An Alpine Home Base

I teased Simone Fagetti soon after I got into his car. He had two Swiss Army knives in a cup holder. Is that something all Swiss guys did? The director at Sust Lodge ( shakermaker-group.ch/sust) was doing me a huge favour by giving me a lift to Imholz Sport in Andermatt so I could get a new tire. On my first ride, just a little shakeout to manage the jetlag, I sliced my tread. (At least I got the requisite mechanical of the trip out of the way early.) During our drive, Fagetti told me more about his hotel, my group’s home base for our rides in the Alps.

The Sust Lodge had only been operating in its current form for about two months. The building had been a bike hotel before, and even further back, a barracks. Now, it’s set up for roadies and mountain bikers. They can store their rides in the bike room, make repairs with the tools on-site, and dine, lounge and drink in the comfortable common area. It’s a versatile space, much like a certain pocket knife.