The Chateau-d’Oex Loop Ride

 August 30, 2012

Having enjoyed the Gruyère Cycling Tour so much, I determined to ride the additional part of the longer course I had not ridden on Sunday.  I had been happy to ride 88 km and 1200 m vertical for one day’s effort but saw that using my rental car I could ride a loop that would cover the section of the 125 km course I had not seen.

Departing at 9:30 on a cool sunny Wednesday, I drove through Broc and passed Gruyères, its impressive castle looming overhead, and quickly covered the 28 kms to Chateau-d’Oex but since there was no obvious parking spot on the main road I continued a bit further to Les Granges.  There was a nice little parking lot “for customers only” but since the restaurant across the street was now out of business I did not think there would be any issues with using the space.  I unpacked the bike, got changed and at 10:14 began to ride east towards Saanen.

When I saw a sign for the Swiss National Cycling Route 5/9 (a combination of two routes), I decided to follow this rather than taking the main road I had ridden on during the Gruyère Cycling Tour in the opposite direction.  These cycling routes tend to go along quiet secondary roads, often used by farmers, and although not always very flat they are usually quite scenic.  Turning off the main road, I discovered that the first section of the bike route was pretty terrible, consisting of broken concrete on a steep downhill grade.  It led me through a narrow tunnel with a curve in it and somewhat more traffic than I had expected.  But soon enough I was riding in the open, on a beautifully-paved path that meandered through the countryside and soon brought me to Rougemont, with its impressive backdrop of exposed stone mountains.

The bike route took me through the little town and then parallel to the main road until I reached Saanen, which had been the point furthest away from Bulle during the Gruyère Cycling Tour.  I followed the red route markers south now and in 3 kms arrived in the famous alpine resort of Gstaad.  I was impressed by the newish high-rise building with the old-style towers attached to it that dominates the view and I took a quick look down the main pedestrian street but Gstaad was not all that impressive, looking much like any other the other Swiss villages I had passed through.  There was a big sign for the Menuhin music festival and on the outskirts of the village I saw a huge event tent but besides a few fancy shops and some nice chalets nothing much out of the ordinary.

The bike route continued south along the Saane River, gently climbing.  At Gsteig I came across a sign for the Col du Pillon, my next challenge, and it noted that the road would climb 360 m over the next 6.5 kms, which did not sound that difficult.  The road climbed gradually but then after Reusch it descended, meaning I would have to make up the lost altitude, so my work was cut out for me.  I passed a cable car station, which looked quite forlorn in summer, and after a moment I was passed by a classic Mercedes-Benz Gullwing sports car from the 1950s.  The driver was satisfied with reaching the summit of the Col du Pillon since the car passed me in the other direction a few minutes later.

With a final push I was up to the flat summit, which again had numerous restaurants.  I had to ride to the far side to find the col sign and a nice motorcyclist came over and took a photo for me.  Having reached 1546 m ASL it was time to head further west and a rather terrifying descent followed as the road dropped at around 11% on the way to Les Diablerets, losing 400 m in only 4 kms.  For the first time during the day I saw some other cyclists as they came up towards the summit, looking tired.

The last time I was in Les Diablerets was in 1974.  I was doing a cycling tour of Western Europe with my friend Karl directly after graduating from high school.  We had ridden to Friedrichshafen and left our bikes there for a detour to Switzerland by train.  At our hotel in Geneva the owner suggested that if we wanted to see the Alps we should go to Les Diablerets and we enjoyed our short stay there, and the narrow-gauge railway ride that brought us up from Aigle.

After 38 years Les Diablerets did not look all that different except that it was much larger than I recalled.  All the buildings are in the classic Alpine chalet style so things look fairly ageless.  I just hope that 38 years from now I look so prosperous myself!

Continuing on the main road towards Aigle for 10 kms I passed over a very long and extremely high bridge before turning right on Route 11 and beginning to climb again.  Although it was not marked at the intersection where I turned, I was now on the road taking me to the Col des Mosses.  There was no traffic at all and I climbed steadily, with a beautiful view over the valley to the right and forest to the left.  There was a spray-painted message on the road which would have been encouragement for Jean-Paul on Sunday’s Gruyère Cycling Tour but otherwise it was just me.

I pulled off the road at La Camballaz, where a little wooden bus shelter also offered a place to refill my water bottles.  A couple got out of a car and walked across the street.  They called their cows home, saying “Hop, hop!” much as Jean-Paul’s supporters had written.  Two cyclists came downhill at a good rate of speed, which meant that I still had some climbing to do.

