This morning we headed over to Bol on the island of Braç, the next closest island to the mainland from Hvar. After checking into our Airbnb (which has a working shower head, much to our delight), we headed into town to do a little lunch and dinner shopping. We have been on the hunt for a fish market to pick up some fresh catches, but Bol seems to be lacking in this department as well – we truly don’t understand where all the seafood goes! Alas, we finally headed out for an afternoon ride – deciding to keep it a little mellow, and save our big braç ride for tomorrow. We started out riding on a dirt road that begins the climb to up to the inner part of the island. This part of ride included some truly amazing views of the ocean and some vineyards along the way.

This road eventually merged with the main, paved road, which has some veryyyyy long switchbacks to the top. Once at the top of the climb, we decided to do a little out and back to the highest point of the island – called vidova gora – that has a pretty great view of Bol, and hvar.

After resting our legs and chowing on some sammies, we began the circuitous, long descent back to Bol. Having consumed all our water at this point and feeling quite parched, we sidetracked a little to try to find a water source. In the town of pražnica we found an absolute savior of a water fountain that reminded us of the good ol’ days back in the Dolomites. Although not nearly as cold and mountain-like, it certainly brought us back to life.

After cruising the rest of the way back to town, we hit up the beach (first time using our swimsuits all trip!!), and then found a perfect spot to enjoy some wine and cheese.

We’re psyched for our last day in Croatia tomorrow before beginning the trek back to Switzerland. Peace n luv.

Apologies for the lack of posting recently, loyal followers! The past couple of days have involved a fair amount of travel as we made our way from Italy and down to the islands in Croatia. Two days ago we left the hut in cortina after breakfast and descended back to our car. With the bikes and gear all packed up we headed southeast for a five hour drive to Senj, our first Croatian stop. Checking the temperature every so often on the drive, we could see it gradually increase over the duration of the journey. So we were not too surprised to find out that it is indeed quite hot in Croatia! After checking into our hotel, we did some tire swapping on my bike to get it ready for some more serious terrain – which had us sweating buckets before we even began our ride. We then made our way into Velebit – a national park near Senj. The first 15ish miles involved some decent climbing, and loose/ sharp gravel. But luckily the riding offered some shade, and temperatures dropped a little as the elevation increased.

Then began an awesome, paved descent back to the main highway and coast. No cars to be found, we were free to bomb down and take in the ocean views.

After making our way back to town, we stopped for some refreshing drinks (ahem beers, obviously), and took our first dip in the water.

Next up was dinner – we found a restaurant in a little alleyway near the hotel and had a killer meal with calamari, fish, steak, the whole works. Croatians don’t skimp on portion sizes…

After letting ourselves sleep in this morning and enjoying a big breakfast at our hotel, we decided (well mostly I decided) that our legs needed a chiller day today. Gunnar had proposed a 9,500ft day, but I put the hammer down on that. After scoping out some mtb trails on our ride yesterday, we figured we might as well take the day to rent some mtn bikes and do the Stella Ronda lift assisted route – which strings together an epic ride with minimal climbing thanks to a combination of lifts, gondolas, and trams. The first half of the ride was pretty mellow with double track and nice views. On the second half of the ride we hit some really awesome trails. After descending into Val Gardena valley, we took the Ciampioni gondola (which is used for the World Cup downhill) to access a near-DH style trail. Luckily we had a friendly Canadian and Australian to show us the way, and give us a heads up on some of the tricky sections. After this trail we took our final gondola ride, and descended down the Cir trail – a flowy trail with mellow berms and some cool bridges/wooden features.

We cruised back to town, dropped off the bikes, and hit up some delicious gelato (much needed, considering we never stopped for lunch). Then we cheffed up another killer dinner in our small but mighty hotel kitchen. Once inside, we could tell just how much dirt our bodies had collected throughout the day (as pictured below…).

Yesterday we got a late start to the day – letting our bodies sleep in and enjoy some much needed rest. After breakfast we headed out for a morning loop up torre di fraele – a decent sized climb with a lot of switchbacks, but also some ancient towers at the top. We hammered up this climb, with heart rates in the 160s-170s for 30-40 minutes.

We then did a figure 8 loop around the lake at the top, which gave us a great chance to spin out the legs and enjoy some chill, flat gravel.

Then began the killer descent back to town, which was debatably just as challenging as the climb. Steep grades mixed with unforgiving, loose gravel made it quite demanding on the fingers and hands. However, about halfway down we merged onto the lower half of the Stelvio descent – a nicely paved road that brought us right back to town. We took a little lunch break before heading out for some more dirt. We wanted to ride gavia pass, but with Gunnar’s detective skills we learned that part of the road was closed due to landslide concerns. Undeterred, we found an alternative route leading up to gavia on dirt roads. This turned out to be an amazing alternative – with no cars, stellar views, and remote homesteads along the way.

While cruising back down to Bormio on the paved road, we spotted a gelato shop and decided it was the perfect opportunity to snag our first Italian gelato. We were not disappointed!

