest in Germany. They have taken the Glacier Express from Zermatt to here in St. Moritz, and are going home tomorrow. I go into Italy for the first time tomorrow and end up at a place called Menaggio on the banks of lake Como. I reckon that it should mostly be downhill as the river in the Engadine Valley runs down to the lake. This valley is beautiful and seems an absolute mecca for sport - mountain biking, marathons, skiiing, Nordic Walking etc etc. It will definitely be worth coming back here again sometime. Really looking forward to the ride tomorrow and touch wood my leg will be OK - it is feeling much better today. Anyway, Tschuss for now. Ben. I actually feel more sobre now.

Hello! 25 today!! I am growing a rugged beard and going for the "Ben Fogle rows across the Atlantic with James Cracknell" look. I think it will work well. Its raining here in St. Moritz this morning, but it looks like it might clear up. Ben.

Hey guys, after I stream of email complaints, I would like to verify that I can indeed spell corectlxy. My shakespeare english has had to take a back seat because the keyboards over here are weird and I cant do any punctuation and so no smiley faces Im afraid. Also, it costs 1 Franc every 10 mins and there are usually a large gang of German teenagers around the computer...wheres the exclamation.....oh there it is....!!!

Well, I think this is my second update for today so arent you the lucky ones? I didn't ride the Albula Pass today because of my knee, but I got the train from Davos to Filisur, and then from Filisur to Tiefencastel and went over none other than the Landwasser Viaduct! It was pretty scary. Then I got the train from Tiefencastel back to Filisur so that I could go over it again! This time, I hung out of the train window and looked straight down - wow it was a long way to the valley floor. I didnt take any pics because I was scared that I would drop my phone over the edge and shout nooooooooooooooo in slow motion as it whizzed to the ground. It was an awesome bridge. Then from Filisur, the train continued to St. Moritz. I have to say that it was the most beautiful and scary train ride that I have ever been on. The bridges the train went over just were not funny, and there were loads of tunnels. At the entrance to one tunnel, a group of cyclists riding up the Albula Pass were taking photos....when the train came out of the tunnel, we were way above the cyclists and had rotated by 270 degrees in the darkness inside the mountain. The mountains were amongst some of the most drastic and dramatic that I have ever seen, and the train wound its way up and up way above the valley floor on one side of the cliff face. I stopped taking photos when a ratty German granny behind said "put the window up", but I had already got quite a few by then.

I am now at the Hostel in St. Moritz and I have had a cycle around the Lac San Murezzan and through the town and it is really nice. There doesnt seem to be much Glitz but I suppose it gets really booming in the winter. St Moritz is 1800m above sea level, as indeed is the whole valley floor here, and so professional sports people come up here to train the waiter at the hostel in Davos told me.

There is a swimming pool here, but it said CLOSED when I cycled past. Tommorrow on my Birthday, I think I am going to have a wonder around town and go in the St. Moritz design gallery. Then, I think I will do a little ride up to the next village and have some lunch there, then check into the Hotel Bellaval which is right near the station. One of the problems I have found is that when I arrive somewhere, I dont know what there is to do, and when I have found out, then it is time to leave for the next place! Can feel all the tea I have just eaten bulging in my stomach now...oh wow...just looked out the window and it is pouring with rain! The sun has been out all day today, but I think in these mountains there is a cycle of warm days and wet evenings.

My knee is feeling better today and was OK when I cycled around the town on my bike with no bags on. Hoping to ride again properly on Saturday to Menaggio in Italy. I have covered 550 miles so far in Switzerland. See you all soon, Ben.

Guten Morgen! Just typing this before leaving Davos for St. Moritz this morning - but I am *not* riding there. Started with some tendon trouble in my left leg on Tuesday on my ride into Davos and was in quite a bit of agony at some stages. I think I may have some muscle tearing or something because I have a bruise behind and around my left knee. Anyway, have bandaged my leg and have been stretching and so hopefully I can work it out of the system and get riding again. So no Albula Pass for me today! I have got a train ticket to St. Moritz instead. I am a bit annoyed about this because it means that I wont have completed the whole loop unaided, but I'd rather do that than not be able to walk! The upside is that the train goes OVER the LANDWASSER VIADUCT - checkout the "Masterplan" section for a pic. It looks awesome. The train also goes around corkscrew curves inside the mountain and then goes through the Albula Tunnel before reaching St. Moritz.

