Warm

Yesterday as I cycled from Nyon to Geneva I felt my mouth become dry so I drank, felt it get dry again, and drank again. The wind that is usually cooling, or cold was warm. I was having a hair dryer ride. This is a term I use when the air is so warm that it offers no cooling effect.

We Ride at Dawn

One solution to avoid such a ride is simply to ride at sunrise like I did with Tête de Course. You wake up before sunrise and head towards the meeting point as the sky starts to gain some colour. The ride itself takes place at dawn, so you’re in 20°c rather than 34°c. It’s 10°c cooler than my bedroom so I wore layers to stay warm. If you don’t like the heat then this is an excellent way of getting a bike ride in before it gets too hot. It’s also a way of getting a bike ride before work.

Yesterday I set off at about 07:20 feeling slightly tired and under the weather. While I rode into Geneva I felt that I couldn’t push too much and I questioned whether I should abort the ride.

When I got near Geneva I thought “If I stay in my apartment I will be as warm as if I am outdoors, but without the breeze. I decided to go on the long variant anyway. The relaxed group, in my mind was not relaxed. On a flat section we were riding at 31 kilometres per hour, sustained.

  [caption id=“attachment_3100” align=“aligncenter” width=“660”] Summer Nyon[/caption] This is an image of Nyon on a day when the thermometer indicated at least 31°c on a sunny Sunday afternoon. In this image you can see the CGN boat leaving Nyon and heading towards Geneva. You can see the Jet D’eau in the background. You can see a sailing boat in the distance, some kayakers nearby and two pedalos. What you don’t see in this image are the people playing volleyball, other people sitting at Nyon Plage or yet more people at the Nyon Swimming Pool. From Nyon you can cycle along the lake road to Geneva or Lausanne and if you feel you have the stamina you could cycle from Nyon to Nyon by taking the long way around. This may take 10 hours depending on your level of fitness and endurance. If this does not tempt you then you could go up to the Jura. You can either go up towards La Dôle and choose one of three routes to get to the doppler radar or you could go to St Cergue and walk from that side to the peak. The walk is short but physical so make sure to take appropriate shoes and something to drink. If those options do not tempt you then you can catch the boat you see in the image above or the smaller boat that you see below. These boats are regular. People like to take the boat from Nyon to Yvoire, have lunch, dinner or an ice cream and then come back. If you have the right friends then you could do this trip on a sailing boat as we used to do frequently with one friend. [caption id=“attachment_3102” align=“aligncenter” width=“660”] CGN boat[/caption] Nyon has quite a few activities to distract people in summer so if you’re in the region there are a few events and activities to choose from.