Gotthard Pass
Last night sanity set in and we changed today to just the Gotthard Pass and if you wanted, a short 6km climb above our hotel. Gotthard last twelve kilometers is cobblestone as is the first 3-4k of descent. The good news was the weather. While very cool when we left Andermatt, by the time we reached Asiolo, it was sunny and warm enough to climb without all the clothing of yesterday.
The climb itself is nice in that there are many switchbacks which I favor over the long stretches that can appear to be endless. We have our biggest climbing day tomorrow so most of us took it easy. At the summit, there was another 3k or so that circled around to a vista where you could look back down on the valley at Asiolo. With a little bread, cheese and fruit at the top we headed down the cobblestone descent. While Steve and myself are not the fast climbers we do seem to descend either more fearlessly or stupidly (TBD) than others. Actually riding fast down the cobbles was less concerning than yesterdays strong cross winds.
Upon arrival in Andermatt, we searched for the best bakery in this 8 block town. Being Sunday, our choices were limited but we did find a great open face wild berry tart; and of course a beer to go with it.
