This weekend I had the good fortune of having the great mountain sport photographer Dan Patittuci show me his favourite “local loop” in the hills just north of Interlaken.
We started by riding along the north shore of the Thunersee. Dan showed me a little staircase cut into the mountain allowing me to get the above photo of my host. Secrets of the trade. 🙂
Next we headed up into the forested hills above the lake. The route is mainly on typical, well paved, narrow, quiet little Swiss roads. In other words: the entire loop is wonderful. I have highlighted a couple of the best spots on the map below.
The first was a detour up a steep little side road to a beautiful dead-end valley. I showed the pro that I had a small cycling photographer trick up my sleeve as I pulled out my handy little tripod to take a “team” shot:
After a quick drink near the resort town of Beatenberg, we headed up higher again to another great “dead-end” road that Dan ski tours on in winter and knew for its views. Here, with my portable camera, I had my first “pro photo shoot.” 😉
Dan is a much stronger cyclist than me, and patiently waited throughout the ride. A few times we just sat gaping at the views and chatted – mainly about how much we both never tire of getting out in the Alps. All-in-all, despite my weak legs, we had a ton of fun. I can’t thank Dan enough for organising such a great day.
Mistiming the timer:
2 Comments
I agree, this is a great route with AWESOME views. If you want to go even further, and have a cyclocross or hybrid bike (i.e., anything with >28 mm wide tires), then you can keep going up from Habkern and get all the way to Kemmeriboden. With a short section of hiking, you can even make it all the way through to Sorenberg, the start of the Glaubenbielen pass. So many great roads and trails!
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