Day Four – Saturday 30 July 2016

 Day Four – Saturday 30 July 2016

Versam to Chur - about 23 kilometres.

Erika came to see us and invited us for breakfast. JP kept his mouth shut this time. I went to the store with Erika and we both made some purchases. Mine included some chocolates for Ueli and Erika as a 'thank you' for their kindness and hospitality. The chocolates were named 'Merci' the French word for thank you.

We enjoyed a very pleasant breakfast and conversation with Ueli and Erika. JP wanted to buy some sweets from the store before we left and, I learned much later, that Ueli bought them for him. How kind this lovely elderly couple of strangers were to us was amazing and meant a great deal to us. Ueli and Erika were aged 78 and 77 respectively and were enjoying being retired. Erika told us that it had been over 50 years since she'd been to England so I invited them both to stay with us in our home should then visit England again.

The day's ride started with a descent into the Rabiusa Gorge and onto the new bridge. The view of the old bridge was somewhat spoiled by the washing lines of the construction workers hung across the gorge. Not something we were expecting to see. Having gone down, it was then turn to go up! JP, such a hero, helped his dear old dad up the mountain. It was quite some climb too – and more to follow. The road clung to the side of the mountain like the narrow ledge it was; a ravine on one side of us and a sheer rock face on the other. Near the top of the gorge, I wanted to stop to take some photographs of this massive gorge, so I shouted for JP to slow down. No way! Off he went like a racing greyhound. I never saw him again for some time – and a few miles. I stopped to take my photographs and with wonderful timing a red coloured train appeared dead on queue. I was so pleased. 

Off I went in search of JP, the road now heading downhill in an arrow straight line through a forest of fir trees in the direction of Bonaduz. Much time passed before I spotted JP sitting by a tree some distance away. I too stopped for a break and reloaded JP's bicycle (quite a frequent task). We met a family of cyclists with a most amazing set of wheels and loads of children riding on them.

We crossed the level crossing and immediately heard the alarm sound, so I walked back to take some photographs of the train. Getting back to JP we got into conversation with a young man with a very sporty looking Suzuki motorcycle. JP seems to be quite into motor cycles. I'm not sure that's a good thing as he's dangerous enough on a bicycle! We turned into Via Campagne without going into the town centre and headed into farming territory. As he shot down the hill, JP found, much to his concern, that his rear brake wasn't working. He made it down the hill in one piece and managed to get his machine stopped without damaging it, so I fixed his brake and on we went. Passing through this lovely pastoral scenery was so pleasant. It was a hot sunny day and butterflies were everywhere, as they had been for much of our trip.

We arrived at Reichenau Bridge, the last bridge over the Vorderrhein nearby the confluence of the Vorderrhein and the Hinterrhein. 

The flow of traffic was never ending. We parked in a small car park and JP asked me if we could go to the riverside beach for a dip. Back across the bridge we went and whilst he played in the water, I had a rest in preparation for the next climb. Once again we crossed the bridge and turned sharp left up the hill. Pushing, not riding, in the baking sunshine. I had to stop frequently to recover my breathing and slow my pounding heart, as always on these climbs. JP, ever the hero, never seems to run out of energy and stamina and helped me a great deal on these climbs. We were overtaken on one climb by a family on bicycles. The lady must have had legs of steel as she was towing what seemed to be a heavy trailer up the hill without dismounting. I was amazed. If only my legs (and lungs) were up to that!

We turned sharp right into Afuris Street where I stopped for a rest as JP cycled up the hill, saying he'd come back for me. After a while, I started pushing my bicycle once more. Part way up the hill I met JP heading back down towards me and together we pushed my bicycle up the hill to another fountain. JP swept aside the green algae and weed and we both dunked our heads into the cold water. What a shock that was. 

I then decided to place my head under the fountain outlet and that was even colder. JP spent some time tipping cold water over himself, using our water bottles to do so. We filled our bottles once more and attached them to our bicycles before heading uphill once more. We pressed on, eventually arriving in the town square of Tamins where we were hailed by the family of the lady with steel legs. We sat in the shade with them and enjoyed talking with them. JP buzzed off to the store for some ice cream, the fist of the trip, which made life somewhat bearable again. I showed our new acquaintances the photographs I always carry with me of Annelise. I was nearly in tears as I told them about her. We downed huge quantities of the cold water we had in our bottles and suddenly the truth about 'lady steel legs' appeared in front of me. She rode an electric powered bicycle. I told them about what I'd been thinking and we all had a good laugh.