The road began to level off and sooner than I expected I had reached the village of Col des Mosses but I actually had to ride through it to reach the summit.  No motorcyclists around so there is just a photo of the trusty Tarmac and the col sign (1445 m ALS) to prove we were there and then downhill we went.  The first next 3-4 kms were exactly my kind of descent, gentle with open curves and I proceeded to La Lecherette at quite high speed.  The next 6 kms was much steeper and full of very tight hairpins taking me through the Valley of l’Etivaz and then through a deep cut into the rock at the Pissot Canyon before the final steep descent that brought me back to Chateau-d-Oex.  

Getting back to the main road required another little climb, bringing me through a roundabout where there was a sign commemorating the world’s first non-stop around-the-world balloon flight which was actually launched in Chateau-d’Oex and then I headed back towards the car in Les Granges, noticing that the main road required yet more ascending.

The car was where I had left it and as I prepared to pack up another cyclist rode by towards Chateau-d’Oex and gave me a friendly wave.  It had been a wonderful sunny day on the road and I had covered almost 66 kms and climbed 1127 m in all with two nice climbs and more amazing Swiss scenery.   

Three Chapels and Cruising up the Jaunpass

August 28, 2012

After a day spent lounging in my little chalet apartment, catching up on reading but also going outside to walk around and do a bit of shopping in downtown Charmey, such as it is, and managing to locate an adapter which would allow me to plug in my espresso machine and my computer into the really weird and totally unique another-argument-against-European-integration Swiss electrical sockets (were they designed so that invaders would not be able to use their coffee machines?), I felt fully recovered from my exertions at the Gruyère Cycling Tour and on Tuesday I decided to take advantage of the fine weather and do an easy ride to the east, involving no navigational effort whatsoever since I would be riding a stretch of the Cycling Tour again.  I particularly liked the flattish bit that commenced just outside of Charmey.

Leaving my chalet, I rode past a little chapel directly in the neighbourhood and stopped to take a look.   It was constructed in 1633 and the various wall paintings had been restored fairly recently but what was especially interesting was the ceiling, which had been plastered over during the centuries but which restorers had cleaned up to show the original painting on the barrel-arch ceiling.

Riding another 200 m down the road, I came to, surprisingly, another chapel on the main road in Charmey.  This was smaller than the first chapel I visited and there was no sign informing about its history.  It was located directly across the street from the large church that dominates the village.

Turning east along the main road, I passed though Charmey proper (891 m ASL), passing the tourism office on the left and the adjacent cable car station, and a short descent took me back onto the straight road running alongside the Jogne River through the Swiss countryside.  Shortly after leaving the village, I came across yet another chapel, the third one within 3 kms of my start!  This one boasted a nice altar but also some very nice plantings outside, particularly around a nearby water trough, an omnipresent and very useful fixture in Switzerland.  I noticed that many of the participants rode with only a single water bottle at the Gruyère Cycling Tour, which saves a bit of weight on all those climbs but I would only risk if assured of a regular supply of water, which is the case here.

The Jogne Valley takes you past some impressive mountains, with the Hochmatt on the right reaching 2152 m ASL and les Dents Vertes (“the Green Teeth”) formation on the left.  I rode quietly along in the sunshine, enjoying the superb road and looking at the remarkable flower displays on the farmhouses I passed.  There were occasional sawmills along the way but not much in the way of traffic.  At some point I crossed a linguistic barrier as the village names were now much more German as I noted when I passed Im-Fang and Zur-Eich (“In the Trap” and “At the Oak” respectively).  At this point I returned to the section where the road was under construction that we had been delayed at during the Cycling Tour.  I was able to cycle a good part of it but as I made my way between the graders and rollers I came across some very soft dirt and had to walk again.

Soon rolling once more, I went through the slightly larger settlement of Jaun and then passed a little waterfall in Kapellboden I had not noticed on the previous ride.  There was the turn on the road towards Abländschen and the Mittelberg that had been the hardest stretch of the Cycling Tour.  Instead today I continued straight ahead.

Now began a serious climb of around 5 kms through the green countryside as I worked my way up the Jaunpass.  There were some sections that must have been around 10% at the start but then the grade became more reasonable.  I passed an attractive stone marker that had been set in 1878 showing the distance to Broc on one side and to Boltigen, in the direction I was going, on the other.  There was very little traffic, except the occasional motorcycle, for which I was grateful as after the stone marker the road became quite narrow.

I rode at a fairly steady rate and soon enough I came to the top of the pass (1508 m ASL), which had the usual selection of restaurants/sporting goods stores that you find at the top of a pass in the Alps.  I had to ride a little further to find the col sign for the obligatory photo and as I pulled up a group of four cyclists arrived from the other direction.  There were two older men and a girl and a youth; one of the older men (who was missing an eye) offered to take my photo in front of the col sign and did a commendable job.  He told me that going further along the road I would be able to see a glacier in the mountains so I took my leave and began the descent of the pass, crossing into Canton Bern and the Simmental.

