View Geneva in a larger map
The Pont de la Caille, a vestigial suspension bridge. |
I started riding north, in fine weather, nominally in search of a bike shop. As it turns out, the outfit from which I had rented my bike was headquartered in Annecy, so I asked for advice about getting the bike's broken rear spoke fixed. I got a polite reply, but it pointed me to a bike shop whose web site clearly said it had been closed for two months. So I was going to ride by, but didn't hold out much hope.
The most helpful bike shop, anywhere. |
I followed the Avenue de Genève, eventually linking up with the busy and anxious D1201. I followed this for a while until I happened to ride by a bike shop that was open. I stopped, asked about the spoke. Ten minutes and 10 € later it was fixed! Finally! This was at Goodman Cycles in Allonzier-la-Caille. They were really friendly, too.
The bike felt so strong and efficient after that. I had long since resigned myself to living with that broken spoke through the rest of the trip, but it was not to be so.
The mighty Col du Mont Sion. Call it a Category 4, on a light day? |
I didn't know what to expect when crossing the frontier, but I had my passport just in case. As it turns out there's an official border crossing, but it wasn't staffed. I sailed through, feeling like a spy.
From this point forward, I had no real plan. I had no idea what sights there were to see in Geneva, and no Swiss Francs. I headed vaguely toward denser urbanization, and accidentally ran across a few really interesting sights.
The University of Geneva |
The Grand Théâtre de Genève |
The Rhone escaping Lake Geneva. If I jumped in I would end up at my hotel in Lyon. |
![]() |
The Cathedral of Saint Pierre, after heavy processing. |
![]() |
At L'Etape, wine from Mont Ventoux! |
On the way back I saw signs for the Col du Grand Colombier. And having looked that up, the confusingly similarly named Col de la Colombière, more frequently a part of the Tour de France, is also nearby. Maybe I missed a bet; it would have been interesting to work one of those into the schedule. I suppose they can wait for next time.
Back in by-now familiar Annecy, I had dinner at L'Etape. A salad with filo dough wrapped cheese, a surprise fish (good, but it wouldn't hurt to read the menu more closely) with risotto and sweet potatoes, and another crème brûlée. And a bottle of wine from Mont Ventoux!
![]() |
Elevation profile |
No comments:
Post a Comment