The two routes through Graubünden begin in the capital Chur, which you can easily reach by train. In the largest town in the canton people settled down 13,000 years ago. In addition to numerous historic buildings, Chur is surprisingly urban and modern. A warm and lively little town between the rivers Rhine and Plessur, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Here it pays to arrive one or two days before the tour to get to know the place and its people. If the Churians do not immediately understand you are not alone. Even Luther had a hard time with the local dialect, which he called Churer-Welsch, gibberish.On small roads you cycle out of Chur in the Rhine Valley. Soon the first climb through the forest begins. From the narrow Polenweg you have a great view of the confluence of Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein, which form the Rhine from Reichenau. A wildly roaring stream that flows as a mighty river after more than 1,200 kilometers in Holland in the North Sea.In Rothenbrunnen you can fill your water bottle with ferrous mineral water from the village well. This is where Domleschg, one of the most densely populated areas in Switzerland, begins: The passageway to several Alpine passes had to be well guarded for centuries.Until your stage destination in Thusis you cycle comfortably and usually only slightly uphill past hemp fields and flower meadows and enjoy the unique mountain panorama in the background. In Thusis you can decide: Do you drive across the Albula Pass into the Engadin (tours 2a to 4a) or do you follow the Rhine over the San Bernardino Pass into Ticino (tours 2b to 4b)?