Day 14 The Big One

Daily Stats - Davos to Sluverno in Italy 

53 miles and 6 and a half hours in the saddle!
2 mountain passes and 2 exhausted cyclists!
1 Italian dog barking

Well it has been a monumental day for  us both as we have tackled our Everest!

Leaving our very comfy hotel, both of us saying we would like to stay longer, and after a delicious omelette, we were both fuelled up and psyched up for our biggest challenge yet.

The Fluelapass started as soon as we left Davos and started steeply. After both struggling to settle our breathing ( nerves and altitude probably) we got into a rhythm and had a mostly enjoyable climb. The scenery was spectacular and the weather was perfect. God was definitely on our side today and with Maddy as our guardian angel, we crossed the snow line, visited a little church on route and gradually got there. Ascending from 1560 to 2383 metres in 2 hours covering 9 miles, we were euphoric at the top and celebrated with a coffee and cake! The descent was terrifying for me with huge drops and extremely steep! Also no barriers but little traffic - thank the Lord!

We then had a strange cycle into Zernez to do it all again! Our spirits were lifted here by meeting Michael, our waiter, who showed such interest in our ‘mission’ and kindness over Maddy as well as giving us a very generous donation. Thank you so much Michael from Slovakia for your warmth and generosity - it made a huge difference. And by the way, your English is amazing.

The Offenpass took us from 1474 to 2149 metres and was hard work. A steep start it then evened out but then descended so we had to ascend all over again! Exhausting. It culminated in a very steep last push and then we were there - phew! 14 miles and 2 hours 45 mins later! The descent was easier and then we had a 20 mile run to our hotel, crossing over the border into Italy.

Once again we are fed and watered(or should I say wined!) and both pretty shattered but with a great sense of achievement and contentment being felt in body and soul.

We will leave you some photos to show how incredible some of the scenes we have had the privilege of seeing today.

Thank you for your continued support lovely people.

Our love P and J XX

By the way Dot, thank you for the bus recommendation along the Fluela - just in case! What family support. We did see the number 331 a number of times but could never catch it on film or to hitch a lift as we were too busy breathing!