Category: cycling

  • Recovery Day

    Recovery Day

    Reading Time: 3 minutesWe are in a heatwave and despite this I have cycled for four and a half hours and walked for three hours and fourty minutes. For the bike rides I woke at 6am to avoid rush hour traffic, and to do things before the temperatures rose. Yesterday the temperature in Geneva reached…

  • A Ride in 35° Heat

    Reading Time: 4 minutesYesterday I spent time in the sun in the morning, as a result of which I thought I would avoid going out in the heatwave. I changed my mind. Every Sunday a group of pétanque playing alcoholics play pétanque for several hours. They cheer, they laugh, they make noise, for hours in…

  • Falling Out of Love With Driving

    Falling Out of Love With Driving

    Reading Time: 2 minutesThere was a time when I used the car for everything I did, from scuba diving to climbing, to walking and more. Over a period of five years I weaned myself off of the car. I weaned myself to such a degree that I use the car twice a week when I…

  • In Favour of Electric Bikes

    In Favour of Electric Bikes

    Reading Time: 2 minutesI considered getting an electric bike a few years ago. I didn’t for a single reason. When I spoke to a bike seller I asked whether bikes get stolen and I was laughed at for asking the question. I didn’t get an electric bike the next day. If we’re going to spend…

  • The Pure Freedom of Meindl Shoes For Cycling

    The Pure Freedom of Meindl Shoes For Cycling

    Reading Time: 3 minutesWithin the last month I considered updating my cycling shoes, until I saw the price of cycling shoes, even in Decathlon. I saw how expensive they are so I lost interest in them. Barefoot shoes are great because they’re light and easy to transport. The problem that I find with ‘barefoot’ shoes…

  • Brompton On Hills

    Brompton On Hills

    Reading Time: 2 minutesCycling in Switzerland requires the ability to go up and down hills. Some of the climbs are long and steep, others are short and steep, and yet more are shallow but long climbs. That’s where bike gears come into their own. The more gears you have the more precisely you can control…

  • Quiet Roads on a Sunday Bike Ride

    Reading Time: 4 minutesYesterday I went for a bike ride. By my norms it was a relatively cool day, just 27 or so degrees, compared to the 30-37°c I have ridden in, in the past. I was comfortable on the bike, with a cool breeze to cool me down. I went by the lake and…

  • Cycling With Different Levels of Fitness

    Cycling With Different Levels of Fitness

    Reading Time: 3 minutesOriginally I wanted to write about following route 50 from one village to Romainmôtier. I changed my mind as I created the title for this post. Yesterday I cycled with two people on electric bikes on my normal bike. I didn’t feel that I was making that great an effort, especially since…

  • Heatwave Cycling and Place Des Nations

    Heatwave Cycling and Place Des Nations

    Reading Time: 2 minutesCycling is one of the best sports to do during a heatwave because you have a 25 km/h breeze blowing over you, until you stop. If you flee the oven like cities, and head for the woods by a stream, you will feel the coolness provided by nature, rather than air conditioning.…

  • Linear Bike Rides

    Linear Bike Rides

    Reading Time: 2 minutesAlmost all of my bike rides are loops. The reason for this is that I am a single person, so I usually need to end where I start, either to get home, or to get to the car. This means that if I do a 30km loop it has to return to…