2026 Tour de l'Amour with Hatcho and Dub24
- Thread starter Hatcho
- Start date
Yup never invite me please
The next morning I was awake early as usual. Plus, there's only so much that earplugs can do!
After charging various cameras batteries and drones (this is my bedside table)
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I got bored after a while so decided to annoy dub by hitting him with an open umbrella. Worked to a degree, but he just fell back asleep. I could tell because the tea in my cup was hopping about the place!
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Day 4: Andeer to St Gotthard Pass
So after our rather expensive meal and nights accommodation it was time to get back on the road. While riding along Route 13 , the first pass we would cross today was the San Bernardino and it didn't disappoint! Once we left the valley it was straight into switchbacks and the elevation rose rapidly. At the top we pulled over and purchased the worst sandwich and the worst coffee of the whole trip - it was so bad it warranted a photo!
That's dry brown bread decorated with even drier ham and served with a coffee that even Starbucks would be ashamed of! And all far from cheap. Dub asked our waiter if his name was Dick Turpin, but the language barrier held firm and we never discovered if he was the real highwayman of legend.
On we rode southwards along Route 13 (the old one, not the motorway) and it was getting hot. Soon a stop was required for some R&R and we pulled into a lovely little café in a town called Grono. We sat outside sheltered from the sun and tucked into a lovely salad accompanied by some non-alcoholic beers. There might have been a wee double espresso thrown in there too..
Before jumping on the bike dub wanted to practice his masked murderer look so good friend that I am, I indulged him...some things once seen, can never be unseen!
After Grono, we were soon headed north on the old Route 2. The motorway was beside us for a lot of the way, but being tightfisted Irish lads, we opted not to pay the vignette fee. This section of the route was littered with speed limit sections and the temps were climbing into the mid 30's. Not pleasant. We pulled over in Giornico and found a place to dip our feet into the river to cool off. Things quickly escalated and this happened!
With all of our gear completely drenched (my boots were overflowing with water!) we hopped back on the bikes and on towards the Gotthard Pass. The cooling effect of the wet gear was glorious, every bit of wind now kept us comfortably cool and able to cope with the mad high temps. Soon we were on the Tremola enjoying the cobbled hairpins as we climbed higher and higher.
Pretty quickly the weather turned, now it was drizzling and windy, and with the added altitude it was actually quite chilly. And we were soaked to the skin!
So on with the waterproof jacket -which helped keep the wind off. Eventually we arrived at the top of the pass and park up beside the lake.Dub does a quick catwalk for the camera!
We nip into the museum café to warm up - an hour ago we were roasting with the heat! Dub nips across to the hostel place and sort us out with two rooms as I'm having no joy finding something on booking.com. We make out way across, check in and head to our rooms.
Day 5: St Gotthard Pass to Thun
Today was going to be an epic one - we had a dose of Swiss passes on our route and the weather had even played ball and improved overnight. I got up early to take some morning pics at the top of the pass. In the middle of the night I'd draped my wet bike gear on the towel heaters in our shared bathroom, hopefully no one would decide they'd like some second hand gear!
Lake was nice and still
Great view of the Tremola road after a wee walk
Morning sun starts to brighten the distant hills
And warms up the gallery section of the main road
Some workmanship in laying those cobbles. Dub couldn't get enough of them!
After brekkie in the museum cafe we donned our (mostly) dry bike gear and headed north towards the Tuefelsbruke (Devil's Bridge), a spot I had missed on last year's trip. And it didn't disappoint. Across the Schöllenen Gorge are three bridges, the most modern one carries traffic but a quick walk on the others involves walking into the rockface and emerging again a bit further up...
You can see the devil's mark on the rockface
There is also a very impressive monument, the Suvorov Monument near the bridge. Erected in 1898, it commemorates the 1799 battles between Napolenic and Russians troops, commanded by Suvorov. My pics don't do it justice, it is actually quite massive.
Today was going to be an epic one - we had a dose of Swiss passes on our route and the weather had even played ball and improved overnight. I got up early to take some morning pics at the top of the pass. In the middle of the night I'd draped my wet bike gear on the towel heaters in our shared bathroom, hopefully no one would decide they'd like some second hand gear!
Lake was nice and still
Great view of the Tremola road after a wee walk
Morning sun starts to brighten the distant hills
And warms up the gallery section of the main road
Some workmanship in laying those cobbles. Dub couldn't get enough of them!
