The BCT Day Five - Andermatt (Disentis) to Reichenau

Halfway through our journey, and on to Route 2, the Rhine Route. Now we were just the three "big birthday" celebrators, Mary having returned home from Andermatt the night before. We took the train from Andermatt to Disentis, to avoid the busy road descent. From Disentis, where we spotted a family on a 5-tandem cycle (not for the faint-hearted - or the contentious), we followed the steep descent to the river, and then another bumpy mountain bike trail towards Ilanz. Steep and rocky in parts, it was a stunning trail nevertheless. The Rhine, a much prettier river than its southern counterpart, a glacial green tumbling over boulders  and through magnificent gorges. From Ilanz it was a gradual uphill grind towards Versam, and finally we were high above the Rhine, at the lookout point (910m) down over the gorge. Another thrilling descent took us back down to the river, and a picnic lunch at another picturesque Graubündner village.

The first birimba lesson

Sooner than we expected, we arrived at Reichenau, our destination the delightful Schlosshotel at the confluence of  two rivers, both sources of the Rhine, a turbulent exchange of waters.
53km, 1190 calories, 4 hours 20.