Days 14 – 17 (July 6 – 9, 2012)

Days 14 – 17 (July 6 – 9, 2012)

            Two weeks after the start of our ride, we said goodbye to my sister Becky and her 14-year old son Lucas, who took a train from Fribourg to Munich, then flew back to the U.S.  They were excellent traveling companions, and Sho, Saya and I miss them. 

We enjoyed good company the evening of Day 14 (July 6), staying at the home of Alain and Ursula Besson, two adventure cyclists who have traveled by bike all over the world in the past few years.  Sho and I met them when we cycled through Japan in 2009 and have stayed in touch.  The 70-kilometer route from Fribourg to Lausanne was hilly, and Sho was exhausted by the end.  Alain picked up the kids in his car about 8 kilometers from his home, and I pedaled the rest of the way by myself.  

We took the next day off from cycling, explored Lausanne and spent a second night at Alain and Ursula’s home.  They were generous hosts, serving us several wonderful meals that included fruits and vegetables picked from their garden. 

            On Sunday, July 8, Alain and Ursula cycled with us from Lausanne toward the border with France.  They were headed to an adventure cycling conference, and our routes coincided for about 25 kilometers.  It was wonderful to follow them on quiet roads and not worry about getting lost.  We were sorry to say goodbye to them, but maybe we will meet again some day cycling in a foreign country.

            We slept in the town of Vallorbe, then said goodbye to Switzerland as we cycled into France on Day 17.  We traveled through beautiful farmland and ended the day at a comfortable campsite in Levier, France.  After setting up our tent, we cooled off in the campsite’s swimming pool. 

            We’re now in Besancon, which hosted a leg of the Tour de France the day before.  I wished we had made it here one day earlier, so that we could watch the event, but it was not meant to be…

            Here are some pics.  Also, Sho and Saya have been tapping impromptu throughout the ride.  I've included some videos of one of their sessions.

Sho recreating the scoring pattern of the Italy vs. Germany Eurocup soccer game: 

Field of sunflowers on our cycling route:

One of our fabulous meals with Alain and Ursula Besson:

Saya with swans in Lausanne:

Family pic:

Saying goodbye to Alain and Ursula:

Dramatic sky during our ride:

Sho cycling through the lonely Swiss countryside:

Border between Switzerland and France:

Church in French countryside town:

Setting up tent in Levier campsite:

Saya in pool at campsite:

Sho teaching Saya some tap moves:

Saya's impromptu tap dance:

Sho's impromptu tap dance:

Days 11 - 13 (July 3 - 5, 2012)

Days 11 – 13 (July 3 – 5, 2012)

            We spent Tuesday, July 3 with Claudia and her kids in Einsiedeln, cycling around a nearby lake and playing outside.  In the afternoon, we rode our bikes to Trachslau, a farming village where I had lived for a year with my family when I was five years old.  I felt the circle of life as I watched my five-year-old daughter Saya bound through the same fields I had run through at her age.  I visited the Kaelin’s farm many times as a child and especially enjoyed watching the older kids milk the cows by hand.  Sometimes they playfully squirted me with the milk.  Sho and Lucas turned the Kaelin’s barn into an obstacle course, climbing and jumping into huge mounds of hay (see video below), before joining some local kids in a game of pick-up soccer.

Claudia, Becky, Lucas, Sho and I ate dinner with the Mueller’s, the couple who rented a room to my family nearly forty years ago.  They brought out pictures from that time (see below) as we reminisced.  There are more houses now, but Trachslau remains much the same as I remember it – a comfortable collection of homes and farms tucked in a beautiful Swiss valley.

            On the fourth of July, Becky, Lucas, Sho, Saya and I took a train from Einsiedeln to Interlaken, then cycled beside the glistening waters of Thunersee with the inspiring and intimidating Alps watching over us in the distance.  We slept that night in Thun, a pleasant town of about 50,000 people that was enjoyable to explore by foot.

            On July 5^th, we cycled out of Thun along the Alpen Panorama Cycling Route.  We got lost at first, but two friendly cyclists led us to the path out of town.  We cycled around 37 miles, climbing over several challenging ascents that tested the kids’ physical and mental endurance.  But we were rewarded with some fabulous views. 

            Here are some pics:

Saya with Claudia Kaelin, her "Swiss Mommy"

My sister Becky in Einsiedeln, Switzerland

With the Kaelin family in Trachslau:

Sho and Lucas climbing hay in the Kaelin's barn:

Saya with the Mueller's in Trachslau:

Dinner with the Mueller's:

Pic the Mueller's shared of my family climbing a mountain in Switzerland around 1972 -- that's me in the red shirt on the left, age 5, my dad on the right, mom on the left, Becky lying down wearing a hat

Swiss countryside:

Taking a break on the way to Thun:

Cyclists in Thun who guided us:

Saya on trailer cycle:

View on the way from Thun to Fribourg:

Saya helping Sho push his bike up a steep climb:

Sho recovering at the top of a climb:

Days 9 - 10 (July 1 - 2, 2012)

Days 9 – 10 (July 1 – 2, 2012)

On July 1, we cycled from Constance to Zurich, Switzerland on a wet day.  We ate lunch at a street festival in a small town along the way, where Sho and Lucas went on a crazy carnival ride that sent them spinning high in the air.  It would have made any normal human sick, and I happily watched from the ground with Becky and Saya. 