Sure enough, after 500 m or so I could see the ice on the mountains across the valley.  I took some photos and turned around as I had not intended to go on towards Boltigen and climb both sides of the pass today.  Instead, I stopped at the summit for a coffee in a Fromagerie, where all the signs were in German but the lady spoke French.  There was a sign with a photo showing an old style cheese vat with a man in local costume stirring it with a big paddle which pointed out that they don’t make cheese like this anymore.  In fact, behind a glass wall was a modern spotless cheese operation with the usual stainless steel equipment.

In addition to cheese, there were a number of other local products available, including the meringues which are sold everywhere around here.  I bought a small jar of local Simmental mountain honey to give to friends I was going to see in Bern that evening.  I had a really excellent latte macchiato while I sat outside in the sun.  The lady in the shop came out and we chatted for a bit and our conversation was interrupted by the appearance of two wonderful old stake trucks, probably from the late 1940s or early 1950s.  One was a startling turquoise colour and had a large cow sculpture on the bed while the other was a pleasing coffee-and cream combination (no cow though).  The drivers tooted their horns at us as we waved and they then drive up the short climb behind the Fromagerie to a restaurant.

Looking at my photos, I saw that the trucks were decorated to celebrate the centennial of the Chevrolet marque.  This was fitting as I am quite certain Louis Chevrolet actually was French Swiss.  The lady told me that the day before a whole group of beautiful Ferraris had come over the pass and that it is not uncommon to see vintage cars on these roads.

Coffee finished I gingerly headed back down the Jaunpass, which seemed a lot steeper going down that when I had come the other way.  My descending skills have not improved with time but have rather declined in inverse proportion to weight gain.  If I lived around here I am sure that I would be a better descender but I am very conscious when riding alone to put prudence first.

An easy ride back towards Charmey (well, minus the construction  section where I had to walk again!) and I was soon back in the chalet.  A relaxing 37 kms with 675 m of climbing (not always so relaxing) and some great coffee for a successful excursion.

The 2012 Gruyerè Cycling Tour

August 26, 2012

With the new fashionability of the timed Gran Fondo/Cyclosportif in North America, event organizers need to find that special feature that will attract cycling enthusiasts, such as the presence of pro like Ryder Hesjedal in British Columbia or a brutally hard course or a great jersey.  But looking across the Atlantic, sometimes just riding in the most beautiful scenery on the planet is enough.  At least that’s what participants in the Swiss-modest Gruyerè Cycling Tour held every August should feel  entitled to believe.

The view from my little rental chalet in Charmey

Oddly enough, in multilingual Switzerland the name of the event is in non-official English but you can expect French to be the primary language when you line up at the start in Bulle, with Swiss German in strong evidence as well.  The Gruyerè Region is located about 60 kms south of Berne, the nation’s capital and of course includes the famous cheese town of the same name, although one will simply pass through Gruyerès on the way to the finish line.

Registration is accomplished online and while not inexpensive does include a special jersey for the ride.  The rules require that all participants wear the jersey during the ride (although there were scofflaws to be seen).  I was planning to ride with Dan, a friend from Zurich, and was pretty sure that I would lose him in the first ten minutes among all those blue/white/red jerseys.  Spendthrifts can also buy matching bib shorts.

Dan's train arrived in Bulle ONE MINUTE LATE!

 The evening before the Sunday ride you can go to the Espace Gruyerè, a large multi-function hall in Bulle and pick up your jersey, start number with timing chip.  Organization is excellent (we were informed of our start numbers by text message on Saturday afternoon) and we quickly had our cloth start bags, which included the aforementioned items as well as a very green water bottle promoting Canton Vaude, the French-speaking province in with the Gruyerè Region sits, a reflective band and some brochures.  Saturday also sees a children’s event and a ride for the mobility-impaired. 

The Espace Gruyerè also housed a cafeteria and a number of exhibitors selling familiar brands such as Trek, Pinarello and Polar.  The Swiss Cycling Federation had a stand to encourage membership but had a few things to sell too, including Cancellara Bouillon which, to our disappointment, contained no Fabian DNA to make you go faster but was just a $19 container of dehydrated vegetable stock.

Switzerland appears to be going through a boom time in cycling, certainly due partially to the omnipresence of the Great Fabian, who appears on Trek advertising as well as a campaign to encourage helmet use.  One of the brochures listed all the various similar cycling events, both timed and not, taking place in the country and this coordination, which did not exist only a few years ago, shows the rising interest.

Dan fondling a new Trek and drooling.

Returning to our little chalet in Charmey, we were discouraged by the pouring rain that began in the evening and continued relentlessly through the night.  In the morning it was cool but the rain had stopped and the grey clouds looked to be breaking up.

