Grumpy Old Men On Bikes

My work is done.  I have spent the last 2 days cycling down the length of Lake Constance and along the Rhine, then 5000ft up to Davos.  This last bit was done in temperatures in the low 30's and got me glowing like a pig.  Finally, I turned around and cycled back down 5000ft to Bad Ragaz for a triumphal and lavish last dinner.  Since this is Switzerland I actually had self assembly ham sandwiches and a yoghurt from the supermarket...   15 quid! I had decided to take the train to Zurich today.  The ride would only be 65 miles but I would be pretty sweaty and pungent for the flight home and, anyway, I'm due a rest. I popped into the Tourist Office to enquire about the train.  The girl quizzed me about which of  many entitlements to discounted travel I had access to........precisely none as it turned out.  She sucked her teeth a bit and told me it would be no problem getting myself and bike on a train but it would be very expensive.  When a Swiss tells you something is going to be

It was with some sadness that I crossed into Switzerland this morning.  France is mostly a fine country.....if they just sorted out the opening hours and put seats on public toilets they would really have something.  Now I have a whole new set of annoyances to rant about.  There are so many that I don't know where to begin so I'll just focus on the REALLY BIG ONE........f@#k it's expensive! I am staying above a very modest pizza place about a mile out of Stein Am Rhein, nothing fancy, and for tea I had a mixed salad, a pizza and 2 beers.  The bill was FOURTY SIX swiss francs.....about £36!!!!.  I know the cretins who voted to leave the EU haven't helped but it would still have been pretty lumpy at the pre-BREXIT rate.   Everything is expensive.....everywhere.  Go into any shop, pick any item and guess the price.  You can cheat and add a big bit onto your true guess and you will still be on the light side.   Today was a moderately heroic 95 miles in pretty

I had planned to file a blog last night but: 1/ After 102 miles and what turned out to be 6000 feet of climb I was too pooped and 2/ I had just caught up with the news and it didn't feel like the time to crack jokes at the expense of the French!!!   How on earth does any society protect itself from radical zealots who aren't afraid to die?  (I have some ideas but should probably keep them to myself).  I found the choice of weapon particularly chilling - at least guns and bombs are harder to come by! Not that anyone gives a toss but I am in quiet rural France and in absolutely no danger.  As hinted earlier, yesterday was a ball-breaker, and I retired to bed laughably early to nurse my broken balls.  It will give you some idea how tired I was if I tell you that I left a can of beer unopened!  On the other hand I did eat 8 Creme Caramels (you cannot buy small quantities of anything in LIDL). Today is a new day.  The sun is shining and after about 30 somewhat lumpy miles I joined t

Remember me?  I think that last time I filed a blog I was in France.  Well, guess what?  Yup, France again. To bring you up to date: I led a 'camino' from Bilbao to Santiago then a top to bottom of Portugal.  Next was a Pisa to Sicily trip during which I went to Pompeii (though that is not the reason for the song) and got shot (ok, technically not actually shot but you would never know looking at the scar).  And now I am back in France checking out a section of route from Paris to Klosters in the foothills of the alps.   I have covered a creditable 160 miles in 2 days and am in Bar-Sur-Albe in the middle of Champagne country.  And now I can reveal the reason for the song.....it is Bastille Day (if you can't get the link there is no hope for you). Naturally, being a public holiday, France is closed in a way that citizens of most countries cannot begin to imagine.  If 'being closed' is ever an Olympic event the French are a cert for gold.  I am staying on a campsite i