At the Hostel, I met a really nice family (Rick, Marylyn, Rebecca, Brian and little cute David who is 8) who are from America and are currently living in Kiev in the Ukraine. Had breakfast with them yesterday and when they went clay pigeon shooting and horse riding, I took a trip into town and then caught the cable train up to Schatzalp at 1800m. The day yesterday was warm in the morning, and then a big thunderstorm blew through and it rained quite a bit and went cold. Up here at Davos at 1560m, the weather system feels immense and you really feel part of the clouds. Last night, played pool with Brian, and for the first time on my trip actually won a game! We then played cards and I learned the basic rules for Solitaire. Have packed all my stuff up this morning, and am ready to go to the station. Better get out of here because on my check-in card, I put that I was a "professional clown", and they may come asking questions.

Bye for now and please keep emailing - I love reading them. Ben.

Yo. I entered the Graubunden Alps today and reached Davos after an "interesting" ride from Vaduz. It all started off so easy...flat roads...tailwind.....swiss cycle network signs which actually pointed to the right place. Then I got near a place called Saas on the road to Klosters and Davos. I had trusted the cycle network signs up until now. About an hour before, the signs had sent me through a small mountain village in preference to the main road, which was fine, but there were major road resurfacing works on the decent and the road was basically a very steep gravelly path. Luckily I didnt fall off - Im guessing that it isnt much fun having a fully laden touring bike slide out from under you! Anyway, when I got near Saas the cycle network signs took me down a track that got more and more gravelly. I then reached a junction where I took the left fork. After pushing the tank up a mega steep hill I went through a really dodgy deserted rail tunnel beside the railway thinking it was the road. Nope. I toyed with the prospect of pushing the tank up a big hill to see if I could spot the road, but eventually I opted to double back and after more farm tracks I eventually found the main road in Saas. Look cleats arent the best thing to have on off road! Should have brought the high heals! The main road was pretty easy until Klosters where it started going up, and then when I left the town, the real climb to Davos began. It had me sweating for a good hour until I reached the top, with lots of straight sections and switchbacks. The scenery up here at 1500m is beautiful! Found the Youth Hostel pretty easily and have just had a really nice meal for tea. The Hostel massive and is actually pretty busy - it is called the "Youth Palace". Chilling out tommorrow - will maybe catch a cable car to one of the surrounding peaks. See you later! Ben.

Hello! I am typing this before leaving for Davos this morning. Had a really good rest day yesterday. Met three American girls at Breakfast time who were in the first year of their degree programme and were making an extended trip after a uni trip to the Balkan Islands. They were all keen runners too, and in the afternoon, they ran across Liechtenstein which was about 6 miles. They were called Naomi, Megan and there was another nice girl but I didnt catch her name. (Last week, they had climbed to the top of the Schilthorn near Interlaken in trainers with no mountaineering gear! ) I opted for the more leisurely option and walked into Vaduz, the capital "city" here and then walked up to the castle on the hill. Had a nice pizza in a restaurant and watch the rain come down. At tea, I met the american girls again and we had a really nice meal - the chef lady at this hostel is really good! They looked remarkably fresh considering that they had dome a 6 mile run, but Naomi confessed that they had stopped for ice cream on the way. Last night, another guy arrived in my room. He was called Will and I found out that he was a particle physicist who had just been to a workshop at CERN. Wow! I had a chat with him about his life in academia and he actually understood what I am going to do for my Masters course! These people are few and far between! Having a great time. Todays ride will be into the mountains as I head down towards Italy. The next 2 weeks have a fair bit of climbing in them, but I have stoked the engine and I am ready to go. Hope everyone is well, see you soon. Ben.

"Youve got to dig a little deeper if you want to keep her satisfied" are the exact lyrics of this Hony Tonk. Argggg!

Hello and Gruetzi! I have made it to Vaduz in Liechtenstein! Todays ride (Sunday) has taken me from Konstanz in Germany into Switzerland, then into Austria and now into Liechtenstein and so I have passed through a fair few border controls. This hostel is pretty dead actually - there is honky tonk music playing through tiny speakers and you can hear a tap dripping on the 5th floor! Pretty much everywhere is shut today with it being Sunday and I had the "this town...is going like a ghost town" playing in my head. I have just swotted 3 annoying flies in my room...ha ha ha. OK, an update of the past few days...