After brekkie in the museum cafe we donned our (mostly) dry bike gear and headed north towards the Tuefelsbruke (Devil's Bridge), a spot I had missed on last year's trip. And it didn't disappoint. Across the Schöllenen Gorge are three bridges, the most modern one carries traffic but a quick walk on the others involves walking into the rockface and emerging again a bit further up...
You can see the devil's mark on the rockface
There is also a very impressive monument, the Suvorov Monument near the bridge. Erected in 1898, it commemorates the 1799 battles between Napolenic and Russians troops, commanded by Suvorov. My pics don't do it justice, it is actually quite massive.
The road to and from Teulfelsbruke was savage, so it was a joy to ride back the way we came and get back on our planned route. Heading southwest on Route 19 the next gem was the Furka Pass. At this stage hairpins were mother's milk to us - just couldn't get enough of them! We pulled over for a nice pic opportunity until heading on...
Just as I took the pic this happened, as you may or may not know I love all things orange, so I wasn't too annoyed.
Anyways, I went back for another shot. To get an idea of just how big that open space is, check out the bridge at the bottom of the valley - it's tiny!
A little later we opted to stop for coffee at the top of the pass...I always like to promote Ireland in any way I can.
Here's a pic showing the incredible tarmac as you ride down the Furka pass and then start to climb up the Grimsel pass. This really is the stuff of dreams!
Partway along the Grimsel Pass a convoy of Porsches and Ferarris drove by and went up the road to the Grimsel Hotel. Would be rude not to follow them and take some pics...
Of course the cars were all draped in well-moneyed people, probably sound folk, but I decided they were knobs because they liked to make a spectacle of their wealth. Can't beat being a judgemental people watcher!
So off I went to take some pics of a proper machine....
Back onto the bikes and straight into the twisties again. I'll drop some YT clips in here later...
Next stop for coffee was in a nice wee spot called Brienz. Temps were high once again and it was a welcome break to cool off and refresh ourselves. We had a cracking view of the lake from our table...
As per usual Swiss style our rather modest lunch came to over €80 for the both of us! This country is stunning, but the food bills are the most amazing thing you will see!! As we enjoyed our break the weather took quite a turn....
A quick check on Ventusky showed the incoming eh, rain shower....this was gonna be interesting...
As the air cooled and the wind picked up the staff rushed to clear off all the outside tables. We popped down to the bikes and popped covers onto our tankbags etc.. We decided to sit this one out over a coffee as it was travelling in the opposite direction to us and would hopefully pass by pretty quickly.
After plenty of thunder and lightning things gradually started to improve and we were soon on our way...I was half expecting the rainshower to be added onto our bill!
Just before leaving I spotted this little fella...
There was a nice wee statue just at the shoreline beside our cafe which I think doubled as a water fountain.
More to follow....
Just as I took the pic this happened, as you may or may not know I love all things orange, so I wasn't too annoyed.
Anyways, I went back for another shot. To get an idea of just how big that open space is, check out the bridge at the bottom of the valley - it's tiny!
A little later we opted to stop for coffee at the top of the pass...I always like to promote Ireland in any way I can.
Here's a pic showing the incredible tarmac as you ride down the Furka pass and then start to climb up the Grimsel pass. This really is the stuff of dreams!
Partway along the Grimsel Pass a convoy of Porsches and Ferarris drove by and went up the road to the Grimsel Hotel. Would be rude not to follow them and take some pics...
Of course the cars were all draped in well-moneyed people, probably sound folk, but I decided they were knobs because they liked to make a spectacle of their wealth. Can't beat being a judgemental people watcher!
So off I went to take some pics of a proper machine....
Back onto the bikes and straight into the twisties again. I'll drop some YT clips in here later...
Next stop for coffee was in a nice wee spot called Brienz. Temps were high once again and it was a welcome break to cool off and refresh ourselves. We had a cracking view of the lake from our table...
As per usual Swiss style our rather modest lunch came to over €80 for the both of us! This country is stunning, but the food bills are the most amazing thing you will see!! As we enjoyed our break the weather took quite a turn....
A quick check on Ventusky showed the incoming eh, rain shower....this was gonna be interesting...
