Eurovelo 15 - Day 7 - Laufenbrucke to Basel

Arrived in Basel! I'll get to my trip report shortly but first ...

Ever heard of Schwingen? Neither had I until today.  It's Swiss folk wrestling locally called Hosenlupf. It is so popular that I arrived in Basel to a national competition underway. My first inkling something was going down in Basel town was hundreds of mobile homes and caravans parked up, and streams of people coming from all directions to a stadium to watch this national sport. A bypasser explained the intricacies of the sport and suggested I should go and watch. However, tickets were sold out to the 48,000 people attending. I also didn't want to fall for the oldest tourist trip in the 'attractions' book ... call the hapless tourist into the arena, pit him against the reigning Swiss champion, and 'play wrestle' at the tourist's expense. The crowds love it ... and it is funny until someone loses an eye! Fun fact: wrestlers wear schwingerhosen.

 

Back to today's trip report!

In the end, it didn't rain last night so I could have camped out. No regrets. Hotel Rebstock in Laufenbrucke was excellent, and I had the best sleep so far on my trip. The free schnapps provided by my waiter after dinner helped ...I still have no idea why he gave this to me for free - either he just liked my accent or it was out of date. 

After filling up on cheese, meats and pastries, I headed off at around 8.30am. I needed to fill up my water bottles first - I'd seen two fountains the evening before so I headed there. Unfortunately, both had 'do not drink the water' signs on them so I headed off to the next village to fill up. Rookie error but all worked out OK.

 

 

After heading up my first hill of the morning I passed an elderly woman pushing her bike slowly up the same hill. I got to the top, parked my bike, and walked back to offer to help. She politely declined, however, the clear message was 'I'm not so old that I need help!' Message received. We walked together the remaining 40 metres laughing and chatting like old friends ... with neither of us understanding the other. It was a beautiful start to the day. 

I headed to Bad Sackington on a shared cycleway/ walkway / local vehicle use. It was so quiet, and the roadway so flat and smooth, that I held a constant 22 km per hour easily. How do I know this? I actually went past a bike speed radar! It displayed my speed in green and gave me a thumbs-up! I also could check on my GPS, but the radar was impressive.

As I rode through the cobbled streets of Bad Sackington, I saw no one else, except a couple of tourists with cameras around their necks, and a police van that drove past ... they did wave back. Being a Sunday I didn't expect too much, however one coffee shop seemed open. Unfortunately, the owner shook his head and signalled he didn't open until 10am ... another hour away. He finally relented ... the tears from my eyes and drooling from my mouth were some of my best work! After sitting down, I suddenly panicked - it was Sunday in a somewhat religious area of Germany, and 4 nuns were walking past on their way to church. I was drinking coffee and obviously not in my Sunday best, so not heading to church. HEATHEN. They did smile when they passed ... and I'm sure they said a silent prayer for me. If this makes no sense to you then you didn't attend a school where you were taught by nuns!

 

 

As I left the town centre I crossed the river on yet another wonderful wooden bridge, travelling from Germany to Switzerland once more, and on to a few kilometres of quiet roads alongside farming paddocks. On reaching Wallbach I had a short detour which took me through more back streets, then down to the river banks again.

 

 

Onwards towards Rheinfelden was some of the most tranquil riding I've done so far. There were few people out and about. I travelled through forests on dirt roads for well over 10 km. The ride did touch the edge of civilisation a few times however not enough to take away the serenity.

 

 

While the road was well compacted with little loose gravel, it was a bit rough so I slowed my speed down and just enjoyed the moment until ... 

I came round a sharp turn and a cyclist had his pants down and peeing into the wind. He was as surprised as I was. I averted my eyes and said, "Hi". He was about to have a bigger surprise ... only metres behind me was a group of female walkers whom I'd just overtaken!

As I moved towards the end of the gravel track and closer to a built-up area, more walkers and MTB riders appeared. At the same point, I passed rapids in the Rhine River!

Another break, this time in Rheinfelden, saw me in another historic town centre.  By now it was 11am and several cafes were open, in my quest for the best cake along the Rhine I tried a lemon crumble and a mug of hot chocolate!

Riding through the outskirts of Basel and into the old city centre itself was surprisingly nice. The route went by backstreets, alongside the river, and parklands. Not as stressful as I thought it could be. Although not planned, arriving on a Sunday helped.

After checking into my hotel, I wandered around town. There was clearly some sort of festival going on. Trams in the Centre were not running, no cars were allowed, and security was very high. Police with high-powered weapons were omnipresent. What was happening? Schwingen ... the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival? (Edited note: I was to find out later that a World Jewish Congress was being held as well as Schwingen and hence the high police presence).

However, I did see another event that drew me in. Downhill carting! Put a small child or children in a homemade cart (that Dad made), take them to the top of a hill, and let them go down at a fast pace while navigating a chicane that made Oberalppass look easy! Again, funny until someone loses an eye ... or an arm or leg ... After watching for about 20 minutes, and seeing no such crashes, I left.

 

 

 

Rest day tomorrow! 

P. S. I did get to see Schwingen! With a beer in hand, I watched it on a big screen set up in Basel town centre, especially for the competition. It's getting to the pointy end, as the 3-day competition finishes today!

P.P.S. The kids' downhill carting also finishes today!

Thanks for reading.

 

I'm doing this ride to raise funds for Blue Dragon Children's Foundation. I'm self-supported so all donations go directly to Blue Dragon. If you can give please do at ... https://au-bluedragon.givecloud.co/fundraisers/pedalling-for-a-purpose. Alternatively, go to Blue Dragon's website at bluedragon.org