Donat

And now the climbing starts for real. So far, I have been cycling in a very generous valley surrounded by mountains up to 2500m. Spectacular riding to be sure, but now three valley floor creeps up and soon I will face the San Bernardino Pass, but not today. My strategy is to establish a base camp at 1100m and attack the pass from there. I have climbed more than 2000m in a day before, but these are the Swiss Alps, and I am going to take it easy. This means that today's ride is a mere 50km, but every km is spectacular. The mountain walls on both sides start to converge and the road follows the river. This river is the young stage of the Rhine and the road swerves this side and that, never able to make up it's mind from which perspective the scenery looks its best.

Judith, Christian and two year old son, Jakob, live in the picturesque town (pop. 160) of Donat. It's just like a scene from a Heidi postcard, but with solar panels on most of the buildings' roofs. I contacted Judith using WarmShowers, which is a hospitality platform used exclusively by bicycle tourers. This means usually that you don't get the same level of amazement when you explain that you cross countries by bicycle. Sometimes it turns into a friendly pissing contest of who has bagged the most countries/ has the best gear/ has done the most extreme rides. Not this time though, as Judith and family are down-to-earth, warm and extremely hospitable people.
Despite plans to stay here only one night, I can't help myself asking if a second would be pushing my luck. Graciously, and without any fuss, they confirm this would be no problem. Great. Now I can go explore the surrounding mountains, by foot this time. Buckaroo will take the day off.