Exploring the Vallée de Joux on a Bicycle

Reading Time: < 1 minute
When you ride solo, or with a group it is easy to ride along routes that are familiar but it is more fun to add a little variety. I believe that seeing a path, and following it often leads to developing “The Knowledge” for local bike rides.

I use “The Knowledge” to link to the familiarity that London Black cab taxi drivers have with London. As you cycle, and as you explore all the different roads, so you develop a mental map linking everywhere to everywhere else. You know which routes are flatter, which roads have fast cars, and which ones are more convivial to ride along. You also find the roads that encourage you to ride sustainably.

In the case of the Vallée de Joux it’s easy to loop around the lake, over, and over again, but in so doing you ride along a road where cars sometimes skim you, too fast, and too close.

You might be discouraged from ranging away from the main road because of the climbing involved but if you do you usually get onto quieter secondary roads where commuters are not tempted to drive too fast and too close. You also see amusing signs.

On the ride yesterday I saw a sign for “L’Allemagne”. Germany, that was just a 50 minute walk away. Allemagne is a village above Le Lieu.

When hiking and cycling I like to look at route signs for ideas of diversions and new journeys. Over a period of years you get to know every road and you get to find the most pleasant routes.

Yesterday a gravel bike would have been better for the diversion.