Altdorf

We're on the road for 9am and somehow we take different roads to the 2100m pass. Adrien takes the cycle path with plenty of switchbacks and a higher gradient and I take the main road with multiple tunnels and little traffic. There is a tunnel for the cars to avoid the pass. This means it is really only tourists who take the pass, usually by motorbike, RV or car. It is a long climb but it only takes 100 minutes and my legs feel overworked at the top. We're actually very lucky as this pass was only opened five days previously, evidenced by the snow walls pushed to the side of the road and the still frozen lakes. We wrap up in our warmest clothes for the decent. My top speed is just over 60km/hr and the rest of the day is effortless riding into the German part of Switzerland.
Sonya and Pirmin are my Warm Shower hosts for the evening. They have ridden for nine months as far as Azerbaijan and then the east coast of Australia. Hats off to you both.