Gelmerbahn funicular
I took a little break from cycling in the morning by riding the ‘Gelmerbahn’ funicular up one of the local mountains from Handegg. The whole journey is just 900m in length but there is a 50m section where the gradient reaches 106% (47.8°)! This is just 4% off the world record for most steepest funicular ????
At the very top there is a really beautiful lake called the Gelmersee. It’s so peaceful and relaxing up there, and it’s a great place to really chill and think/contemplate. It takes over 2 hours to walk the entire way around – with one of the edges made up of a dam wall that you can also walk along. Some people were even hiking back to the bottom of the mountain – instead of taking the funicular back down.
I opted for the easier option!
Grosse Sheidegg
Distance: 28.6 miles / 46.0 km
Elevation: 4,898 feet / 1,493 m
Time: 4 hours and 30 minutes (3 hours and 27 minutes cycling)
In the afternoon I cycled to Lauterbrunnen. It was possible to create a route that stuck mostly to the valley road between the mountains – but I chose to ride a slightly shorter route that climbed alongside the Grosse Scheidegg. The views from this climb were unreal! The mountain landscape was so vast, making it hard to capture in photographs – but I’ve done my best.
The peak of the Grosse Scheidegg is over 2,000m – and from here until Geneva, no more climbs anywhere near that size are planned. It feels a little bit sad that I’m nearing the end of my journey, with only 2-3 more rides to get to the finish.
The update is a little bit shorter today since I got drunk in Lauterbrunnen and I feel a little bit sorry for myself today ????