We finally made our way back home. After a little tire swapping in the exceptional bike room our Airbnb offers, we cheffed up a delicious dinner of seafood pasta and salad. Capping off a great day while also recharging for what would be an even bigger one the next.

We woke up early this morning to get a head start on a long day. After enjoying our last breakfast at hotel caprice (which we will dearly miss), we packed up the rest of our gear and headed up grosse scheidegg for one last time. Gunnar set a startlingly fast pace that put me in a grumpy mood for most of the climb, but quickly dissipated once we headed down the back side and into innertkirchen.

After the glorious descent we began the long, grueling climb up grimsel pass. Unlike grosse scheidegg, this route allows cars – and we soon found out that it is a heavily trafficked area for motorcycles. The climb dragged on and on, with each little peak bearing another one behind it. About two hours and 5000ft later, we finally summited and enjoyed a nice little snack and rest break at the top.

Up next was a quick 1000ft descent to the bottom of furka pass via about 10 big switchbacks (fun!). Then began our last climb for the day – up and over furka pass. Our legs were really feeling it at this point, so we took it pretty mellow to the top.

Serendipitously, the tour de Suisse was projected to pass over furka (in the opposite direction) about an hour after we summited. Having finished all of our climbing for the day, we decided it made sense to bunk up, sit back, and watch some really fast riders. With perfect weather, you couldn’t have asked for a better end to a killer day for the legs.

We then cruised down the 3500ft 12 mile descent into andermatt, where we picked up bags at the train station and checked into our airbnb. The vibes here are much less touristy than grindelwald, which is a great change of pace. It didn’t take us long to find a cute little restaurant where we enjoyed our first fondue of the trip – bodies and souls rejoicing.

We decided that today would be a good day to switch things up, and check out some of the mtb routes around grindelwald. After a delicious breakfast at our hotel, we headed up the road to a bike shop to get outfitted for the day. The guys at the shop got us dialed in (a giant trance for Gunnar and a liv intrigue for me). They also gave us some insider tips on where to ride for the day – which turned out to be invaluable.

The first part of the day started with yet another climb up to grosse scheidegg. Our legs were definitely feeling it after yesterday’s climbing, plus the added weight from mountain bikes.

We then traversed/ climbed over to First, and then bachalpsee lake. It had been raining intermittently and I had gotten pretty cold, so Gunnar was kind enough to lend me his shirt – I guess you call that love! The lake was beautiful but still quite snowy.

We then began the ~3500ft descent back to grindelwald. The first section was pretty snowy with a lot of rocky parts. We tried to find another trail part of the way down that the guys at the bike shop had recommended. With no signage, this turned into a bit of a bushwhacking expedition. We ultimately ended up finding a little more single track through the dense mossy forests leading back to grindelwald, although it wasn’t what we had planned to ride.

We took a break in town for about an hour – chowing on some rosti for lunch and dropping a bag at the train station so that we have clothes when we get to andermatt in a few days. Then we took the train up to kleine scheidegg (legs were very grateful), for the second part of our ride. We rode back down to grindelwald on an epic trail that the guys at the shop told us about. It’s technically not an mtb trail, but it sure was fun!

It was a little damp and slippery in the woods. One of the bridges simultaneously took Gunnar and I out – but luckily our bodies and bikes came out unscathed.

After crushing the rest of the way down, we returned our bikes to the shop before hitting the sauna and steam room at our hotel. Then headed out for dinner, where I can confirm that Gunnar consumed more wine than he ever has in his life (a full two glasses!).

After a long sleep and relaxing breakfast, we headed into town for another bike rental expedition. While doing so, we asked some people at the shops about our planned ride for the day. All around we got a resounding “yeah that ride’s not possible, there’s way too much snow on that route.” Undeterred, we were advised on a few other routes. First up was an out n back up the valley to blackenalp. The riding was paved at first, but turned into some tough climbs at the end – as well as a pretty spectacular view.

We also ran into some sheep and cows along the way.

After reaching the end of the riding trail, we turned around and headed back to the apartment for some lunch. We also packed a bag to send on the train to grindelwald so the that we have fear when we arrive there later this week. Then we headed out for another “quick loop” up to trüebsee – a lake on a plateau above engelberg. The climbing was pretty brutal – and even the mighty Gunnar had to get off his bike and walk a few sections (I know, very rare). But the views were worth it, and so was the descent.

We arrived in Zurich this morning, picked up Sigfried and the rental car, and headed up to the mountains. After checking in to our pad for the night, we build our bikes on the patio – with a stunning view of the jüngfrau.

After all the setup, we headed into town to pick up a bike for Sigfried. Little did we know that the demand for road bikes in these parts is slim, and hardly any shops carry them. The afternoon turned into a chase around town to find a bike. Ultimately sigfried ended up driving to lauterbrennan to get a bike from the shop there, and Gunnar and I road up there to meet him. Along the route were some more tremendous views.

After making our way back to Interlaken, we headed into town for an inaugural Swiss dinner. The roesti, Wiener schnitzel, and geschnetzeltes really hit the spot.