I had a great evening in Zurich, catching up with friends, and set out in the morning with some apprehension. The weather was turning for the worst, and significant rain was expected.

The journey started off inauspiciously. Somehow, I had avoided built-up areas the previous day, and had enjoyed mostly scenic countryside. The start of the journey today was a never-ending tale of urban sprawl, not helped by some routing mistakes that kept me on bigger roads than I had hoped for.

At every opportunity, I pulled out my phone, looking to see how the forecast was evolving. Seeing the rain come dangerously close, I dove into town, and found a cafe, managed by an Italian, in which to wait out a shower. For the first time in the entire trip, I enjoyed a good espresso!

The first milestone today would be Baden, where I would cross the Limmat, on my way to the Reuss, and the Aar, the rivers I would be following today. This also marked the point were I would leave the plain, and head back into the hills.

As I crossed the bridge across the limmat in Baden, distracted by the greenery and the river, I heard a ripping sound, and felt my rear wheel lock up. I braked and slowed down as quickly possible, hoping to limit the damage. A strap had fallen off one of my bags, and wrapped itself around the axle of the wheel.

Last time this happened, the hooks on my panniers had been ripped off, and I had spent a morning cycling to half of the bike shops in Milan, looking for replacements. I thought that I had been careful with the straps, taking off when I was not using them, but I think that I left one strap hanging on my rear rack, ready to create havoc, until it was swallowed by the wheel.

I cautiously removed it, and surveyed the damage. I was lucky, other than the strap itself, everything looked fine.

Once I reached the Reuss, I found a hard-packed gravel path along the river, and started following that. Because of the rain from earlier in the day it was sticky, and the numerous puddles coated my bicyle in grit. More concerning still, the weather was not improving. It looked like I would have a few hours of uninterrupted downpour after lunch.

I decided to continue until it started raining, to waste as little time as possible. I passed a unit of Swiss sappers, practicing river crossings. Since they were all on the other bank, I was able to pose my bike next to their equipment for a short photoshoot.

When the rain did come, it was intense. I hid in a restaurant (Swiss prices, ouch), and willed the time to pass faster. Eventually, I grew bored, put on my waterproof clothing, and went out in the rain. The afternoon was a repetition of the same cycle: I was too hot, so I would take the waterproofs off, only to put them back on 20 minutes later because of new rain.

The constant rain made the path waterlooged, making it much harder to maintain any kind of pace, and I was growing more tired, and more annoyed. Eventually, 40 km short of my destination, with the evening closing in, I gave in, and took a train to my hotel for the night.

The hotel/hostel mix had a bar and a restaurant, so I did not have to look far for dinner. Given my state of exhaustion, that was a very good thing.