Winter is right around the corner. This morning before I went out on my bike ride I checked the
weather report – 2 degrees! Holy
Cow! Ok, granted in was in Celsius,
it’s still a jolt to see such low numbers.
The months of July, August, and September were exciting
riding times for Doug and I. Swiss
roads are the best! Swiss drivers
are so courteous of cyclists! Swiss
countryside and scenery are incomparable!
Every bike ride was a new discovery, a new gorgeous area to
explore. We were in heaven.
The chilly weather is bringing a bit of an edge to the Swiss
cycling experience. The drivers
seem a little less patient – it never fails to shock me how they will wait until
I’m getting close before they decide it’s safe to pull in front of me. Now I’m expecting it – I look for that
little second of indecision from the driver, a slight rocking of their car, and
then they decide … what the heck, I’ll go for it. Luckily I’m usually out on roads without too many cars. But that brings other hazards as well…
Hunting season must have started, because I’m hearing shots
fired in the woods where I’ve never heard shots before (I have a few routes
next to les champs de tir). My average speed travelling through the
woods has picked up, and I’m hoping my red jersey doesn’t somehow resemble
a buck’s rump. I feel a jolt of
fear (just like I would imagine a deer feels) when I hear a rustle in the
woods. I actually had a deer jump
out right in front of me the other day.
The poor thing was scared to death; he stumbled, struggled to get up as
he kicked his feet in the air, righted himself, turned and looked at me for a
second, and then bounded away. I
have a friend whose car has been jumped by deer three different times (she’s a
deer magnet), so I’ve developed a healthy fear of deer in the wild.
Fall colors just starting in the Jura Mountains
Last weekend Doug and I went on a 98-mile bike up the Col de
Marchairuz in the Jura mountains – it was a warm, sunny, fall day and a
fantastic ride. On the way down
the mountain Doug pointed out that the side of the road seemed to be trampled
down, and that there was a lot of “mud” in the road. Had they just had "la désalpe" – where they bring the
cows down from the mountain for the winter? Sure enough, just as we were reaching the bottom of the
mountain, we were stopped by a troupe of cows walking in the middle of the
road. The cows were decorated with
flowers, large bells, and being led by a procession dressed in
traditional fare – it was a beautiful sight.
Look what side of the fence this cow was on!
Typical stone fences in the Jura mountains
"La Dèsalpe" Procession
The Beauties
I absolutely love cows – they are such gentle creatures with
big expressive eyes. I used to say
that I don’t even mind their “eau de barnyard” smell. I've changed my opinion on that since I've had to endure bike rides next to
endless fields fertilized with the stuff.
It’s especially bad when you’re going up a hill on a hot day next to a
recently “fertilized” field. But I do admire the way the Swiss take care of their
fields – they are a sight to behold – they have the blackest, most fertile soil I’ve ever
seen.
I’ve also learned that if you stand with your back to a field of cows, within minutes you’ll have the entire herd just behind you. I’ve been startled by this several times - – they don’t say a word, they are just suddenly right behind you.
These cows came to check out Doug and I, and even sniffed my bike
New friend
Back to road hazards...some of the tiny roads that we ride on
are only wide enough for one car, so when you see a tractor barreling down
toward you, you know that you’re the one that has to get out of the way. The tractors can have various sharp
implements extending out from both sides. I’ve had to jump up on
an embankment with my bike just in the nick of time – it must have been lunch or quitting time
for that farmer because he wasn’t stopin’.
And finally, the impeccable Swiss roads also mean that there
is constant road repair. I’ll
discover a fantastic new route and then read that the road will be closed for
a month due to roadwork. They
seemed to be overly concerned with drainage right now, which worries me – it
there something coming that I need to know about? And what about all those “route non-déneigé” signs I’ve been
seeing? I’m afraid that we’re
going to need a new winter sport soon.
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