HOPE 1000
Spanning 1,000 kilometers across Switzerland and nearly 100,000 feet of climbing, the Hope 1000 bikepacking route is steep, yet still very forgiving. Vertical miles lead to singletrack through meadows, crystal clear lakes, abbeys with courtyards, and, of course, stunning views. Here, physical challenge is paired with logistical ease. A bakery or a hot meal is never far, but along the way, you are basically alone among the pristine, natural beauty.
A few months ago I finished Hope1000, while other things happened in-between, after some time I started to look back with a different view. Memories are left, vivid images of lush green landscapes, thunderstorms and soaked shoes, mixed with the smell of cow dung and the sound of the wind. I love it, I feel so alive and being so in the landscape.
I thought I'd scratch, it's day two, those altimeters, the climbing, I couldn’t have imagined what it would be like. What is a Dutch "girl" doing in the mountains, I asked myself? Chuckling now, just thinking back of it. I drank 10 liters of water that day and did not pee a drop. I was quite aware of the electrolytes that rushed out of my body through the pores. Views, yes, green meadows left and right with sharp rocks in the background and idyllic wooden farms in between. An almost perfect landscape, clean, beautiful, clear, but sweltering hot and humid, with endless steep climbs, you often wondered if hiking was a better option.
But then you don't know the mountains yet. On day three I ride in rain gear in thunderstorms and while riding down through mudslides, hail the size of marbles pours down and lays a layer of ice on the street. My shoes are completely soaked and although outside support is not allowed, I do ask for a few newspapers at an open garage door, so that I can dry my shoes a bit later.
In the valley it clears, vapor comes from the ground and low hanging clouds pass by. Sunbeams through the foliage color turn everything to gold and a world enchanted like a fairy tale, let's forget about soggy shoes for a moment and take in this beautiful moment. Then reality hits, up again and the stink from cycling in the same clothes for days hits the nostrils.
Moving, you got to keep on moving forward, because that clock doesn't stop, so lying on the floor for a while just means it takes longer. Although I really want to, just lie here on the tarmac, under this wonderful tree. My rhythm is cycling until 2 am and getting up around 5 or 6. So I manage to sleep 4 hours a night. On a bench under a tree, under a roof, a garage door of someone's house, among the wheat in a field under a tree, during heavy rain in a chapel, in a wood workshop just before a large pass and in a hotel, I got to pre-book that evening ,not thinking thinking to get there after midnight. A 3-hour hike through snow and other swampy conditions delayed my schedule. At 4 o'clock in the morning I arrived in a warm dry hotel with an even warmer shower, I could not have imagined a better motivation to keep moving..
Hope1000 really rattled my perseverance until the last minute. A singletrack with heavy roots about 20 kilometers before the finish. Sometimes asphalt is just delicious, in a long descent with crazy surprises I roll into Montreux, sunny shopping streets filled with parading tourists in sports cars. To finally reach the boulevard where Freddie Mercury overlooks a blue lake with snow peaked mountains in the background. The famous finish, no party no big welcome, however I’m grateful for the few riders that were there to bring me pizza and Coca Cola to share some crazy route moments.
