The Saturday Cycling Challenge to Begnins

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On Saturday I went for a ride with Bike Club Switzerland from Geneva. The ride itself was planned on an 80km loop that went from Geneva via Vich up to Begnings and then towards one or two more places before heading back towards la Rippe, across the top, and eventually down to Grilly and Geneva.

The Planned hike was meant to be moderate, at around 22km/h and 82km in distance. To get to the meeting point I had to cycle 22km just to start the group ride, and then 82km with the ride, and then 22km or more to get home.

I found that the group was comfortable to keep up with, until we got to the Bois de Versoix, and then it sped up on the straight road, before turning right to go along the top, without crossing into France. At this point the ride became more physical.

When climbing I found that the group climbed at a comfortable pace. I wasn't dropped far behind the rest of the group like with another group I have ridden with. It's not that the climbing was easy, but rather that the rest of the group was closer to my level. This is pleasant.

Usually my rides are from 20-40 kilometres. Sometimes they get to 60 but that's less regular. Going for an 80 km ride was ambitious. So was doing the 80km loop, and so was attaching the ride back to Nyon.

At my 90 km mark I did feel tired. I could feel that I hit my personal wall and now I was struggling just to keep at their speed. I regret not taking electrolyte tabs with me and more snacks. I believe that after five or six hours of cycling replenishing my electrolyte stock would have helped.

I could feel that the ride home was slower, and more of a struggle. Of course the curse of summer has begun. People park, and stand in the middle of the cycle lane, blocking it, so that you're forced onto the road. As I was aiming for distance, rather than speed this wasn't such an issue. Twice I yelled "bike" and no one moved. I went to the road and yelled something else, and suddenly the undignified heard me.

Switzerland might have spent years installing bike lanes on the Route du Lac, but if, in summer cars park on the pavements, and people stand on the bike lane, then the bike lane becomes useless for bikes. When you're fatigued, after 100km of riding, you don't want to have to deal with people blocking cycling paths.

In the end I turned back onto the farm roads, away from the Lobster culture towards quieter roads between villages and fields. I was worried that my left knee would give out but luckily it resisted.

When I got home I saw that I had ridden 129.2 kilometres so I decided to do an extra 800 meters, just to get to a round number. I still felt that I had some energy left after all.

Hiking and Running

Three or four days ago I went for a ride, and I climbed to the Signal de Bougy, with a 55km ride, then I rested for a day or two, and then I did a 130km ride, with just 200km of riding this year. I believe that hiking and running have provided me with a very good base for cycling this year. Hiking 23km with 1300m of climbing and descending helps the cardiovascular system.

And Finally

This weekend I confirmed that I can ride with the moderate group, as well as the relaxed group. This opens up the opportunity for me to do many more group rides. Group rides are enjoyable. On quiet roads it's an opportunity to talk with people, and to see the landscape at a different pace.

At the same time by cycling 55 kilometres and then 131 kilometres the next I have demonstrated that my potential bike ride range is 130 kilometres or so. When I was on the train to Sion I saw that the child carriage of the train had the bottom floor nicely configured for cyclists.

I wished that I had my bike with me, and that I could cycle from Sion to Nyon. It's one of my projects. While writing this project I looked at other variants and saw that Fribourg to Yverdon could be another option. It would be nice to do A to B rides, rather than circular ones.