Four faithful fellows forewent broomsticks for bikes this Hallowe’en (31.10.24) – Ivan, Mark2Ts, Peter T plus yours truly. The usual litany of excuses for absence, ranging from the forgivable to the feeble, was received from…….. no names, but you know who you are.
We met up at Divonne Lake at the appointed hour of 10am and after a brief conflab agreed to try to find the elusive sun which was reported to be shining above 800m. This entailed a ride past Bonmont and further up the road towards La Barillette. At the junction leading towards the pond we were still in mist so decided to head on up to the junction at 888m. En route we were pursued and, much to our astonishment and shame, overtaken by an elderly ironman on roller-skis out training for the upcoming ski de fond season!
Still not in sunshine we ventured further up until, at 990m we were finally rewarded with clear blue skies and an appreciable rise in air temperature. Our own temperatures were decidedly on the high side after 90 minutes of exertion, not least Ivan, who had for the previous couple of kilometers struggled with the added handicap of a back tyre rubbing hard up against the bike frame. He had been putting so much pressure on the chain that the wheel had become misaligned. As none of us possessed the requisite spanner (Peter D, you were missed) it was an easy decision to head back down. After all we had reached our goal – the sun.
The descent was decidedly on the chilly side with cold air blowing on sweat-soaked clothing so it was with great relief that we repaired to the restaurant at the foot of the hill in Crassier soon after 12 noon. We’d eaten there some years back but it is now the Restaurant La Semplicità, under new Italian management and to be recommended. Beers and the plat du jour plus desserts were thoroughly enjoyed, except by a very strong-willed Mark who is still on the wagon for another week.
A satisfying outing and a rewarding contrast to the washout of two weeks earlier. Hope we can fit in a few more rides before the snows come.
Vital statistics: dist. 33.5 Km, deniv. 601m