Thursday, June 23, 2011

in the [feed] Zone

My time in Switzerland was amazing.  We watched a stage of the Tour de Suisse, went hiking in the Bernese Alps and listened to hundreds of yodelers (courtesy of the Jodelerfest in Interlaken).

I've never been to a feed zone before, so I was really keen to see what it was like, especially since the Tour de Suisse is smaller and less hectic than the grand tours.  We drove in the direction of Davos and parked where a bunch of the team cars were.

The drive over the mountain passes were incredible.  Cold and windy, but still incredible.
























































I stayed by the Garmin-Cervelo while Ged ran 50 meters up to grab any of the stuff the riders were throwing away.




































The Garmin-Cervelo soigneur was really nice.  She's from Denver, Colorado, and was introduced to the founder of the test team eight years ago and has been with them ever since.

We grabbed so much stuff.  Feed bags with food still in them, water bottles galore, power bars.

Of course, we had to test the food.  Lunch courtesy of the Movistar team.









































There were some rolled up sandwiches for easy ingestion and digestion and a strange savory quiche with rice and custard.  Ged really liked that one.

























Then it was off to Interlaken for some hiking.

When we got to the city it was pouring down rain.  We set up the tent and I was in charge of dinner.

This is how we (I) cook dinner when it's raining.




























The next day it was off to the Alps for some exploring and hiking.

Never been in a cable-car before.  I was a little skeptical.




























At the top we enjoyed the view then headed in the direction of the Eiger.





























Lunch break for bratwurst.




























Then four hours of descending.




























I know you're jealous of my socks.




























About 70% of our hike smelled like cow poo but you get used to it.

2 comments:

  1. So jealous of your time in Switzerland! Was that hike from Interlaken to Eiger? Beautiful!!

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  2. @Nicole
    We went up via cable-car and then hiked down from the Eiger to Grindelwald. Even though we weren't hiking uphill, my legs were soo sore the next day.

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