I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be
lost. Especially when I’m on my
bike, heading to a town on a new route. I’m not really lost, I know which way
I’m headed, but I just haven’t taken that particular road before. Sometimes I get a bit “mixed up” and
head into a forest, where the road turns to gravel, and then an overgrown path,
then where no bike has ever gone and have to turn around. But was I lost? Not really… I know exactly where I want to go, I was just trying to find a new way to get there.
I’m getting much more adventurous on the bike, venturing
away from the marked bike routes onto the small country roads. There are a few landmarks that we’ve
learned to help us find our way – villages and towns that are at the crossroads
of our marked routes are now our landmarks. Places like Chalet à Gobet, Le Mont, Cugy, Thierrens,
Moudon, Yverdon les Bain. If you
know where those towns are, it’s pretty hard to get “really” lost. And there are plenty of water fountains in the small villages along the way to fill up your water bottle.
Today I ventured out for a 50-mile bike ride – through
Chalet à Gobet (a beautiful forest to the north, which is covered with hiking
and cross country skiing trails) looking for the signs to Moudon, which is down
in the valley. Our typical 50-mile
bike rides usually have about 4000 feet of climbing because Lausanne is on a
hill, which requires a to climb to get out of town. If we descend off the plateau, we have to go back up to get
home, and if we descend to Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) then we have to climb up the
steep hills of Lausanne.
A lot of my bike route planning involves trying to avoid some of the
steeper hills on the way home, which sometimes (like today) leads me to even more
climbing and miles to avoid a short steep hill.
Coming out of Chalet à Gobet, I saw a sign for Oron, a town
that we had seen on another ride, and thought – why not, turned, and after
about 5 miles started down a steep descent.
Uh-oh, a descent means pain coming home, but I was committed at that
point. After about 10 miles I
ended up going on a road that led to the forest, then the gravel, then the
path…not again…and then had to turn around and climb back up the hill and ask a
woman putting out her laundry the directions (by bike) to Moudon. She went into her house to get an
expert opinion. Out came her 10-year old daughter
to tell me how to get there by bike – through
some small paths, passing by two bus stops.
Her directions were perfect.
Here are some of the sights we've seen this past month of 600 miles of cycling throughout Switzerland.
Lac Leman (Lake Geneva)
 |
LaVaux Vineyards - stunning views of the French and Swiss Alps and Lac Leman |
 |
Jura Mountains (East of Lausanne) - Reminds us of the Santa Cruz Mountains
(except with views of Mont Blanc, the Eiger and Jungfrau on a clear day)
Toblerones protecting the French border
(just like the chocolate!)
Chillon Chateau (Montreaux) - on a ride around Lac Leman to Evian-Les Bains with a
ferry ride back
A Biker's Prayer*
Thank You for this day. Thank You for this bike. Thank You for this chance to ride. Give me the strength to ride fast and the stamina to ride
far. Shield me from catastrophe
and bring me safely home at ride’s end.
May my spinning wheels sing a song of praise to You. May each turn of my pedals be an act of
thanksgiving for the blessing of this day. May our ride together go on forever. Amen.
* The card I keep in my bike pack courtesy of Valley Presbyterian Church (given out on "Biker's Sunday")
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