Cycling

This weekend when I hiked to Valangin I thought that I would found a water fountain along the way, so I took just 600ml of water. A few weeks ago when I went to Charmey I took the same amount of water because I didn’t want too much weight for the Via Ferrata. The result is that I have run out of water twice recently.

The paradox is that this isn’t because I lack water bottles. I have a collection of them. I have 1l bottles, 500ml water bottles, 600, 850, and more. I have one 1L water camelbak and one 2L camelbak. I could easily use them in rotation.

This morning I went for a bike ride before taking my daily shower. I rode through Nyon and then turned up towards Duiller and from Duiller I headed for Genolier. When I was in Nyon though I cycled down towards the lake before cycling up one of the steep hills before heading to Duiller and onto Genolier. along the way I considered whether I would go all the way to Arzier and changed my mind, because it would have required a long descent on carbon wheels that I am not yet used to.

If you’re looking for a cycling project and you live near Nyon then I would suggest taking the bike along the lake road from Nyon through Crans, Coppet, and beyond towards Geneva, and when you get to Geneva following the 46 signalisation for the cycling route. There are moments when it is not as clearly indicated but for the most part it is.

Cycle Path from Nyon to Geneva

The advantage of this route is that from Nyon to Geneva you are nicely seperated from traffic. For the most part the cycling path can also be used by pedestrians. On the weekend the cycle lanes are sometimes full of parked cars and pedestrians. On a weekday though the cycle lanes are free and practicable.

If things go to plan I will be cycling a metric century today. I will be cycling from Nyon to Yvoire via Geneva. It’s the first time in a while that I cycle this far but there are advantages to this route. For a large part of Nyon to Geneva I will be on cycling lanes and once I survive the crossing through Geneva I will be on the Via Rhona, the cycling route that goes to Marseilles, if you go in the opposite direction.

A few days ago someone was angry at me for posting too much in a whatsapp chat and I’ve been feeling down because I felt bullied out of the group. I miss sharing project ideas but at the same time it is essential for me to remind myself that just because I am trolled in a whatsapp group does not mean that there are not dozens of other things to do.

Yesterday I went for a 50km bike ride that took two hours. During the first half the weather was good, and it felt warm. I cycled down to Nyon and towards Prangins, before cycling back towards Nyon before heading to Duiller and from there up towards Genolier, but not the direct route because of roadworks. I went up via a smaller town. When I got to Genolier I then went down the hill before heading back up to the road that takes you via the top of Trelex before cycling to Gingins and up via the golf of Bonmont before riding to La Rippe and up via the upper route that takes you to Divonne via the upper route.

As it is meant to be warmer over the next few days I went for a bike ride this morning, rather than in the afternoon. The rational is that by going for a morning bike ride traffic could have been less. The other reason is that it’s slightly cooler in the morning than in the afternoon.

Today wasn’t a warm day, but I felt like going for a bike ride, and I wanted to see if a different time of day made it more pleasant. It did. I also tried an elongated loop this time around.

For a few days I played with an e-bike around St Moritz and in the process learned that riding an e-bike is intuitive. It’s on hills and when you’re riding into the wind that you feel the advantage of e-bikes.

The trick, with e-bikes is to learn to ride gently. With a road bike and mountain bike you get into the habit of pushing hard. With an e-bike you need to pull back. You need to learn to ride more gently. The more gentle you ride, the less you’re pushing against the motor.

This weekend has been physically demanding. On Saturday I rode with people who do nothing but ride, so they’re far fitter, on a bike than I am, so by the end of the ride I was struggling to keep up.

The Options

I fully expected the weekend to be difficult, Originally I considered the Tour D’Aï walk but that would have been a long climb, followed by a long descent. It would have also been exposed to the sun during a sunny hot day. The first hot day of the year. It would have required hours on trains. It’s because the bike ride was close and convenient that I chose to do that instead. No commute, or at least no commute by public transport.

Most of us will associate Škoda with the Tour De France and vice versa. When my brother got a Škoda that’s what I associated it with. Škoda France has a team of people that organise group cycling events to promote the Škoda brand.

Critical Mass and Others

I have cycled with groups before. I cycled at Critical mass events in london, but also one or two smaller cycling events in Geneva. With critical mass bike rides everyone is dressed in normal clothes, on normal bikes, cycling at a sociable pace through towns and cities.