Friday, 8th June: Cycled out of Zurich to a place called Dachen which was right on the Rhine Falls waterfall. It was one of those industrial-estate / bypass style rides that every cyclists hates for the first 2 hours as I headed out of the industrial corridor north of Zurich. Took a while to figure how to get out of the city as I kept ending up on roads that had green signs on which meant they joint the motorway. As I approached Dachen, the roads became much quieter and I followed a cycle path pretty much to the Youth Hostel. The hostel had an impressive location inside a castle which overlooked the awesome waterfall. I went down to see the falls and they were amazing. There was one part you could go that was about 0.5m away from the cascading water and you felt right inside the waterfall. Wow. In my room was a guy called Venodolene and his 2 sons from Germany - they were having a father-son ride from Lake Constance and his littlest son had done 70km and was only about 11!

Saturday, 9th June: Rode from Dachen along the river Rhine to Konstanz on Lake Constance. I averaged about 11.9mph and it was mainly flat! Oh yes, my bike has officially been given a name! Bought a number plate which said "BENNY" on it and put it on the back of the pannier. Man, I look sweet now. When I got to Konstanz, I crossed the German border control to enter the city and then cycled around to find the Youth Hostel. A massive thunderstorm rolled in and I ended up sheltering under a bridge with 2 americans who where dead nice. Finally found the hostel after asking at the train station and a guy called Martin was in my room. He is a mechanic for Siemens and lives in Bavaria and he spoke pretty good English. He also beat me at pool. Damn these people! Arggggggg. Later on, we had a pool tornament with a group of international students from Poland, Denmark, Sweden and there was also a girl called Wendy from Nottingham University. I though she was German at first because her language was so good but her Nottingham hoodie gave it away. They were all from Tubingen and were studying German. They went on to have a "Wine Party" outside, but such is the interesting and full life of a cyclist, I went to bed for an early night in prep for today (Sunday).

Sunday, 10th June: I was winding myself up about this ride because it looked like it would be about 80 or so miles on the map and I was already knackered! I turned out to be 60 and luckily it was mainly flat or downhill with a tailwind. I followed the shore of Lake Constance and then the river Rhine as I cycled from Konstanz to Vaduz in Liechtenstein. Ha - Ive spelt it right for about the 6th time. Liectenstein. Nah, thats wrong now. Anyway, I am going to try and get an early night and so I can enjoy my rest day tommorrow. I am going to visit the castle on the hill, again to see if it looks like the photo on Wikipedia. The mountains return on Tuesday as I cycle to Davos. Actually, its a pretty tought week this next week, and it is also my 25th birthday on Friday!!!!! Honky Tonk is playing again and so I need to go in my room and put my headphones opn before I lose my mind. Hope everyone is well and looking forward to meeting up with the Buxton CC boys at the LAlpe dHuez on 1st July. Oh yes, Chris, there are lots of cow bells! Bye for now.

Just had breakfast at the Zurich Hostel, and then I am heading down town on the bike for a bit of a mooch around before leaving for Dachsen. The hostel here is a fair way out from Zurich town centre and so I am lucky that I have the bike! Will hopefully get the see the Rhein Falls this afternoon. Bye for now!

I`m now here in Zurich - the finiancial capital of Switzerland! I had a brill ride today: I decided to skate around the shore of Lake Lucerne - and then head north to Zurich. The villages on the banks of the lake were some of the most beautiful places I have seen - on clear blue water and surrounded by a drastic backdrop of mountains. I looked over towards Altdorf and the Sustem pass - wow the mountains look high there! I went up a fair few climbs today and had sweat pouring from under my helmet - I am developing the perfect cyclists` sun tan! There are lots of nice fresh water fountains dotted around and are a god send when you are totally out of water at the top of a hard climb. Had my first puncture today! Going over a very busy road bridge on a fast decent and the traffic was zooming across at about 80mph - I didnt want to move out and so kept my line and went over a sharp rock in the road which caused an instant snake bite on my front wheel. Managed to change the tube fine, and I have even bought a noew one now to replace it! I found a bike shop in one of the little country villages approaching Zurich and they charged me 16 Francs for it which is about £9!!!! They are alot cheaper than that in the Bike Factory (only joking Sam). Anyway, now at the hostel and there are again lots og Americans. There are 2 "dudes" in my room by the names of Bart and Ben who have just finished a 3 week train tour of Europe and are flying home to Ohio tommorrow. Dinner at the Hostel this evening was delicious - fish in sauce on a bed of rice. Have found it generally good value to get the hostel evening meals when they are available and then you dont have to go out again when you are knackered.

