Day 51 - Montreux to Gstaad, 66 miles

First day of following the Swiss national cycle route no. 9 (the lakes route) that will take me 500km+ to Rorschach in the north east corner and it didn't disappoint on day one.

Leaving a perfectly still Lake Geneva the ride started with an almighty climb out of Montreux north towards Bulle. This section was supposed to be medium difficulty so no idea what hard is going to be like! With clouds all round it wasn't long before I got soaked so I dived into a coffee shop in to warm up and give the legs a quick rest. As the weather cleared I headed to Bulle and met a father and son out for a ride which soon became pretty competitive. Now the son was only 13 but had just come 2nd in the Junior Swiss Cup so despite me leaving him for dust on the downhills with the encouragement of his dad and my extra weight on the bike he quickly caught me on the ascents and would effortlessly leave me trying to get that extra weight back up the hill. Really nice guys and the father Philippe invited me to lunch on him at his crepiere in Bulle. Got to love the hospitality of the biking community.

Fully fuelled up after my feed in Bulle it was onto Hstaad and this is where the real picture postcard scenery started and with a break in the weather the views were stunning. Have to admit I'd been struggling for a few days before today with the trip and motivation but the love all came back today. Great following the very well signposted (wouldn't expect any less from the Swiss) cycle route as it keeps you off the main roads so almost traffic free riding in breathtaking scenery Switzerland is definitely delivering.

The ski resort of Gstaad where I'm staying tonight certainly isn't for someone on a budget with expensive hotels and highstreet lined with Prada, Cartier and Louis Vuitton thank God for the Swiss youth hostel on the edge of town although not sure about youth as pretty sure I'm the youngest by good 15 years staying here tonight.

With the legs feeling good despite a good 1400 meters of climbing today it's hopefully going to more of the same tomorrow although a bit flatter would be nice.Read more