Switzerland

Overview:
Cycling in Switzerland is, in a not terribly useful word, indescribable. We would heartily recommend our poorly planned route to anyone who loves gratuitous amounts of awesomeness.
This is also my first blog post, and I'm hungry and sweaty, and the keyboard is covered in weird Italian letters so don't expect much... No usb ports here, so no pics yet!

Day 0: Zurich international airport to slug-infested stealth site. 20/20 km.
Everything arrived in good condition, and they actually let us fly our tandem to Zurich for free, even though checking it to Dallas, which we flew through, would cost c.a. $500. The nice bike route I had planned from home to a campground turned out to be the autobahn. Alas. A quick recovery and we got on a bike path at the airport, and stayed on bike paths all through Zurich. Very exciting at 8 pm. Pizza and a weiss bier calmed the nerves and we stealth camped by the river ?.

Day 1: Zurich-Amsteg. 100/120 km.
We awoke to rain and a massive slug infestation, which I didn't tell Stef about so that I could watch her reaction... Very rewarding. I almost wrecked the bike as I discovered that the slugs liked the handlebars too... Absolutely unfathomable scenery all day. Which pretty much sums up Switzerland. Everyone bikes everywhere, so the trails are amazing, and drivers treat you right. Zug was scary, lunch by the lake in Brunnen was idyllic, and we stealth camped again at the base of the Big Climb by a river that gave me a brain freeze just looking at it. I almost lost by beer, which was cooling in the water, when the river suddenly came up 1-2 feet in 20 minutes.

Day 2: Amsteg-Airolo. 54/164 km.
How had can 20 km be? Very! The Gotthardt tunnel was stopped up and the Gotthardt pass had just been plowed, so everyone in Switzerland was Autobahning past us all day. Relentless 6-10% grades on the 1600+ meter climb to the top of the alps, tunnels up to .5 km, and no shoulder. Ever. Lunch in Andermatt was mind-blowing. Think Estes park, sans tourists, on roids. On top was a tourist stop complete with cheese wheels and german brats. Check out the descent into Airolo and you'll know how much stef liked that...

Day 3: Airolo-Bellinzona. 85/240 km.
A beautiful descent after a late start past village after waterfall-encrusted village. Turns out our raingear works! At 9:00 pm in the rain - still - Stef demanded a hotel so I treated her to the best. A $180 a night suite with poolside views at the Perla Negra. Granted, we weren't in the hotel, per se, but our stealth site behind the mini bar by the pool was sick! Plus they "let" us take showers and do laundry.

Day 4: Bellinzona-Como Italy. 84/337 km.
Started with a nice 400 m climb into the clouds, then a ridiculously beautiful descent through villages replete with slate roofs and vineyards. Lakeside swims, the whole bag. Glorious. You sure know when you get to Italy, though! Bikes are no longer to be seen, drivers are even more psychotic than the stereotype, and Stef was propositioned not 100 feet into the country!