Want some facts about Switzerland?

The swiss seem to have long legs
The swiss cyclists tend to have moustaches and ride around glued to the road holding tri-bars
The other cyclists dont seem to understand the cyclist "nod" and look bemused when you say "hi"
The teenagers wear this certain type of aftershave with a distinct smell which I dont think you can buy in England

OK, so those were pretty useless! Going to Dachen tomorrow - have just booked the Hostel there and it is right on the Rhine Falls. Then on Saturday riding to Konstanz and on Monday doing a long ride to Vaduz. Then I start haeding back in the direction of Geneva again. Now on day 11 and there are 19 days left of the tour and so not half way yet - yipee! See you all later, Ben.

Just a quick one to say that I am just about to leave Lucerne for Zurich. I have had a fantastic and relaxing time here over the last 2 days. On Tuesday, me and Joseph went into town and had some fondue for lunch (yum yum). Then we had a browse around town and went up onto the old wall of lucerne and into all the castle turrets overlooking the city. On tues eve we played pool and met an australian called steve wh is jetting all over and doing wind surfing contests. Yesterday, we said our fair wells and I went on a boat trip across lake lucerne and nearly fell asleep it was so relaxing! Last night I met a really nice girl called Kex from Singapore who is doing a bit of traavelling before goiing to conference in geneva. She is studying law at Bristol Uni! Got to go now, will try and update in Zurich. Byeeeeee.

I am a day up on schedule today because yesterday I could not ride over the susten pass and so could not get to Altdorf. Instead, I rode out of interlaken up into the mountains to a place called Grindlewald and then right over the top (called the Grosse Scheidegg) and dropped down into Merîngen. The climb was pretty tough and went up to 1900m. Near the top I was going a rapid 4.1mph and had to suck some water out of snow clumps beccaause the sun was boiling and I had drunk all my water. After Meringen, I went over the Brunigen pass and followed the main road to Lucerne. The area was mainly industrial and the main road was absolutely doing my head in towards the end. Reached Lucernce yeserday at about 6 and the hostel let me stay. Was knackered after spending 5.5 hours on the bike. Met a guy called Joseph last night and over tea we had a long conversation. We went around the old town of Lucerne today and saw the old chapel bridge. It is really beautiful here and the rivers are so blue. Went up to the top of a castle and took lots of photos! Have been playying pool tonight and I lost. Got in a bit of a mard but i did not show it - i am banging the keys of the keyboard now instead. Rawwwwwww. Having another rest day tommorrow in Lucerne and then getting my tour back on track as I head to Zurich. See you later, Tschuss.

in Lucern now and will update tomorrow. 1 day ahead of schedule

Today has been awesome! The Youth Hostel is right on a lake called the Brienzersee which is a beautiful clear blue. The sun has been high in the sky all day! It has been my "rest day" and so in true rest day style I have done the most walking, running, bus riding, train riding and sight seeing ever. This place is so beautiful! There are high mountains all around and today I went to Lauterbrunnen in a deep valley south of interlaken. The Eiger, Monch and Jungfrou mountains are the main centerpiece which tower above. I caught the cable car up to Murren (thanks Chris for the tip) which lies on one side of the Lauterbrunnen valley at 1400m. The view of the mountains from there was sublime and I was in heaven listening to Ray LaMontagne and admiring the view. The cable car ride up was scarey as I am not fond of heights and it kept rocking as it went over the cable towers. The trip back down was even worse as you could see the steep steep steep steep path the cables took to the ground, and then you just rolled over the edge. Ahhhh. Once in Lauterbrunnen again, I walked behind a huge waterfall which was cascading from the mountain above. My friend Steve has been paragliding today which tops the cable car by just a bit!! He went up the mountain in a van and the paraglide back down took about 30mins. I also met another english couple in Murren called Val and Ken from Yorkshire and so we had a chat. Getting ready to rest a bit now in prep for tommorrow which should be a fairly hard day. Unfortunately the Susten pass is still closed with snow (arrrrgggggg) so I will have to sus out (get it? ha ha) an alternative route. It should be pretty challenging anyway. Oh yeah, there was a german group staying here who had walked here from Lucerne over the last 5 days - that is a seriously long way!! I am sharing my 25 man room tonight with about 6 other guys who are spanish motorbikers. One guy called Eduardo is from Israel, born in Argentina and has been to a conference in geneva. This hostel is really great. I am in a hotel in Altdorf tommorrow night so there may be no internet. Hope eveyone is well. Ben.

