Between Almdudler, Rivella and Lemonsoda: Murnau – Lago Maggiore

In Austria I drink Almdudler, in Switzerland Rivella, in Italy Lemonsoda – every break tells me which country I'm in. For five days I ride my gravel bike from Murnau to Lago Maggiore: over the Fernpass, through the Engadin and into Val Mora, the valley I planned this whole trip around. It's not the straight way. But every detour is worth it. The route: Murnau – Nassereith – S-charl – Berninapass – Valle Spluga – Lago Maggiore.

Day 1: A scare in Oberau, premium gravel to the Fernpass

The plan is to start in Garmisch. But the train is so hot that all I want is to get off – so I jump out in Murnau instead. Best decision of the day: the cycle path between Eschenlohe and Garmisch is a dream, with the Wetterstein mountains in view the whole time.

Just ten kilometres in, my gears start acting up. In Oberau I roll into Radsport Burda, and the people there are amazing: they find out that the spacer in the cassette is wrong, which is why the cassette is loose, and readjust everything in no time. Well – if you don't check your bike before setting off, you need a bike shop on the very first morning. Along the way it turns out the derailleur hanger is already slightly bent. A quick rush of adrenaline – day one, kilometre ten, and now this? Note to self: from now on, a spare derailleur hanger always comes along. That very evening I order one from the hotel, so it's waiting at home for the next trip. And the best news: it stays the only mechanical of the whole journey.

From here it gets really good. From Garmisch the route takes me via Ehrwald to the Fernpass, and on the way up I roll over gravel of the finest kind – premium gravel, honestly. Along the way I meet a couple from New York who have come all this way to ride a similar trip. It reminds me how lucky we are to live in this beautiful corner of the world. In the evening the Sterzinger Posthotel in Nassereith is waiting, the fanciest stay of the whole trip. The bike gets its own room, I get my first Almdudler.

Day 2: 39.5 degrees, Rivella and a village at the end of the valley

Day two is a kilometre day, and the Via Claudia Augusta is made for it. My drink of choice in Austria is quickly explained: Almdudler at every stop. Without exception. I'm not alone out here: there are quite a few cycle tourers about, until the Via Claudia Augusta turns off towards the Reschenpass and I carry on into the Engadin.

In the Engadin it finally turns to gravel again. The track winds through open pine forest, and the first rocky peaks flash between the trunks.

And then there's the heat. At some point my bike computer shows 39.5 degrees, and I wonder whether I've accidentally signed up for a desert crossing. At a supermarket stop in Switzerland it's time for the first drinks switch: Rivella, plus a Coke and an ice cream, right there on the tarmac outside the shop. Not exactly glamorous, but in that moment it's perfect.

Right in the middle of Scuol, at almost 40 degrees, I bump into someone I know from my university days. He's out on a bikepacking trip too. It really is a small world.

One last climb, up to S-charl, a tiny village hidden right at the end of the valley. The final stretch turns into a proper grind. A surprise is waiting at the top: by chance there's a craft market on. I treat myself to a small bracelet – that's all the extra weight my bike is getting. I spend the rest of the afternoon on the balcony of Gasthaus Mayor, face in the sun, legs up. That's all it takes.

Day 3: Queen stage through Val Mora

Today is the stage I planned this whole trip around: Val Mora, a true gravel paradise. I can hardly wait. Early in the morning I fill my bottles at the village fountain, and off I go.

The day doesn't start with riding, though, but with pushing. In the morning sun I head across alpine meadows up to the Pass da Costainas at 2,251 metres, and I walk next to my bike for a good part of it. The other side isn't any better: the first part of the descent is so steep that I push downhill for quite a while too. Gravel bike hiking, you could say. Only after that do I roll down into Val Müstair and on over Döss Radond into Val Mora.

And then there it is. A wide, wild valley, the gravel track winding between larches, pale limestone peaks glowing above. If I'd forgotten why I built this whole trip around this valley, now I remember. The first highlight of the day, and what a highlight.

Horses graze on the valley floor, and a signpost reads "Strada del vino e del sale" – people carried wine and salt along here long before anyone thought of gravel bikes.

Not without a detour, of course – that's the motto of this trip, after all. I miss the left turn and happily carry on to Alp Mora, until my bike computer drily announces "Off Course". Time to push for a bit. If you're following my track: better look twice here.

What follows on the way to Livigno takes every bit of bike handling I have: singletrack, and on a gravel bike with bags that's borderline, honestly. But hey. A few times I question my route choice – and briefly my whole life.

After the singletrail section there's a sandwich, and I've rarely been this happy about a sandwich. Refuelled, I head up the Passo d'Alpisella, over scree and gravel, and down the other side to Livigno.

