Asummary of the total itinerary for all the people I met underway andmy dear cousins in ABQ, TUS and BIS (USA) .

Lake Como, Cólico

Many roads lead to Rome, and consequently: to Bergamo.

A break - and detour - on my way e.g. was a reunion in Appenzellerland, Switzerland. Kurt (red shirt) and Darina - living in the gorgeous town of St. Gallen -organised an active, contemplative and consuming weekend. After it,, with new elan, going again into the diaspora, Berni (left) and me rode to his hometown Vaduz in Liechtenstein. He advised me to take the Julier Pass (i.o. the Splügen) for some extra visual extravaganza.

As for the extravaganza many 'tourists' in yuppy outfit with blacktrunks on Sunday morning, going into and coming out of hotels - all named after a bank - his advice was immediately fulfilled in the Liechtenstein capital. The first sign of he credit-crisis?!

http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Julier-Pass&qryMountainID=5393

The abovepicture also shows navigating in Switzerland for hikers and Wanderers is easy. So it is for cyclists. The signage is wonderful, sometimes a bit overdone. In which direction is Rome .... uuh: Bergamo?

About the itinerary.

I left home with maps (pretty large-scaled), a TomTom (and had to be careful: the battery stops after 1.5 hours), the knowledge that the Rhine is a natural compassand - I presume - some common sense. Esp. having and using this last skillis of vital importance. For e.g. better going the extra mile than taking adead end disguised as ashortcut (next pic)

After a dirtroad seemig to be a welcome shortcut near Ahrweiler , (Eifel, Germany) the trip's rural character is emphasized. But how to enter the village ahead? Not visible is the Autobahn between the lonely cyclist and the sleepy village.

That'sone strategy.

Other cyclists choose for safe. An extreme example I read somewhere: I buy a bike-line*) booklet. Then I start at page nr 1. When the book is finished, my holidays are over. Or: I take a rest after every four pages.

I should advise them to buy a home-trainer and go pedaling in front of a beamer showing the world's finest landscapes.

*)Bike-line. This serious of accurately described and mapped itineraries is published by http://www.esterbauer.com/

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Clicking here: http://www.mapmyride.com/is the first step to visualize the complete itinerary : Borne*) - Keulen - Mainz - Rottweil - St. Gallen -Silva Plana- Bergamo.

(Borne: eastern Netherlands, 12 km nw of Enschede)

Period:aug./sept. 2008

Note: Distances are sky-wide.The elevation differences can also be figured out.

Instead of surfing to http://www.mapmyride.com/ you can also view some parts of the trip here.

1. Borne - Keulen (3 dagen)

2. Keulen - Mainz (3 à 4 days)

3. Mainz - Rottweil (4 days)

4. Rottweil - St. Gallen (2 à 3 days)

Rotweil-Donaueschingen-Blumberg-Schaffhausen-Stein a Rhein-Konstanz-Scherzingen-Amriswil-Gossau-St.Gallen

5. St Gallen - Silva Plana: (2 à 3 days)

Climbingday: Julier Pass

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/ch/appenzell/789084203824

6. Silva Plana- Bergamo. (2 days) http://www.mapmyride.com/route/ch/stampa/863296816805

Off the beaten path - the Bodensee Radweg - passing Scherzingen, then heading for St. Gallen. There's time for a detour to Gossau and some chatting with people like this farmer whose flowerbeds have to provide some extra income besideshis cattle that continuously seem to ring alarm-bells about the farmers' difficult financial situation.

Ironic detail about Scherzingen: Mr. Jan Ulrich, the former Tour-de-France-winner and German citizen is living in this tiny village on the Swiss bank of the Lake of Constance. I wonder what choice has been made by his (ex-) admirors for this doping-related professional cyclist: the death or the gladioli?!

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St. Gallen is easily to be found after this detour, without detailed map and with an empty TomTom-battery. Wow, what an entrance to this Unesco world-heritage town...

My targets (next picture):

1. Youth hostel (Jugendherberge) at the right hand bottom corner

2. Cloister (Kloster): to visit the Stift Library (in the distance, to the right of the approaching Trogen Bähnli)

3. Main railway station (Hauptbahnhof): start of the Appenzeller weekend

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About visiting Bergamo and enjoying the local habits - esp. eating - you can consult an IOWA (US) couple's report: It's in English. We share opinions about Bergamo. N.B. The signature disc of the Lombardian town, casoncelli is a Leckerbissen indeed.

http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=1176&index=1