Coloradans Tackle the Swiss Alps

The next Swiss Adventure started with a road trip to the next "base camp" of Meiringen (which by the way claims to have invented meringue and has the white stuff all over every local bakery), with an obligatory stop at the local gas station for a nature break along the way... As the last "campers" pointed out - Leave it to the Swiss to make sure the restroom experience is as pleasant as possible...
Ready to ride - "counselor" Gustav made sure to be stocked up with the most important on-ride nutrition (Swiss chocolate, of course)...
We're on the road again! Heading up Gross Scheidegg in the Berner Oberland to see the views of some big famous mountains (esp. the Eiger) at the top - climb, climb, climb...
This is a great climb, with hardly any cars at all on the route... oh, and some pretty amazing scenery as a bonus...
...which helps to take your mind off the little 18-20% grade parts here and there...
What perfectly beautiful weather - we were very lucky.
Made it to the top! And actually got a picture of all of us together (asking for it to be level was obviously too much - must be the altitude)...
The descent was so picture-perfect in spots, it seemed like a painting...
At one point there was a brief stand-off... whatever you do, don't moooooooove.....
But we made it thru all obstacles and ended up having a great ride and a great day!

The next day was Sunday and after the previous day's challenge the group was totally energized and ready to tackle another big adventure...
Well, at least their minds were on cycling (the UCI Road World Championships)...
With the hopes to create a spark and some energy for more "climb, climb, climb"ing, some cappuccinos were in order...
Luckily the caffeine did the trick, and the group was off to head uphill again. Today's challenge was Gotthard Pass - a classic Swiss climb complete with non-stop cobblestones toward the top (even with some grades up to 12%!)...
Despite the bumping around, we made it to that top too - Yahoo! Almost in Italy, the signs switch to Italian (they say "ore" for hour), and passing cyclists say "Ciao" (although we were the only crazy cyclists up there at this time)...
That night it was time for some major carbo-loading to prepare for the big riding the next day...
The next morning we woke up to some looooooow temps, and frost all over the car, but that didn't stop these campers from riding -- After all they're tough Coloradans!
It ended up being another perfectly clear day - Susten Pass was gorgeous...
Pass #1 down -- Yeah!
The view from the top was stunning...
Couldn't see all this last time we were riding here a few weeks ago (when it was 7pm and almost dark!)...
Next was Grimsel Pass. One of our fave sections is when bikes have their own road to bypass a tunnel, so no cars - just us...
Lots of beautiful scenery to distract one from various "discomforts" while climbing here...
No discomforts evident for "Team Swiss" here though! (or maybe just riding high on endorphins)
Course maybe it's cuz this time I only did one pass and drove support for the rest (it was quite efficient, getting 5,000 ft elev in just 16 miles!). Gotta hand it to Paula - She did the full Silver Route from the Alpenbrevet, with 11,500 ft elevation over three passes. And Di tackled two huge passes with a never-ending smile. Cold temps at the tops and freeeeeezing wind on the descents? No problem for these Coloradans. Hopp, hopp, hopp -- Great job!!

The view from the top of Grimsel Pass is one of my favorites, where you can see the full Grimsel descent plus the next climb winding its way up Furka Pass in the distance...
The gals tackled the final climb with non-stop gusto and still saved some energy for smiles at the top... Way to go!!!
Meanwhile the "accelerated camper" guys enjoyed their own Swiss adventure by tackling the "Gold Route" of the Alpenbrevet - All 17,500 ft elevation gain of it! With it being almost October the daylight is quite a bit more sparse which meant a finish in the dark and fog...
...but of course that made it all even more epic - What a day!
We were so lucky to have such perfectly clear, beautiful weather to enjoy one of the last good biking days in the Swiss Alps this season. Now next stop is Italy, Lake Como area, where we are hoping for some warmer temps... We'll see if that plan works!

Ciao,
Buggy

P.S. Thanks for all your comments on the previous post!!