Day Three - Friday 29 July 2016

 Day Three – Friday 29 July 2016

By the river near Ilanz to Versam - only about 12 kilometres.

Cold Pizza for breakfast. JP was over the moon about the view from our tent.

We cycled back to Ilanz where we filled all our water bottles from the fountain, and headed out on the BIG CLIMB that would take us almost all day. This would be the toughest day of the whole trip, as far as climbing hills was concerned. Not something I was looking forward to with a great deal of relish. Soon after leaving Ilanz, we stopped at someone's home to check that we were heading in the right direction – towards Castrich, then on to Valendas.

As we entered Valendas, I stopped in a shady spot for a rest. I didn't feel I could pedal another metre. JP was still as fresh as a daisy so I asked him to walk into town and buy some food and drink. He returned after quite some time having found a restaurant where he bought a couple of slices of Wähe – sponge cake covered in fruit – delicious, and a couple of Coke's. Just what I needed. We sat on a stone wall in the shade and enjoyed our feast, before proceeding up the hill into the town square where we parked our bicycles against the wall of the fountain. I sent JP into the restaurant for more Wähe – four slices of two different flavours. That and with all the fizzy drinks we'd consumed meant we'd got enough sugar inside us to have kept a Nestlé factory going for a week but it helped us to keep going (not that JP needed much help in that direction).

We were very privileged to be able to see, and for JP to participate in, a boat race in the fountain. The boats were made from wine bottle corks and the whole party was in aid of disabled (mentally!) children from somewhere else in Switzerland. JP always fits in well!

After our sojourn in Valendas it was back to the climb. At some stage of the climb, I was in front and when I stopped for a rest JP was nowhere in sight. I waited and waited in the sun. No JP anywhere. I drank as much water as I could and had a rest. I had little strength left in this heat – and I like it hot. I walked some distance down the hill and still could not see him. I walked back up the hill. I found a hiding place for my panniers and other luggage and was just about to unload and ride back down the hill when another cyclist came past saying he'd rescued JP. Much to my relief, a short time later, JP came into sight. He'd actually seen me looking for him when I'd walked down the hill without seeing him.

We arrived in Carrera where there was another fountain from which we could refill our water bottles and where JP could have a cooling splash. 

We headed on towards Versam. On one particular climb, JP went on ahead and returned to help his old dad up the hill. What a hero. While I was resting (again), he helped another cyclist up the hill for a way and when they stopped the cyclist gave him two Euros for his effort. We then climbed further and flopped out on someone's front lawn.

For a change, we came to a hill that was headed downwards, Great. We descended into Versam having covered a total daily distance of only about 15 km. Not exactly record breaking stuff. We found a really clean and comfortable public WC, where we could wash, shave, change our clothes and make ourselves look human again. It was in a building that had formerly been the (massive) home of the minister of the local church. It was now a block of flats – and public loo. The church was beautiful, as you can see in the photographs:

Whilst we were sorting out our stuff and getting loaded again I noticed there were three people in garden of the neighbouring property. I managed to get into conversation with them and, after going through the various non-options I suggested that it would be a good idea if we could camp in their garden. Two of the folks were visiting friends who quickly left and the lady of the house said she would ask her husband if we could stay. She returned with her husband who quickly weighed us up (good job we were clean and tidy after our ablutions in the public loo) and gave us permission to camp in their garden. How wonderful. We learned that they were named Ueli and Erika and Erika even offered to cook us a pasta meal, but JP said we were going to the restaurant, despite my glowering at him. We didn't go to the restaurant. JP stayed in the tent and I walked to the local, very beautiful church and took a few photographs.

Ueli and Erika's lovely traditional (as we envisaged it) was built in 1913. It had been designed by Ueli's Grandfather (an architect), for his father, so had been in the family for more than a century. They said there was plenty of space for the family to use altogether, all ten of them. It was a huge house. It was only used as a summer and weekend home as their main home was in Zurich. Erika told me that it was hard being there in the winter as only two rooms were heated by the wood burning stove in the dining room. None of the other rooms were heated. In the winter, hot stones were placed in the beds to warm them – which her grandchildren loved. The rear garden overlooked the magnificent Rabiusa Gorge.

Much to JP's delight, a neighbouring cat came to visit us in our tent. The cat settled down with JP on his sleeping bag and really made itself at home. JP was so pleased as he loves animals which, as I told him, was the reason the cat had settled so well with him, as animals know the people who like them - or don't.