Cycling

Last night a bike ride was cancelled for this morning due to the risk of rain. As a result I got to sleep in rather than get up to ride at dawn. In the process I got to rest. It also confirms that the seasons are changing.

It’s because seasons change in Switzerland that I am still torn about whether to do the Via Ferrata (VF) Illuminée on Saturday or not. If I do it then I will finish at 2 or 3 in the morning and I will lose my sunday. At the same time I have used Sunday as rest days recently so it doesn’t matter.

I love to hike fast. I also love to walk fast. When I am hiking I love to hike my own hike, and then wait for people at regular intervals, so that they may catch up, rest a little, and then continue.

When cycling with some groups I will be left alone during the climb, and I will arrive at the top last. I have no concerns about making it up. I am just slow at climbing compared to people ten to twenty years younger than me, with bikes 2-4 kg lighter than mine, and with several extra thousand kilometres in their legs per year.

When I ride with some groups I have to ride hard. I have to keep the wheel and stay with the group because if I get dropped then I need to work hard to get back onto their wheels. In contrast when I ride with other groups, as a result of having to ride hard sometimes, I end up faster.

Too Fast

Today at least one person objected to me being faster, and thought that I should be riding with another group. I would argue that to always ride hard means that you never rest. You’re pushed to be at your peak. This means that you can’t rest while riding.

In the last two days I have had dangerous situations in Geneva and Nyon when pedestrians, or cars, have failed to pay attention to the fact that they were crossing a cycling lane where cyclists have priority. The result is that in two cases I had to take emergency evasive action to avoid a collision.

For a long time I always unclipped when I thought people might cut me off. Recently I haven’t. The result is that in Geneva, when girls cut me off while I was on a cycle lane with a green light I couldn’t stop, but I didn’t want to hit them. I emergency braked, passed behind them and continued on my way.

This weekend I know of two challenging rides that I could do. The first is a 140km ride with 2000m of climbing, eventually getting to the top of the Salève. The second is a 153km walk with 2500m of climbing to the Col Du Grand St Bernard.

Col Du Grand St Bernard

With the ride to the Col Du Grand St Bernard I suspect that I would be okay with riding from Nyon to Martigny. It’s when the climbing starts that I have doubts. It’s a one thousand meter leap. My biggest climb in a day of cycling was 1600m in total. With 2500m of climbing this is 900m than I have done before. I am not comfortable with making such a big leap, especially after one of the longest distances I have ever cycled.

I like the idea of a device as convenient as the Beeline Velo 2. I like the idea of a simple, easy to attach navigation device that can last for several hours and provide navigation. I currently use the Garmin Edge Explore but in my experience it can be unreliable.

With the Garmin Edge Explore I have had the battery die too fast, the device freeze and crash, or the device upgrade during a ride. The result is that I don’t necessarily trust it to track my rides, or to provide me with navigation when I need it.

I would like swimming if I could go to a quiet pool on a day with a comfortable temperature. I like being in the water but I don’t like being in cold water, despite diving in Swiss lakes every weekend for around two years. I used a dry suit so once out of the water I was comfortable within minutes.

Not a Runner

I am okay with running a 5k, and even a 10k, although not regularly. I find running tiring. It’s easy to overheat if you run at the wrong time of day and it can impact on joints if you push too hard too fast.

This morning I woke naturally at 05:30 before getting up and ready. By 07:00 I was on the road cycling towards Geneva and I arrived 20 minutes early. By my standards that is quite close to the expected time.

Familiar Climb

I chose this ride for a simple reason. It was a climb to La Baudichonne. This is a hard, sustained bike ride. The course that we took involved 1300m of climbing. Due to my Nyon start it involved 1500m of climbing. This was a pinnacle ride, as well as a peak ride.

On Wednesday morning I rode my bike into Geneva to drop it off for a service. In the evening I went for a group ride that was heading in the direction I wanted, before leaving the group and riding for home. I didn’t ride much on Wednesday, but I was tired. I believe that walking in cycling clothes, to catch a train, twice, does tire us more than walking in normal clothes.

When you ride alone you face the headwinds, and have to fight them. When you want to speed up you get to a certain speed, and if you want to ride faster you need to fight the wind. On a windy day you might feel sluggish and slow. You might then see a group ride overtake you with ease and think “I wish I was as fast as they are”, or even “I wish I was in that group”.