Tour de Gurten

What can you do on a Friday after work? Well stretch your legs and get out from behind your computer and do something less boring. Leave the week behind you and head of for a nice cycle up the Gurten in Bern. The Gurten is around 900 meters and can be very steep in places, such as the bottom section, a part in the middle and the last couple of bends. Great for a nice walk, but a challenge on a bicycle. It's been a while since I last took to my pedal power and actually cycled up a steep hill, actually a year, so today was a mental and physical challenge to see if I could still do it. So dressed in my shorts and a t-shirt, off I ventured, down to the river Aare and then to Wabern to start my hill climb to the top. Having got to the base camp starting point where the cable car starts (which would have been a better idea to take to the top), I quickly engaged the lower gears on my bike, which seemed to run out pretty quickly, leaving me wishing I had more than 24. Luckily for me the road has recently been resurfaced and instead of a rough track there was nice new black ashfelt lining the tree path. 5 minutes into the first section I thought was it the warm Friday evening sun, or am I just getting too fat and lazy to make my legs rotate. Maybe both, but I persevered and at a snail’s pace very slowly climbed up the first section of the hill. By the time I reached the summit of the first section, a bend in the road where it levels out a little, I was sweating like a fat boy, but determined to get to the top without getting off my bike. It was times like this that I wished I was sitting on my motorbike as this would have been an easy climb and no effort for me. The things we do to try and keep fit, but then sitting behind a desk all day, or on a train, plane or taxi, I do need to kick start some fitness and get rid of some of the corporate dinners. Anyway to cut a long hill short, I finally made it to the top, soaking wet and in need of a new pair of legs as these were burnt out. Having rested for 20 minutes, gassing semi paralyzed into the early evening sky, I finally found the energy to go home. Luckily for me I took a drink and an energy bar with me to get me some light refreshment for the journey home. Descending the hill was too easy and within 5 minutes I was at the bottom, which was a bit of a disappointment as it must have taken 30 minutes to get up. I did get the pleasure to pass other tour de Gurten cyclists on their way up, so it wasn't so bad. This also reminded me of a runner I met on another occasion, running up and down the Gurten. He passed me the previous time going up and I never saw him again until I was coming back down later on, so I stopped him and asked how many times he is running up the Gurten. He replied and said ONLY 3 times, up and down in a circuit, running up the road and down the steps by the cable car. Wow I thought; is this guy crazy? He said this was a warm up ready for a run across the Pyrenees later in the year. So when I think of my pathetic one time hill climb in comparison I do need more exercise.