Distance: 157.6km Elevation: 2000m Duration: 7h13 Avg. Speed: 21.8km/h Details: gpsies, trainingstagebuch
Pragelpass, I got you this time!
There are several hurdles with the Pragel. The first one is, that you have to cycle around 60km from Zurich before reaching the beginning of it. So you already have some km in your legs. Second the elevation. At first sight it doesn’t seem to be such a heavy pass with its 1078m elevation on 21km. That would be an average of about 5%. But the Pragel starts with a grade of 10-14% on the first 3km. No time to acclimate 
You then reach the Klöntalersee where you have time to regenerate for about another 5km. You’ll have to climb the remaining elevation with an average grade of 10% with several peaks of 14, 15 and 16%!!! So use your power wisely!
The descent to Muotatal is quite tricky as well! Grades of 18% (!), wet and bumpy roads, cattle grids (Weiderost) and still some traffic even if the pass is closed for cars on weekends will need your full concentration.
I went back to Zurich over the Sattel. This is not a route I recommend. The street has a lot of traffic although the pass itself is “easy”: 420m elevation in 10km with a quite constant grade of 4-5%.
Alternatives to Sattel: Ägeri, then back via Sihltal or Ibergeregg.
I achieved my goal by setting some rules:
- Cycling the first 60km on very low heartbeat, i.e. < 130bpm
- Cycling every ascent at 145bpm, short peaks at max 150 (my aerobic threshold is at 156bpm)
- Drinking and eating regularly (I’ll post about that topic later)
BTW: Some people call the Pragelpass “Prügelpass”!