I admit it: I'm pretty relieved when I make it to Livigno in one piece. Around three I'm sitting there with an espresso and my first Lemonsoda, and glance at my bike computer. Hang on. So few kilometres, after so many hours? It dawns on me: this much gravel takes time, and my planning was, let's say, ambitious.

Two passes to go, on tarmac this time. The Forcola di Livigno takes me up to 2,315 metres, with a view of the glaciers, and shortly afterwards I'm standing on the Passo del Bernina at 2,330 metres, back in Switzerland.

I arrive at the Bernina Hospiz overjoyed, because this day simply had everything, glorious weather included – and at the same time I'm pretty done. Dinner is delicious. Photos? None. I was far too hungry.

Day 4: Gravel to St. Moritz, Lemonsoda in Chiavenna

The morning starts with the next highlight, practically on the doorstep: the gravel descent from the Bernina Pass down to St. Moritz, past Lago Bianco. It's so much fun I can't stop grinning. I only brake once, to give a herd of cows with calves a wide berth.

In St. Moritz it's time for another supermarket stop. After that, I get lost between St. Moritz and the Maloja Pass trying to follow the cycle paths – around Silvaplana in particular, I simply can't find the bike path. Sometimes I'm on what's more of a footpath, sometimes I'm not quite sure where to go – either the signage is bad or I'm just blind. Only for the descent from the Maloja Pass am I back where I wanted to be.

At Speedy Gonzales pace I race down through the Bregaglia into Italy, and in Chiavenna it's lunchtime. With Lemonsoda, of course. Delicious.

The first part of the climb to the Splügen Pass is fine, but no highlight: tarmac and quite a lot of cars. Luckily, Campodolcino has a bakery that – it couldn't be more fitting – is called "la dolce vita".

The sweet life doesn't last long. I climb the Splügen road as far as Madesimo, and then the next navigation adventure is waiting: for the last four kilometres to Andossi I push my bike up a hiking trail. A very questionable route choice. Has a bikepacker ever been up here before? I have my doubts. La dolce vita indeed.

Outside the Rifugio Teggiate I stand there a little puzzled at first: am I even in the right place? From the outside it looks rather plain. Inside, though, everything is great: a room made entirely of wood, incredibly friendly hosts, home-cooked food and, the next morning, a breakfast that leaves nothing to be desired. Highly recommended.

Day 5: Splügen, San Bernardino and a slog to the lake

On the last morning, the Splügen Pass makes up for everything. The final kilometres up are among the most beautiful of the whole trip: it's early, and I have the road all to myself. Hairpin after hairpin it winds upwards; at number 43 I stop briefly and enjoy the quiet.

At the top I'm back in Switzerland, and in the village of Splügen it's Rivella time again.

The San Bernardino follows straight after, and now my legs speak up. All the climbing of the past days is in them, and the road is much busier than the Splügen. It's still beautiful, though: hairpins through green meadows, a lake at the top and the pass stone at 2,066 metres.

After the descent it's a picnic on a wooden bench, with Rivella of course – the last refuel before it all goes flat.

What comes next is, honestly, no fun – a properly grim affair. Across the flats around Bellinzona towards Lago Maggiore, at 38 degrees and with a headwind, one pedal stroke after another. All the Rivella in the world can't help now. Of all things, it's the flattest section that makes this the toughest day of the whole trip.

And then: you have arrived. I'm happy to be at the lake – and already missing the mountains. Part of me briefly considers taking a rest day and simply riding on. Maybe another time. This time I get picked up at Lago Maggiore, with five days of gravel, passes and lemonade in my bags.

Good to know

• Track: The GPX and the Komoot collection follow the corrected line through Val Mora, without my detour to Alp Mora. The last four kilometres before Andossi are still the hiking trail I pushed up – not ideal, but I would ride it that way again. Between St. Moritz and the Maloja Pass, especially around Silvaplana, the cycle path is hard to find, so keep an eye on the map.
• Time: At the Pass da Costainas you push uphill and for a good part of the first descent, and Val Mora then brings a lot of gravel in one go; the singletrack towards Livigno is borderline on a gravel bike with bags. Allow much more time for that stage than the distance suggests.
• Spares: Pack a spare derailleur hanger. And if something does go wrong: I can highly recommend Radsport Burda in Oberau.
• Accommodation: Affordable places for solo travellers aren't always easy to find. Mine were the Sterzinger Posthotel in Nassereith, Gasthaus Mayor in S-charl, the Bernina Hospiz and the Locanda Rifugio Teggiate in Valle Spluga.
• Heat: In high summer it can get very hot even in alpine valleys, and the flat stretch around Bellinzona to Lago Maggiore drags on at 38 degrees in a headwind.
• Getting there and back: By train to Murnau, train options back from e.g. Bellinzona.