Today I saw that they were expecting a storm and I was really looking forward to a sudden downpour, lightning and more. I also thought that it would trap me at home and that I’d have a day without walking or cycling. In the end I saw that the doppler radar no longer expected any rain etc so I got ready for a bike ride and went out. I could see that the clouds over the Jura were nice and dark, threatening to become an active storm. I still continued my bike ride. I went from near Nyon to Mies, up from there towards Commugny, then towards the Versoix, up a road and had not explored yet.
During the ride I saw a few fresh roses, so I stopped to photograph and smell the roses. I didn’t see as many people walking and cycling as I would usually expect. They were wisely hiding from the rain as I should have done. I had a cycling rain coat, so if the rain had caught me I could have been slightly less drenched, and cycling clothes are not usually dry at the end of a ride anyway.
What is less fun is hail and thunder. Both of those things are dangerous. Small hailstones hurt when they hit you. I know from personal experience. Not only is hail painful, but it’s cold and it can chill you to hypothermic levels within minutes.
It didn’t hail, but it did rain and thunder, and it missed me by five minutes or less. If I had been that bit slower, my bike and I would have been soaked. As things were, the rain didn’t get me.
Despite people doing what they can to keep the pandemic going, by not vaccinating, by not wearing masks, by not minimising social interactions, by avoiding busy shops we are in a 3000 new people infected per day routine in Switzerland. For some reason, fatalists and others have taken the decision that the pandemic can’t be ended, and that we might as well live with it.
For my entire life, I thought that people wanted to cut a pandemic short. Rieux was rational in my eyes. During this pandemic, we see that Rieux is a rare person. Most people find a hole in the wall, and they just leave, without a sense of responsibility or morality. The pandemic is a crisis of morality and responsibility. Everyone speaks about rights, but they forget that rights entail responsibility.
Cycling
I didn’t know that digestion and cycling could have such an effect on each other. I was cycling straight after eating, and I felt weak in terms of power, and I was struggling to go faster. By the end of the ride, I seemed to have more power than at the start. It’s interesting to see such a change. I didn’t look at the difference in heart rate.
Studying
I finally finished a JavaScript course, after taking a break to read around the subject. I feel that I am in a better situation now. I do get some of the concepts. Now it is a matter of consolidating that knowledge by practising.
Yesterday I went for a bike ride and I was head towards Gland via Genolier but changed the route due to a dog walker when I wanted to turn East. I turned West instead and noticed some people and flags by Crassier. I thought “Was there an accident” as I also saw a police car. Eventually, as I saw more and more people standing by the side of the road I understood that it was for the Tour De Romandie. At the 25km from Geneva marker I took a picture of the sign.
The sensation of cycling along a cycle race route ahead of the race riders is interesting. You have a crowd. The place where I usually see crowds when I am cycling is Zwift, so my frame of reference for yesterday’s experience was Zwift. Silly, isn’t it? That’s where I have the crowds. I even had one or two people cheer me on as I rode. The riders were at least half an hour behind me, maybe more. Their average speed was 42km per hour, compared to my 22.6 kilometres per hour.
In the last year Romain Bardet, a professional cyclist, rode 9,141 kilometres compared to my 228 kilometres per hour. If they ride at twice my speed it’s because they ride an enormous amount. If a car was used that much you’d think people need to take a break from it. Cycling is a sport where professionals cover huge distances on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
If I want to compare myself I should compare myself to through hikers. I walk what they walk, but in a different context, and year round, rather than in three to six month bursts.
And Finally
You know when the Tour De Romandie and other events are close by because you see the helicopters. You have one flying higher above the cycling race, and the second flying lower down, to get the aerial shots as the cyclists make their way across the landscape. It’s when I was near Founex that I could see the helicopters flying low and slow, to cover the cycling race.
When I set off on my cycling trip to Lausanne and back I thought that the strong wind would force me to turn around and that I would abort the attempt by the time I got to Rolle or Morges. As I continued cycling I fought the wind and I made slow progress. When I was in the dips or along certain walls I had a break from the wind. I continued on with the effort.
A nice portion of this route is on cycle paths so you are protected from traffic. Sometimes the cycle path is on the side of the road and at other points it is on a pavement at the side of the road. Near St Prex the route bifurcates from the road and goes through a 30km zone. You rejoin the road a few minutes later. Around Ouchy the roads were relatively quiet.
The air temperature when I set off was about 20°c with wind. As I cycled I never felt too warm. It was a great temperature in which to cycle over a long distance. For the first hour I was drinking Jura water before switching to electrolytes for the route back. I usually carry enough water or snacks for part of the journey and when I feel the need for a rest I stop and pick up more supplies. It keeps the weight down.
I was lucky when I cycled back towards Gland because the wind continued blowing in the same direction. The wind that I had spent the outward journey fighting was now in my back. As a result despite muscle fatigue the cycle back was comfortable enough and I still managed to get a good time. The challenge when cycling from the foot of the Jura is that you eventually need to spend energy to get from the lake uphill. It might be psychological but the place from which I like to climb from the lakeside is through Gland. There are a number of routes with reduced traffic or you can take the main road.
In this case I took the main road and when I was passing the train station I felt the rear wheel wobble so I stopped to check the wheel but it seemed fine. I then cycled a little further and then heard the rear tire flopping. A thorn had made its way in to the tire and punctured it.
I had noticed that there was a cycle shop on the lake road so instead of going to the two sports shop near the bouldering gym I went to this one. The owner was just about to leave when he saw me pushing my bike. He was very helpful. He helped me replace the tire and pump it up again so that I could continue my journey.
