A very cold day today. We were up in an alpine area so it was no surprise. We had a long downhill to start with and that promised to be uncomfortably cold.
As we left the apartment it started to rain so we hesitated and it stopped almost immediately. The downhill was absolutely freezing but fun too and we were in the town of Morzen very quickly. This was our expected coffee and pick-up-some-food stop but it turned out to be multiple coffees – just little Noisettes/Macchiatos and a pastry over the next couple of hours.
Most of the morning was spent in the bar / coffee shop watching it rain and watching the locals having their breakfast glass of wine.
It was also a morning of discovery, as Dennis, who is an Optician, discovered the local museum of optics and the fact that Morzen is the birthplace of modern lenses with a number of companies that he knew, established here. There’s some trivia for you.
When the rain cleared, it was time to go, it the road immediately went uphill. No surprises there, we are going to Switzerland after all. The road to Premanon was great, with signs every km telling you what the gradient is. The fact that I didn’t notice the first five, says that I was a little bit focussed as I struggled up the hills – no surprises there either.
During one break, Dennis told me that he loved riding hills. I reflected on the route to Slovenia and call me slow, but there are a few crossings of very mountainous areas. Guess who planned the route. And guess who didn’t look at the fine print. I hope he realises that he’ll be waiting for me quite a bit over the next few weeks. 😁
Anyway, we got to Premanon and the place was shut. Looks like they even close on Mondays here. We decided we’d get some lunch at the border. We made it to La Cure where there’s a pub restaurant that straddles the border. Frankly, I’ve enjoyed France so much, I just didn’t feel ready to leave and didn’t really didn’t like the other side of the restaurant 😁.
Switzerland is the twelfth country I’ve been in since I started this trip back in November 2021, some 16,000 kms ago.
I was looking forward to it mainly because of the 15km downhill to the town of Nyon – but there was a twist in store thanks to Komoot, one Mr. Langley and my habit of going with the flow.
There was a bit of climbing to go, then a bit of downhill that was just a teaser. We checked the route and there were a number of small roads to be taken over the next few kms. Given my experience with Komoot in Asia, I was suspicious and suggested we stick to the main road as there wasn’t much traffic.
Dennis sided with Komoot and told me that he had a good feeling that it would be a great ride. My friend Ross called me at the airport when I was leaving and warned me about this very situation. He said something like “don’t listen to the #$&+$, he’s got no sense of direction, never had, and don’t let him convince you to follow him because it’ll be a disaster” – or words to that effect. Truer words …
I’m too easily swayed. I should have listened to you Ross. The result was never in doubt, was it. After a couple of kms down a 10% slope, Komoot sent us on an unmarked hiking trail. The rest of the roads were dead ends, so we climbed back up the painful slope to the top, and to my credit, I kept smiling, albeit through gritted teeth, and thinking expletives the whole time.
Back on the main road, the downhill was exhilarating, even if the first few kms were on wet roads.
We made it into Nyon where I got a train to Lausanne for a couple of rest days, and Dennis rode a few more kms to visit his cousins. He’ll do well to find the place. 😂
Another great day. I’m absolutely loving this trip already.