Home sweet home, for a week

Registration can take place on Sunday morning but everyone was ready to leave when the starting gun went off precisely at 9:00.  Although the Gruyerè cycling event is timed, it is quite different from other sportifs in that the timing is not the overall time spent on the course but just a particular section of the course.  The shorter 85 km route’s timed section was an uphill stretch of 9.3 kms, while the longer 125 km route had timed sections totalling 22.44 km, also uphill.  The purpose of only timing only these sections was to prevent the kind of mad and dangerous dash at the start of many gran fondos as thousands of riders attempt to force their way to the front before the first climb.

The masses await the start in a very relaxed manner.

As we left Bulle en masse, it seemed pretty fast to me but a walk in the park compared to the Italian ride I had done in May where cyclists were colliding in their haste.  The Swiss riders were careful when overtaking and the first challenge, a 1.2 km long tunnel that ran downhill at high speed until it emptied out in a traffic circle, was very well-managed.  Of course, I lost Dan immediately as we jostled for position but I never lacked for company during the day.  And everywhere we rode there were escort motorcycles and flagpeople at intersections to ensure the safety of participants.

In Broc, an old house and arched bridge

Soon the road headed up and as expected the group began to break up as we rode through the villages of Broc and Charmey, where small groups of people stood and cheered us on.  To our right across the valley one could see the impressive fortress of Gruyerès high on its ridge.  There was a steep section after Broc but this was not going to be the big challenge for the day, judging from the profile.  After Charmey, we rode a marvellous section of flat road, surrounded by the lush green fields and rugged hills of the region.  Although Gruyerè lacks the drama of the High Alps it is nonetheless stunning, with the beautiful landscape, near-flawless roads, picturesque villages and flowers everywhere.  The sun was starting to break through and all were enjoying the ride.

Well, until we came to Im Fang and the first of a number  of sections of road construction.  This was the worst as it required everyone to walk their bikes through loose gravel.  Soon enough we were on smooth pavement again and then the road turned south and we found ourselves on a very narrow road that began to climb noticeably.  It got narrower and narrower and steeper and steeper:  we were now on the big ascent of the day, the Mittelberg.  The road was only as wide as a single car and was closed to traffic although the odd official vehicle as well escort motorcycles passed us.  This was the first time section and we would climb more than 560 m in the 9 kms.  I rode with some Quebecois, and then an Englishman living in Zurich and heard other languages and accents around me.  While the climb was hard, the scenery was distracting us and the sun had now come out for our glorious summer outing.

As we approached the top, people were standing and cheering loudly and with a final little sprint I crossed the timing mat to bring me to the first food stop.  There were masses of riders there but compared to the German food stops at events there the selection was a bit limited, with bananas, some fruit jellies, oranges and water and some energy drink.  There was also a great deal of Gruyerè cheese in single-serving packages and I stuffed my jersey pockets full.

 Now I was thankful I had brought my rain jacket and long-fingered glove liners as we began to descend.  The ride down from the Mittelberg, again on a road the width of a single car (so small it does not appear on my large-scale Michelin map), was an amazing high-speed experience through Swiss forests and alongside  a little stream.  Down, down, down we zoomed, surfacing again  at Saanen.  Here the route split, and those heading on the 125 km stretched continued south to Gstaad while the rest of us rode west towards Chateau-d’Oex and the direct road back to Bulle.

Me, wearing the Official Jersey

Although the road is marked in red on my map, it is definitely suited for cycling and with the majority of the climbing behind us, it was time to go into time trial mode until the next food stop at Les Moulins and at 60 kms.  Although we had to stop several times to allow what must be the world’s slowest train to cross the road, we made excellent time, including chasing and passing escort motorcycles, on the flat/downhill run that brought us through Gruyerès proper and then back in Bulle and the finish line.  My transponder was removed from my start number and I retain the number (which is personalized with your first name) as a nice souvenir. 

After taking my bike back to the car, I walked back to the Espace de Gruyerè and took advantage of the facilities to have a shower and get changed.  There were lots of families and friends at the finish, cheering on the cylists who continued to ride across the line.  I used up some of my Swiss Francs and bought two beers but before I could get started Dan rolled up so I passed one to him.  The longer route he had done included two more climbs, but neither was as hard as the Mittelberg but I was still impressed he had completed his ride so quickly.

After looking around at downtown Bulle and finding a light meal (and $4 ice cream cones that were worth every penny), Dan took his train back to Zurich.  Just as he left, he received another text message giving him his results for the time section and his standing.  Talk about Swiss efficiency!

A storefront sign in Bulle

I rode 88 kms for the day and climbed 1200 m, according to my GPS.  I apparently placed 66^th in my class for the Mittelberg climb and suppose I would have done better if I had not stopped to take photos.  I have to admit that for me the big attraction of the Gruyerè Cycling Tour  is not how fast I can finish it since this is the kind of ride that, on a fine summer’s day, you never want to see end.