Day 4 St Gotthards Pass

These Mist coloured mountains 

Are a home now for me....

You did not desert me, My brothers in Arms

Rise and shine to a beautiful morning with stunning views we gingerly navigate our way back up the treacherous lane. Garry nervously volunteering to drive as Paul & Ross walk in front to guide and I am at the rear. A few very nervous points and instructions coming from all sides, Garry does an incredible job. 





 Airolo is a beautiful town as we unload the bikes for the ascent on St Gotthards cobbled or paved road. Approx 14klm of paved road to the top which is 2100 mts.

It has an average gradient of 7.3% with a max of 11.4%. The Trimola being cobbled makes this climb a challenge but a "must do." One of the highlights of the riding trip.

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The Gotthard Pass is a mountain pass  traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif in the Alps, connecting northern and southern Switzerland. The pass lies between Airolo in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, and Andermatt in the German-speaking canton of Uri, and many other parts of Switzerland. The region of the Gotthard Pass is an important north-south axis in Europe and is crossed by three major traffic tunnels, each being the world's longest at the time of their construction: the Gotthard Rail Tunnel(1882), the Gotthard Road Tunnel (1980) and the Gotthard Base Tunnel (2016).
Though the pass was locally known in antiquity, it was not generally used until the early 13th century because travel involved fording the turbulent Reuss, swollen with snowmelt during the early summer, in the narrow steep-sided Schöllenen Gorge, below Andermatt. As early as 1236, Gotthard Pass was dedicated to the Roman Catholic Saint Gotthard of Hildesheim.

Looking back down the valley from the top where we have just ridden.

Garry, looking for the smoothest passage through the cobbles. We found the smoothest track was closest to the rain water run off on the side of the road.

We all agreed this was such a beautiful ride, challenging, unique for the cobblestones, ancient trading route, breathtaking views, no cars, and our last ride after seven weeks till we return home. 

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Airolo is in Southern Switzerland, very close to the Italian border, so it is not surprising that 85% of the town speak Italian and German the second most popular. Forestry is a major part of the local economy. 

As we were leaving Airolo to climb St Gotthards, there were large groups gathering in town on motorbikes, cars, and many strange other vehicles. On our enquiry they advised they were all electric powered vehicles, that were travelling up the Tremola over the pass and beyond Andermatt on the other side of the range. As we were nearing the top they all passed us, even some high cost Tesla's Jags, Porsche (all electric) were part of the event. To rub salt in our wounds a push bike cruised past us on the slopes, too easily for my liking, thank goodness we realised it was electric assisted.

One of the large range of electric vehicles in the parade at the top.

The team at the top and the Lago della Piazza

The Albergo where we had four coffees and a bowl of chips for 35 Swiss Francs. Below St Gotthards Monument

Make the coffee last Rossario and don't drop a chip on the ground 

Looking back down the Leventina Valley towards Airolo

Brothers in Arms

Wisely we decided to take the main autostrada back to base. We could descend fast, no serious switchbacks and after a very small section of cobbles near the base on the original road, reminded us that 14 klm of cobbles would have unseated our teeth from our jaws. 

Once we were back at the motorhome it was time to disassemble the bikes, repack ready for the trip home, hit the road, back through the St Gotthards Tunnel, follow a route back towards Zurich and cross the border into Germany through Basel on our way to Frankfurt. We left early afternoon, the weather was warm and sunny. We were meeting our friends Dominik and Anna, who stayed with Sarah & I the previous year when they were visiting Australia.

We had arranged to meet up in Mainz where Dominik and Anna had booked us into a caravan park. As we progressed we realised due to some delays we would not be able to meet as planned. We arrived around 10.00pm and it was dark so we decided to stay in a quiet area in Mainkur away from the main roads.