Day 16 - Neuenberg to Delemont

The day started with a lovely breakfast, and we had all had a good sleep during a much fresher night. What was better was that our friendly landlady had told us the forecast was 27C and no rain. I popped out to pick up a couple of inner tubes as we decided to bin the ones filled with slime, Paula and Rachel went to Aldi to buy the days provisions, and we met her there just as she walked out of the shop. Of course we had the customary tour of the town trying to find shop.

Nevertheless, spirits were high, the weather warm, but not hot, and there was no rain forecast..

We continued on the Rhine path on the German side all the way to Basel then crossed to France on the longest single span bridge in the world for cyclists/pedestrians. We did not have to cross here, but I had wanted to since reading about it a few weeks ago. The downside of this route was that we entered Switzerland on the industrial side. However after 16 days on the road we had cycled from home to Switerland!!!

We popped in to a bike shop to pick up a front light, and surprisingly it was not much more expensive than the UK, and after chatting to the owner, crossed to the more picturesque east side for a couple of Ks before one last crossing of the Rhine where we said our goodbyes having followed it since Cologne.

My biggest surprise about the Rhine is how industrial it is, and how many cargo boats travel along it. Apparently 2/3 of all Europe's river  shipping traffic is on the Rhine, but it does make for varied and flat cycling.

Cycling out of Basel was quite easy, thanks to a kindly gentleman who went out of his way to show us the route via Reinach. The clouds were now getting very heavy, it had spitted a bit during the day but was comfortably warm. At Aaech, the rain got heavy, we put our coats on, it then got really heavy. We had hoped to get to Moutier, in fact the original plan was to get to Biel but I had binned that idea before we started today as it was too long.

We did not have an option but to carry on, the temperature dropped a bit, the rain got even heavier, and the cycle paths had finished so we were now on the main roads. One thing we did have was a dedicated lane for most of the way. The traffic was heavy and we had to shout to communicate. After  3/4 hour we passed through Laufen taking care on the slippery cobblestones before rejoining the main road again.

It was miserable, Kate and I were cold, the others not too bad, we kept on chugging on until we saw a cycle path. One good thing about mountains is that route finding is very easy as all roads go up the same valley. This cycle path was no different but was partly unpaved which made the going even slower. Just as we were at the end of the last unpaved bit Kate came flying off her bike to land on her sore arm. Poor girl, even I gave her some sympathy!

We decided to stop in Delemont which is just 12 k short of Moutier. The last few Ks were uneventful, but still very wet. As we arrived in Delemont Paula saw an international youth hostel and booked a family room while we scoffed some chips in the kebab house next door. The room which includes an  evening meal and breakfast is about 230euros, which I am guessing is cheap for Switzerland. Once washed and fed we all cheered up quickly, laughing about the miserable end to another unforgettable day.

Only problem is the forecast is for rain all day tomorrow, hope it is as wrong as today's one.

Today's stats
Distance 90.89k
Time 4.59.39
Average speed 18.1 kph
Climb 332m (a gradual drag from Basel to Delemont)
Total distance 1329 k