Melchsee-Frutt - a day ride into the alps

[Mrs. DantesDame]

It is has been a long time since i've posted anything here, but since yesterday's ride was short and sweet, I'll toss up some pictures for your eye-candy enjoyment. Like most day rides, there isn't much of a story to go along with it. So the pictures will tell those 1,000 words...


Basel - Melchsee-Frutt - Basel
August 5, 2019

Leaving the cozy garage


Riding through the neighborhood


Early enough to play with the bicycle commuters (usually I'm one of those)


After half an hour on the motorway, I changed the fast roads for fun roads


Free-range chickens! The eggs we buy have a code stamped on them that tells me exactly which farm they came from  


Free-range hay bales - plastic wrapping isn't very popular here, thank goodness


Getting closer to Luzern


Looking back down the valley

[Sport-Touring]

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Some random agricultural train


A quick stop in Willisau - which I'd never heard of before  


Heading for the Sarnersee


A Swiss fighter jet flew over at this point (too fast for me to get the camera aimed properly, of course)


Heading up Glaubenbergpass - which I'd also never heard of before


The military guys were hustling up the road - a few smiled and waved for the camera


The view - with cattle guards every couple of kilometers, of course


Another group of Swiss guys doing their military service


The other side of Glaubenberg pass was really nice

[Mrs. DantesDame]

I was too busy taking photos, so I waved this guy by


The Sarnersee


One of many little villages




An ideallic scene


I had gone around the Sarnersee and heading up - this would be an in/out trip from here on


Ok, this is where it got weird  
I had reached the Melchtal Stöckalp, which included a massive parking lot, cable car station and restaurant area. The signs were not terribly clear and after pausing to get my bearings, I ended up following a couple of cars past it all and up a narrow road



The road was narrow and covered in pea gravel outside of the tire tracks. It did not inspire confidence to speed, but it was too beautiful for me to care about that.









I made a brief stop at a chapel to check it - and the scenery - out for a little bit. There were a couple of young cows nearby, too, who found me very interesting  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

I had reached another parking lot - there was nowhere further to go


I was greeted warmly


I had a nice bite to eat while watching the clouds scuttle by and listening to the cow bells. Then I meandered around a little bit, but didn't want to hike too far in my boots and gear  










I got my gear back on, mounted the bike and rode down the parking lot. I had planned a nice back-roads only route back most of the way to Basel and was looking forward to more exploration.

[Blue is Best]

WOW. Very nice!!!! Really beautiful. These pictures gets me to thinking of a vacation over there.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

And that's when my plans fell apart:


To the best of my translation, it read that when the light was read, the road was closed and no one was allowed to descend, even bicycles. The times were "example" times, and "periodic", so I parked the bike and prepared to wait. It was quarter of two - I had time to wait. And I waited. I found a grassy spot, dropped some gear and laid back to watch the clouds and cows.









After 45 minutes I started to get antsy. A few cars had come up the road, but so far no one was interested in going down. I toyed with the idea of going down anyway, but my love of life and law kept me from doing so. I did, however, stop one of the cars to ask them what they knew of the timing of the red light. It was enlightening: it would turn green at three o'clock. Another half hour to go! Because the road was so narrow, and corners so tight, it was a one-way road that changed directions at certain times.

About ten minutes before the appointed time, cars started to appear and lined up back from the light. Other people knew about this time - what had I missed, and where?  The first car in line was very polite and let me go ahead of her when the time came. At least I wouldn't be behind a camper!



My favorite photo


Now that I knew that it was a one way road I was a lot more comfortable with the blind corners


Cows are big critters






The road was a ski run in the winter, and metal supports would be used to fence off the edges


Because of the unexpected delay at the top, I re-routed for a direct line home. Unfortunately, this put me directly into post-work traffic.


And it was getting hotter, too. The temperature hovered between 32-33, but hit a high of 35 as I hit the Basel traffic jam




And that, my friends, is how I spent my Monday  

[Delegate1k]

I need a Monday like that.  

Thanks for sharing, beautiful photos as always.  

[rajflyboy]

Most awesome ride report  

[lobo10s]

Great pictures. Always loved your ride reports

[motrhead]

It is a beautiful country . I would love to ride there!

[Daughthe]

Was there a festival in Willisau? I mean just because of the flagging.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Was there a festival in Willisau? I mean just because of the flagging.

No, this was left over from Swiss National Day (August 1st). Most everyone had flags out at their homes and villages. Either the basic Swiss flag, or some combination of the local cantonal flag. It was a very colorful day