I arrived in Interlaken this evening and wow this place is beautiful! This morning I went to the Einstein Museum in Bern which was a facinating exhibition and included actual letters and mathematical notes written by Einstein himself! Very inspiring. Bern is a really really beautiful town, and I can recommend that anyone visits it. Also saw the Bear Pitt where two grizzleys were prowling around. At about 2.30pm today, I left for Interlaken and guess what? IT STARTED RAINING AGAIN! On came the overshoes and the jacket - I was getting ready for it to last all ride but the storm blew north and by the time I got to Thun, it was dry again. In Thun the local cycling club were taping off the streets in prep for a bike race. I stayed to watch and it was great! It was a bit of a weird race - 20 riders on mountain bikes who raced around the cobbled streets and had to get off where I was standing and leg it up the most massive flight of steps you ever saw. The race only lasted 12 minutes!!!! Before the race a guy came up to me and I helped him pump up his tire. When the pump was not working properly at first, he exclaimed SHEISSER SHEISSER but we got it pumped in the end and I think he came 3rd. Just met a nice american guy here called steve and we have just taken a walk along the shore of the Brienzer See. More tommorrow. Ben.

Hello everyone. I am now in Bern, the political capital of Switzerland and it is a beautiful place. I didn't get to see much of it when I arrived yesterday because it was pouring with rain, as was the whole 40 mile ride yesterday. I clipped clopped through the old steets in my Look cleats and luckily and old gentleman came up to me and told me where the Youth Hostel was (the map on the internet was to totally the wrong place!). I have just been able to get to this computer because a massive school party was also staying at the hostel last night. They were playing a loud clapping game in the canteen where the teacher went "eins, zwei, drei" and then they all clapped and put their thumbs over their shoulders. Anyway, on my rest day in Oberbipp on Thursday, the day before yesterday, I went with Birgit and Amanda to the top of one of the local "cols" in the Jura mountains which was about 1050m I think. We went in the car of course! It reminded me of the Alpe d'Huez climb with all the switchbacks and steep sections. It has been really nice staying with them and I had some delicious swiss meals. They spoke excellent English (Birgit is an English teacher in the local school near Solothurn) which was great. I enjoyed their company - when you are out on the bike on your own and all the road names and places are totally unfamiliar, you feel a bit isolated. In general, I have enjoyed arriving at the Hostels and then there is someone to talk to! This morning (Saturday) I am off to see the Albert Einstein museum which is just up the road, and then maybe visit the bear pit. I am aiming to set off for Interlaken at about 1'o'clock (Interlaken is the gateway to the Swiss Alps). Looking forward to the ride, but I think riding for 3 hours in the rain yesterday has sapped my energy a bit (felt like I was blowing up at one point, despite having eaten masses of food beforehand). At least it is not raining today! OK got to go, speak soon, Ben.