As the air cooled and the wind picked up the staff rushed to clear off all the outside tables. We popped down to the bikes and popped covers onto our tankbags etc.. We decided to sit this one out over a coffee as it was travelling in the opposite direction to us and would hopefully pass by pretty quickly.
After plenty of thunder and lightning things gradually started to improve and we were soon on our way...I was half expecting the rainshower to be added onto our bill!
Just before leaving I spotted this little fella...
There was a nice wee statue just at the shoreline beside our cafe which I think doubled as a water fountain.
More to follow....
While nursing our final coffee we had settled on an apartment jobbie in a town called Thun which is situated at the northern end of the Thunersee. The rest of our journey there was pretty uneventful except for when dub found the world's smallest outdoor toilet. Who knew it was located in Switzerland!
Luckily his green and black bike gear made for effective camouflage, though the elderly lady who spotted him almost failed to navigate the corner in the road! 
Thun turned out to be a bit of a kip. We'd not been in a large urban area in days and this place reminded us why. Not to worry, our digs were pretty decent though the location was a bit pants. In fairness they really did excel themselves putting together the welcome pack for dub!!
We were both tired and hungry and it looked like we'd need to get a taxi to find somewhere decent to eat. Local taxi man soon arrived and we headed into the Irish bar ( I know!!) called McArturs for a bite to eat and a few scoops. The food was ok, just ok as were the drinks. What was really salty was the bill, we needed to exit Switzerland before we were stoney broke!
On the way back to meet our friendly taxi man I spotted this in the window. Stranger than strange...little Hitler cats.
Bottom line - if you need to, ride through Thun...but definitely don't opt to stay there.
Luckily his green and black bike gear made for effective camouflage, though the elderly lady who spotted him almost failed to navigate the corner in the road! Thun turned out to be a bit of a kip. We'd not been in a large urban area in days and this place reminded us why. Not to worry, our digs were pretty decent though the location was a bit pants. In fairness they really did excel themselves putting together the welcome pack for dub!!
We were both tired and hungry and it looked like we'd need to get a taxi to find somewhere decent to eat. Local taxi man soon arrived and we headed into the Irish bar ( I know!!) called McArturs for a bite to eat and a few scoops. The food was ok, just ok as were the drinks. What was really salty was the bill, we needed to exit Switzerland before we were stoney broke!
On the way back to meet our friendly taxi man I spotted this in the window. Stranger than strange...little Hitler cats.
Bottom line - if you need to, ride through Thun...but definitely don't opt to stay there.
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Day 6 - Thun to Passy (nope, that's NOT a typo)
We awoke to the sound of rain and the gear we'd left out to dry the previous evening was now all wet again - what sort of adventure bikers are we??? Anyways we hooked up an apparatus with the hairdryer and managed to get our kit relatively dry before setting off. Our initial target was Martigny which would lead us over the border into France where all worldly items are cheaper! We headed southwest on Route 11 without our rain gear as it was just a light drizzle. Not too long later we were parked up on the side of the road doing the 'waterproofs dance' as we clambered into our raingear. People driving by probably thought we were tazering each other for fun! You just can't beat the awkwardness of putting on gloves with wet hands - it a most unique and special thing! While the unrelenting rain hammered down the roads became covered in surface water. I quite like riding in the wet, but I'm not a fan of aquaplaning on a bike. So we eased up the pace a bit and motored on.
Dub spotted a rather welcoming bakery for us to grab some brekkie so we pulled in and proceeded to peel out of our various layers. I'm pretty sure the elderly townsfolk are still traumatised from the experience!
We treated ourselves to two rounds of delicious coffee and a proper decent toastie...
It was pretty difficult to walk past the goodies on display.
The jax was quite entertaining...I'm pretty sure if I had weighed everything I'd deposited, I would have broken the scales!
The Swiss are so polite, they even put a lid on the urinals - how posh is that!
But like everything in Switzerland, there are rules to be obeyed! Translats as - Dear men, Please do not throw toilet paper or other objects into the urinal. Risk of blockage! Thank you for your understanding.
Pissoir...can taking a leak be any more posh than this??
Fully dried out, filled and emptied we set off with hearts lifted!