            We had to deal with the first flat tire of the ride, which occurred on Sho’s bike – a piece of glass.  I changed the tire inside a tunnel to escape the rain.  We eventually made our way into Zurich, where we enjoyed a wonderful home cooked meal at a friend of Becky’s.  He told us that large chunks of hail and heavy rain had pounded Zurich earlier in the day.  We were lucky only to have dealt with intermittent rain during our ride.  That night, we watched Spain dominate Italy in the Eurocup soccer final, 4-0. 

            On July 2, Becky and I decided to give the kids a change of pace and took a train from Zurich to Einsiedeln, where we stayed with Claudia Kaelin, a childhood friend.  Sho, Saya and Lucas spent the late afternoon and evening playing outside with Claudia's 14-year old son.  Saya collected lettuce and edible flowers from the garden to make the salad for dinner (see pic).  Near the end of the evening, Sho asked me to play hide and seek with the kids.  As we were hiding behind a bale of hay, he whispered, “I’m having such a great time on this bike trip!”

Here are some pics:

Buying fruit from a farm by the road:

Saya in Constance:

Sho in Constance:

Lucas getting simple carbs during the ride (yes, that's a jar of honey):

Saya collecting edible flowers to add to the dinner salad at Claudia Kaelin's:

Saya with the dinner salad she collected from Claudia's garden:

Eating with Claudia Kaelin in Einsiedeln, Switzerland:

Days 6 - 8 (June 28 - 30)

Days 6 - 8 (June 28 - 30):

We spent the past few days following the Bodensee-Koenigssee cycling route through the forests and farms of Bavaria.  The rolling countryside was magical and particularly pleasant to experience by bicycle.  It has been hot, and it’s easy to get sunburned if you’re not careful.  We cycled to Lindau, then took a ferry to Konstanz on the southern shore of Lake Constance.  While my sister Becky watched the kids, I had the pleasure of swimming out into the deep, pleasant water of central Europe’s third largest lake.

We watched the Germany vs. Italy Eurocup soccer game in a bier garten in Oberstaufen, making friends with strangers as we cheered the exciting game.  The German fans were disappointed, but could not deny that Italy deserved to win the game.  We plan to watch the final between Spain and Italy in Zurich on Sunday night.

Sho (age 11) and Lucas (age 14) have played soccer whenever they can, and coming across a soccer field is usually an excuse to take a break from cycling.  They played an exciting pick-up game of soccer with some local kids in Lindau (see pic).

Saya sits on the trailer cycle behind me and as we ride she often makes up silly songs and asks me random questions.  As we discussed the difference between carnivores and herbivores, she suddenly said, “Wait, how come I know more than you?”  When I suggested that she draw a picture of a horse in her journal, she said, “I don’t know how to draw horses.  I only know how to draw unicorns.”

Here are some pics:

Soccer friends in Lindau:

Waiting at a train crossing:

Saya with sheep:

Saya with flower necklace:

Days 3 - 5 (June 25 - 27)

Days 3 – 5 (June 25 – 27):

It’s been a good trip so far: 4 out of 5 days have been sunny and warm.  We got rained on for a few hours on Day 3, which gave Saya a chance to dress up in her stylin’ rain gear (see pic).  We’ve followed the Bodensee-Koenigssee cycling route, which I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys outrageously gorgeous views of the Alps, pleasant – albeit sometimes challenging – riding through farm country, friendly people and good food.

Sho has had to walk his bike up some of the steep climbs, but is getting stronger by the day.  He loves the fact that the Eurocup soccer tournament is underway and is following it closely.  We'll watch Spain vs. Portugal tonight and Germany vs. Italy tomorrow night.  Sho predicts Germany vs. Portugal in the final on Sunday.  Saya makes funny observations while sitting behind me on the trailer cycle.  My favorite: "Treat me like a dog."  Context: she was crawling on all fours and barking, hoping that Sho would play fetch with her.

It's been wonderful to have my sister Becky along.  She speaks beautiful German and is a beloved aunt to Sho and Saya.  Since she lives in Nashville and I live in NYC, this is a rare chance to spend time together.  Lucas, her 14-year old son, is a talented soccer player and has been teaching Sho some impressive moves.  After 6 weeks of cycling and Lucas's tutoring, Sho expects to enter the fall soccer season in excellent shape.

Here are some pics:

Saya ready for rain:

Saya the goal keeper (Lucas and Sho in the distance with no chance to defeat Saya's wall of steel):

Becky, Lucas, Sho and Saya with a friendly Bavarian couple who gave us drinks on a hot day:

Sho and Lucas competing for attention with the incredible view:

Crossing a stream:

Becky and Saya with Castle Neuschwanstein in background:

Saya has been collecting flowers in meadows along the way.  Here is one of her bouquets:

Pausing in a beautiful meadow on the way to Mittelberg: