Romainmotier

Had a great group ride on Tuesday night but got dropped on one of the climbs and unfortunately the group I was riding with decided to turn back. Foolish me made an attempt to catch the pack...

In the end I guessed wrong and ended up climbing through a pass (Marchairuz) and dropping into the Lac de Joux region. This was a beautiful area but a long way from home. I straddled the lake and the French border and worked my way around to Vallorbe as the sun set, passed Romainmotier and called Dedi. "Just don't want you to worry about me...it's dark, and I think I know about where I am, but I'm not sure!...Yes, I think I'm still in Switzerland..."

By now it was around 10:15 at night. Dedi found me on Google maps, gave me some coordinates and we agreed to meet in Cossonay about 15km from home...I made it there by 11:00 ish and we had a nice drive home!

With the fresh memories of this beautiful 'tour' on Friday (national holiday) we drove most of the route and visited Romainmotier...Here are some pictures of the church (oldest in Switzerland) and a shot from inside a beautiful little shop off the courtyard. The city dates back to the year 515 when an abbey was built on the spot..The weather turned cold and wet but all in all we had a great day!

Dedi rides to Chateau Chillon

Dedi logged her first long distance ride, completing a ride with me to Chateau Chillon and back. 70.2km and she held a respectable 24km/hr pace! Pretty good speed and she should be proud of herself! Most impressive was how she attacked the hills, sometimes driving her heart rate into the 170's but not letting go. Her only complaint was the narrow roads and big buses in Montreux. A bit tight at times but no incidents!

We stopped for a nice coffee and icecream at the castle and had a nice conversation with a family from Boerne, Texas. The ride home was pleasant (no rain!) but near the lake we rode through several swarms of little bugs...check out the remnants on my arm! Smile while riding through these and you get a nice organic powdered protein shake! Yuck!

Mont Tendre

Had a nice ride up Mont Tendre on Saturday. This is my 4th climb up this 10% grade hill and each ride seems different but always tough!

For those techies, I've also attached some of my Garmin outputs...

Mon Oncle

A local vineyard held an 'air cinema' on Friday. It was like stepping back in time. The film, "Mon Oncle" (My Uncle) was charming but it was the setting that took the cake. The film was projected onto an outside wall from a 16mm projector mounted in a vintage VW van.

Wine and beer for the adults and ice cream for the kids were offered and the atmosphere was jovial. As I waited for the sun to set over the lake, I enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful views. Too bad I did not bring my camera! The people were friendly and I enjoyed many conversations prior to the film start.

The only downside was that I forgot to bring long pants! I did have a jacket but that was not enough as the night breeze set in. It was a chilly night!

Nice Visit

Had a great visit with Jan and Margaret. We all had some fun ping pong games using umbrellas in lieu of a net! Worked surprisingly well. I've also thrown in a shot from their mount Strahlhorn (4190m) climb last weekend. Incredible no?

Becky and Jacque, maybe for you next time you visit?

;-) Dave

Zurich Ride

Despite weather forecast of rain which unfortunately turned out to be accurate, I headed out yesterday towards Zurich in an attempt to bike to the home of our friends Jan and Margaret....riding of course my Bike Friday pocket rocket.

Armed with my marginally trustworthy GPS unit into which I had downloaded a Google Map route, rain gear, and a change of clothes in a zip log bag, I started pedaling away.

About 80km in the ride I was starting to feel some of the hills and had some doubts about making the full 223 km trek. But as the scenery, towns, hills, and castles passed by, so did the kilometers.

9 hours later and still feeling pretty fresh, I rang their doorbell!As you can tell, I'm feeling pretty full of myself right now!

(My track is the red line. The yellow are country borders.)

Pretty sick no? But clearly my idea of a great day!

;-) Dave

Pont de Nant again, with good weather

What a difference! Hiked Pont de Nant with Zach and his family. Same hike I did with Becky, Jacque, and Haylee last August. But this time the sun was shining, and yes, as this picture shows, there were mountains behind the fog.