We awoke to the sound of rain and the gear we'd left out to dry the previous evening was now all wet again - what sort of adventure bikers are we??? Anyways we hooked up an apparatus with the hairdryer and managed to get our kit relatively dry before setting off. Our initial target was Martigny which would lead us over the border into France where all worldly items are cheaper! We headed southwest on Route 11 without our rain gear as it was just a light drizzle. Not too long later we were parked up on the side of the road doing the 'waterproofs dance' as we clambered into our raingear. People driving by probably thought we were tazering each other for fun! You just can't beat the awkwardness of putting on gloves with wet hands - it a most unique and special thing! While the unrelenting rain hammered down the roads became covered in surface water. I quite like riding in the wet, but I'm not a fan of aquaplaning on a bike. So we eased up the pace a bit and motored on.
Dub spotted a rather welcoming bakery for us to grab some brekkie so we pulled in and proceeded to peel out of our various layers. I'm pretty sure the elderly townsfolk are still traumatised from the experience!
We treated ourselves to two rounds of delicious coffee and a proper decent toastie...
It was pretty difficult to walk past the goodies on display.
The jax was quite entertaining...I'm pretty sure if I had weighed everything I'd deposited, I would have broken the scales!
The Swiss are so polite, they even put a lid on the urinals - how posh is that!
But like everything in Switzerland, there are rules to be obeyed! Translats as - Dear men, Please do not throw toilet paper or other objects into the urinal. Risk of blockage! Thank you for your understanding.
Pissoir...can taking a leak be any more posh than this??
Fully dried out, filled and emptied we set off with hearts lifted!
At a wee fuelstop where the lady behind the counter was a tad obnoxious, dub decided to go old school on the weather gear!
As we rode towards our digs for the night (wait till you see this place) the weather started to improve and we were able to peel out of our wets. I was thinking how many multiples of 30 could I achieve going around that bend
Our overnight accomodation was the Résidence Le Fontenay Mont-Blanc - sounds fancy doesn't it? Turns out that's a direct translation of 'the hotel from The Shining movie'
Straight across from reception was the lobby/killroom - usually there are rivers of blood flowing across the tiled floor.
Check out the corridor - we were totally expecting to see a kid on a tricycle and some twin sisters knowcking about! And the equipment in the room was from another century!
That said the place was spacious, clean and had everything we needed after a long day of riding in the rain. Dinner was a buffet setup with an eclectic mix of foods. But most importantly they had this:
Being out in the middle of nowhere there wasn't much to see and do. After dinner I went for a wee stroll and found a stone path into the forest. Straight away I'm thinking this is Pet Cemetary stuff and it's all getting a bit too Stephen King, time to do a u turn and head back before I become tomorrow's buffet dinner! Nice view from the hotel though....
After dinner we retired to the room to chill out and check in with the real bosses back home. Pretty sure dub and myself were wondering if Jack Nicholson was going to burst through the door in the middle of the night with a loud 'Heeere's Johnny', so I let Pauline know this might be the last phone conversation we have. She didn't sound as disappointed as I was expecting her to be, must be due to the imminent arrival of the Russian strippers she'd booked.
As we rode towards our digs for the night (wait till you see this place) the weather started to improve and we were able to peel out of our wets. I was thinking how many multiples of 30 could I achieve going around that bend
Our overnight accomodation was the Résidence Le Fontenay Mont-Blanc - sounds fancy doesn't it? Turns out that's a direct translation of 'the hotel from The Shining movie'
Straight across from reception was the lobby/killroom - usually there are rivers of blood flowing across the tiled floor.
Check out the corridor - we were totally expecting to see a kid on a tricycle and some twin sisters knowcking about! And the equipment in the room was from another century!
That said the place was spacious, clean and had everything we needed after a long day of riding in the rain. Dinner was a buffet setup with an eclectic mix of foods. But most importantly they had this:
Being out in the middle of nowhere there wasn't much to see and do. After dinner I went for a wee stroll and found a stone path into the forest. Straight away I'm thinking this is Pet Cemetary stuff and it's all getting a bit too Stephen King, time to do a u turn and head back before I become tomorrow's buffet dinner!
Nice view from the hotel though....After dinner we retired to the room to chill out and check in with the real bosses back home. Pretty sure dub and myself were wondering if Jack Nicholson was going to burst through the door in the middle of the night with a loud 'Heeere's Johnny'
, so I let Pauline know this might be the last phone conversation we have. She didn't sound as disappointed as I was expecting her to be, must be due to the imminent arrival of the Russian strippers she'd booked.
