Cycling

I have been up the Molard climb four times this year, and each time I sped up by a little. Twice my time improved by two minutes, and when I tried yesterday it improved by only a few seconds. With an average of 2000 meters of climbing per week I can feel the effects.

I can feel that I am climbing with more power and I can feel a big change on short climbs. There is a climb to enter Eysins and a few days ago I went up without tiring until the top. Yesterday when I climbed the Molard my heart rate peaked at 180 beats per minute but I had some strength left to try to sprint the last few meters.

This morning I toyed with the idea of wearing a proper winter cycling top. Instead I settled for a thermal layer, the usual top, sleeves, and a wind blocker. These weren’t enough for me to feel warm.

10°c

The temperature has dropped. it was 10°c this morning and I was cold when I set off and I seriously considered turning back for another layer but thought that if I did, then when it gets really cold, I won’t have anything warmer to wear on bike rides. I should have worn that top. It didn’t warm up.

I was perfectly happy hiking in solitude for years in a row, but eventually, as normal life returned, after the pandemic I felt a sense of isolation, especially on weekends. I would see groups walking together and I longed to revert to that habit. Eventually I did and now for more than a year I have been on regular group hikes and bike rides.

I enjoy group hikes and bike rides but as an introvert I usually don’t start speaking with people near the end of an event, and if the event comes to an end then I usually don’t see people again for weeks, or even months. The result is that despite knowing hundreds of cyclists and hikers at this point, my solitude remains the same.

Mt Tendre via Rolle

For a year or more I had been tempted to cycle up to the Mont Tendre and on Saturday I got the opportunity to try that ride with Tête de Course, a Nyon cycling community and café/restaurant.

The route went from Nyon to Rolle, and then from Rolle upwards towards Aubonne and then upwards towards Montricher. From Montricher you have the climb to Mont Tendre.

In theory this is a quiet road with limited cars. In practice we had quite a few cars passing us. The road is narrow, so when a car passes you need to get to the side of the road but with débris and more it does not fill me with euphoria. If the road was completely closed to cars, then this would be a nice climb. For me, good climbs are those with no cars, or those where the road is wide enough for cars to pass with ease.

On Sunday I rode with the Le Cercle No Pressure Club group ride from Nyon to Montricher via Vich to Begnins, and From there to Gimel and then onto Bière and eventually Montricher.

Easier Start

Normally groups default to climb from Nyon to Coinsins, and from Coinsins up towards Genolier and Le Muids before going across towards Bière. By choosing the route we chose we got to have a more restful ride. It’s a small change that makes a huge difference for the quality of the ride.

On Sunday I want to do a bike ride that I have been thinking of doing for months, at this point. It’s an 81km loop that begins in Nyon and ends in Nyon, going via Montricher. The challenge with this ride is that it has 1100m of climbing.

A Slight Let Down

My looking forward to this bike ride is tainted by the news that some alcoholics will have a party from 13:00 onwards in a house/apartment nearby. By law the alcoholics need to stop making noise by 22:00, but the likelihood they will, once drunk is very low.

Last night I could have gone for a group ride, and it wouldn’t have rained on, despite what the weather said. As I went for a ride that morning, and felt tired, it felt rational not to ride in the evening.

Last night it rained consistently until this morning but now the sun is almost out again and the sky is brighter. In theory this means that cycling would be an option.

On RTS Info they warn about Erin, the ex-cyclone probably hitting Switzerland, dumping a lot of rain. The alert for some areas is level 5.

This is for a narrow band in the Alps on the Italo-Swiss border. The possible impacts are ’extreme rise in water of rivers and lakes, flooding in many areas, and landslides. Rail and road traffic could be impacted.

Around Nyon there is a chance of localised flooding, dry ditches filling with water, and in some places localised flooding in basements and other places.

On Sunday evening I saw that a ride was planned for Monday evening. Usually I would hae skipped this ride because I felt that I should rest. According to Garmin I should have taken a rest day.

I intended to have a calm bike ride, until I got onto the bike and started to pedal. I went through the road I find is dangerous, before taking a second road I find is dangerous, before taking a third road I find dangerous, before finally being on safe roads.

This weekend I cycled and I hiked. The bike ride was up to the Combe Blanche, and the hike was from Vallorbe to Croy-Romainmôtier.

The Col de la Combe Climb

For the bike ride we rode from Nyon heading towards Crans before heading up to La Rippe, and from La Rippe we went along for a bit before heading up the Col De La Combe Blanche. it’s a 13 kilometre climb with around 1300m of climbing. The climb isn’t as steep as La Baudichonne and La Barillette. It is a sustained effort.