I had always worried about getting a puncture and I was lucky that it happened in such a convenient place. I had to walk back about two kilometres but in the end the inconvenience of the puncture was quickly resolved and I could head home. It provided me with time to recover before heading up the hill once again. I am amused that it was a thorn. I cycle around rocks, glass and other hazards on the road and nature got me with a simple thorn. To be fair I had cycled about nine hundred kilometres before getting a puncture.
In the back of my mind I was always ready to cycle to Lausanne and then catch the train back but my endurance lasted both ways so I skipped the train. My next challenge will be to cycle around the Lac de Neuchâtel which is meant to be about 96 kilometres depending on the route you choose.
Yesterday my intention was to cycle along the Voie Verte from Crassier to Grilly and then back down towards, the lake, along the lake and end up back in Nyon. I didn’t follow this plan through. I was thinking “I don’t want to do the steep Mies climb so I’ll go to Nyon, but on the way to Nyon I thought of going to Prangins. In Prangins I then decided to head to Aubonne. In the end I did ride to Aubonne.
Every morning the landscape is covered in frost. That frost melts and turns to water, which in turn, turns to mud, and cakes my shoes. Unfortunately there has been no rain for weeks, and there is no rain expected for weeks. We are in another drought although most people will not call it that, yet. They prefer to enjoy the sunshine and ignore the deeper problem.
This risk of drought is recognised. The RTS wrote about how people are getting water tanks, due to the regularity of droughts. The problem is so bad that aside from the article about people buying water tanks to store their own rain water there is another one speaking about how the underground water table is at risk. “Il faudrait donc qu’il pleuve quasiment non-stop jusqu’à fin mars pour que les nappes phréatiques retrouvent leur niveau normal”. It would need to rain non-stop for two weeks for the water tables to find their required levels.
I miss the rain. I miss the rain because when it rains it feels like a treat to have good weather. I miss the rain because I like the sound it makes on the roof. I miss the rain because it fills the rivers and makes them interesting to watch. I miss the rain because without rain the sky becomes boring. There is no reason to look at the sky, or to look at weather apps when the weather never changes.
One of the most flagrant changes, when there is enough rain, is how the grass and other plants grow, by the side of the road. Paths that were easy to walk along, before rain, would become more challenging to walk along, when the rain has given the plants the water they need to grow. It means less grass cutting, it means fewer plants growing. We’re in spring now, and without rain we will not see plants germinate in the usual way.
I miss bad weather because the pandemic isn’t over, and there is nothing to be gained from the weather being good. Good weather is monotonous.
Originally 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 I was cycling at a relatively slow speed compared to usual. I actually felt that I was taking it easy.
Calories Burned
It’s when I looked at calories burned that I realised that what felt like an easy ride to me, was actually a huge effort. It didn’t feel that way to me, because it is normal for me to make such an effort, and I usually push myself when I ride alone.
Three Times More Calories
By riding with people with electric bikes I felt that I was having a relatively easy day. I burned three times more calories than them. It shows to what extent being fit affects how we perceive effort, but also how much energy electric bikes save.
Perfectly Within My Comfort Zone
I was surprised by the huge difference in calories burned because I felt comfortable. I didn’t feel that I was struggling to keep pace with the bikes, or struggling on hills whilst they glided with ease. That’s the beauty of cycling a lot. Effort becomes ordinary, and fitness makes electric bikes harder to justify. Why get an electric bike when you can cycle with people with electric bikes and keep up?
Cyclists and Non Cyclists Riding Together
There are two types of people. Those that invests hundreds of hours over several years to boost their cycling fitness, and those that use electric bikes, to keep up with those with experience. I would argue that the strength of the electric bike is two-fold. The first is that it encourages non cyclists to cycle and experience the pleasure of getting from A to B under their own steam, but the second is that electric bikes allow non cyclists to ride with cyclists, and get a taste of what we enjoy.
Visiting Romainmôtier by bike
Romainmôtier is a nice destination to cycle to. The road takes you through a nice quiet road in the forest. The woods are the Bois De Ferreyres. The route that I took was undulating, with some climbing and some descending, but these ondulations are not extreme like cycling up to La Dôle or up to La Rippe, so manageable.
Cycling Destination
Quite a few people cycled to Romainmôtier and I noticed that a few went into the grounds of the Abbaye and rested their bikes against the wall, before having a drink. By taking the bike parking is simplified, but as well as parking being simplified, you get to experience the landscape first hand. You’re faster than a hiker, but still get to experience the winding roads, the ups, the downs, and the freedom to stop with the bike, more conveniently than with a car.
Recommendation
If you are not a confident cyclist, and don’t want to spend hundreds of hours getting fit, then electric bikes are a fantastic short cut because they give you the freedom to explore, without the dread of having to get back, despite being knackered. Electric bikes are more forgiving than cycling without a motor. With an electric bike you just ask for more assistance and you’re comfortable.
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One Comment
We’ve had some seriously unpredictable weather lately around here. Storms expected that don’t happen, unexpected storms that do, surprise sunny days, surprise humidity… Whew!
Glad you missed that storm. Walking and the rain is one thing, but that sort of massive storm (replete with lightning!) would not have been safe.
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We’ve had some seriously unpredictable weather lately around here. Storms expected that don’t happen, unexpected storms that do, surprise sunny days, surprise humidity… Whew!
Glad you missed that storm. Walking and the rain is one thing, but that sort of massive storm (replete with lightning!) would not have been safe.