Bonsoir, Ca va? Ca va Bien! I am writing this email from a small town near Solothurn in Switzerland called Oberbipp. I finished my third day on the bike today, but I will first just rewind a bit to yesterday (Tuesday) where I could not update the blog because there was no internet. OK, so on Monday evening I arrived in Lausanne from Geneva. The Youth Hostel was pretty empty really and shortly after arriving, I went on the scout for something for tea. I must say that I didn't have the most enjoyable night: the Youth Hostel was way out of the town centre, and when I finally got there after walking for ages (and up some really dodgy grafitti streets), no shops were open! It was bank holiday. Hmmm...should I have a take away Kebab from Aslans? Or a MacDonalds? Nah. In the end I found a small shop that was selling bread, crepes, cheese, pasta salads etc.. so I got a wad of these and headed back to the hostel. Had a good nights sleep on Monday eve, because the two lads in my room were pretty quiet and slept most of the time. One of the guys said he was heading off for Ibiza the next day. Random. Tuesday opened with clouds filling the sky once again. I saw the Cathedral and Chateau in Lausanne before heading out to Le Mont sur Lausanne where I did my FIRST HAIRPIN BENDS!! Tuesday's ride was really good - over winding roads where fields of wheat thrived on each side. Had some lunch in Yverdon and then skirted around the bottom of Lake Neuchatel to Avenches. And this is where the my tour started to feel like the my tour! Gone where the busy main roads, "how you doin?" to smaller roads, quaint towns and fantastic scenery. This was meant to be flat but oh no, its NOT! The Hostel in Avenches was brilliant - much like the whole town which is an ancient Roman settlement complete with Amphitheatre. There were only 6 people in the entire hostel and so I got an 8 bed room to myself :) Got a really good nights sleep, and that brings us to this morning and completes the Craig David rewind. Today (Wednesday) has been GORGEOUS weather. The morning got off to a good start when a nice German family holidaying in Avenches at the hostel gave me a Euro to Swiss adaptor which I needed as my phone was nearly flat. After stopping at the CO-OP for some bananas, I embarked on todays 60 mile ride, which was even more beautiful and interesting than yesterdays 55 mile effort. I skirted around lakes, throught forests, up hills, around little villages and took photos of pretty churches in cobbled squares. The swiss cycle network is pretty excellent, and there are often whole wide cycle lanes at the side of each road. Stopped for lunch in Solothurn, and went up to the top of the Cathedral to admire fantastic views. I even saw the exact same view as the Wikipedia photo on my desktop at work which was sureal. And now I am in Oberbipp. Birgit who I am staying with has kindly let me use her laptop so thanks Birgit, when you come to read this. Go to go because 2 flies are mating on the power adaptor. Ben ;)

Hi everyone! I have arrived in Switzerland! I arrived safely in Geneva last night and managed to assemble the bike OK (stuffed the box around the back of the airport when nobody was looking!). Wow Geneva is a complicated city, and after going around in circles for ages (every sign pointed to Meyrin or Vernier where I did not want to go) I asked a french lady in *French* the directions to the Hostel. I was well impressed with myself! I stopped panicking then managed to find the Hostel before it went dark. It started raining pretty heavy when I got there. Anyway, met 2 guys in the lobby - 2 brothers from Chicago and Arizona in their early 20s who were doing a 10 week tour of Europe by train so I chatted to them for a while. This morning (Monday) I met a rather mad guy called Vladimir from a city called Kazan in Russia. He was attending a conference in Geneva on something to do with Meteors and radio waves. He liked programming Linux using Lisp (Tony - you will understand this) and reading whole unabridged dictionaries. Which dictionaries do I read he asked...erm...well...erm...as people will know, this is one of my favourite pass times, but I didnt let onto him my passion. That said, he was a nice guy and educated me on how Russia was so different to western Europe. We saw the massive water fountain in geneva together and then said our fair wells. And that brings me to now. I have just done my first ride of the tour - a really easy ride (35 miles) and I am now in Lausanne at the Youth Hostel. The mountains are looming in the distance and look fantastic. It luckily hasnt rained today - just been overcast and it is going between humid and cold. I am going out into Lausanne now to get some tea. This youth hostel is pretty nice and modern actually. Just checked into my room and there is a Japanese guy on a laptop. OK Ill post again soon. BYE!!!!

Only 1 week to go and I still have so much packing and organising to do! I test-rode the bike last Sunday (May 13th) when me and Richard Towse rode out from Sheffield to watch the Lincoln GP premier calendar race. The bike was pretty heavy and creeps up the hills, but it was comfy even in the pouring rain which we endured for 100 miles!

Emails I send from my Hotmail account or mobile phone will appear here as I cycle around switzerland. I am due to set of on May 27th. Check back soon!