Day 7 - Passy to Camping Gran Bosco
Delighted to wake up still alive, we were in good spirits the next morning. We opted to skip the 15 euro brekkie (based on our dinner experience) and instead hit the road. Today was gonna be a good day with multiple passes to enjoy. The weather was with us too - sun was shining and the skies were a crisp clear blue. Happy days. Our destination today was Camping Gran Bosco which would be our base for five nights - and that meant we wouldn't be packing up every day. Champion!
From Passy we soon got onto the D1212 and headed southwest towards Flumet. In Flumet we started to climb into the hills following the D218B - what a road. This was obviously skiing country as we saw lots of ski lifts while passing through even the smaller towns. On the open road we picked up the pace and really started to enjoy ourselves - was great to again get the biking buzz in the warm sunshine.
Just before the town of Les Saises we are flagged down by police at the side of the road. Uh oh, someone's caught us having a bit too much fun...
Turns out the local constabulary are promoting biker/cyclist/driver safety by running an information day. This includes many leaflets on safer road use, plenty of little giveaways and even a demo of an inflatable vest. Wish we had stuff like this at home where safe shared usage of the road is promoted, not the usual 'us and them' approach.
We grabbed a quick coffee after chatting to a few bods and getting a geansaà load of freebies to take home. I must confess, this one had me giggling - a special room for those of us who are 'gassier' than most. I felt a strong powerful attraction to investigate further, but alas we had to get going.
Continuing on, we soon found ourselves on the D925 riding through Beaufort. Just outside of town the roads were sublime - lovely tarmac carrying us through narrow valleys with sheer rockfaces on either side. Soon we were starting to gain elevation as we rode around multiple hairpins. It was time for a break so we pulled over and broke out the BrewMaster 2000. This portable kettle was our gateway to wonderful cups or roadside tae, coupled with some bikkies (we're on holiday after all!).
Dub seemed particularly delighted at the prospect of a cuppa!!
We relaxed with our brews and watched as multiple bikes passed by. I think our two steeds welcomed the break as much as we did!
Once we packed up the BrewMaster and our accoutrements we headed off. The D925 soon became the D902 which brought us into Bourg Saint Maurice. And this is when the really good stuff started to kick off!
Delighted to wake up still alive, we were in good spirits the next morning. We opted to skip the 15 euro brekkie (based on our dinner experience) and instead hit the road. Today was gonna be a good day with multiple passes to enjoy. The weather was with us too - sun was shining and the skies were a crisp clear blue. Happy days. Our destination today was Camping Gran Bosco which would be our base for five nights - and that meant we wouldn't be packing up every day. Champion!
From Passy we soon got onto the D1212 and headed southwest towards Flumet. In Flumet we started to climb into the hills following the D218B - what a road. This was obviously skiing country as we saw lots of ski lifts while passing through even the smaller towns. On the open road we picked up the pace and really started to enjoy ourselves - was great to again get the biking buzz in the warm sunshine.
Just before the town of Les Saises we are flagged down by police at the side of the road. Uh oh, someone's caught us having a bit too much fun...
Turns out the local constabulary are promoting biker/cyclist/driver safety by running an information day. This includes many leaflets on safer road use, plenty of little giveaways and even a demo of an inflatable vest. Wish we had stuff like this at home where safe shared usage of the road is promoted, not the usual 'us and them' approach. We grabbed a quick coffee after chatting to a few bods and getting a geansaà load of freebies to take home. I must confess, this one had me giggling - a special room for those of us who are 'gassier' than most. I felt a strong powerful attraction to investigate further, but alas we had to get going.
Continuing on, we soon found ourselves on the D925 riding through Beaufort. Just outside of town the roads were sublime - lovely tarmac carrying us through narrow valleys with sheer rockfaces on either side. Soon we were starting to gain elevation as we rode around multiple hairpins. It was time for a break so we pulled over and broke out the BrewMaster 2000. This portable kettle was our gateway to wonderful cups or roadside tae, coupled with some bikkies (we're on holiday after all!).
Dub seemed particularly delighted at the prospect of a cuppa!!
We relaxed with our brews and watched as multiple bikes passed by. I think our two steeds welcomed the break as much as we did!
Once we packed up the BrewMaster and our accoutrements we headed off. The D925 soon became the D902 which brought us into Bourg Saint Maurice. And this is when the really good stuff started to kick off!
