Lac de Mauvoisin

On a perfect autumn day I decided to climb Lac de Mauvoisin on my MTB before the arrival of snow. I started in Le Chable where I left the car and pedaled my way up the Val de Bagnes. As I advanced into the valley the traffic got less and less but temperatures were still in their lows due to the fact that I was mostly riding in the shade of the mountains, heading south-east. I hadn't had lunch yet and was waiting for a nice place to pick nick in the sun, which I finally found in the small village of Bonatchiesse. From there I could already spot the wall of the dam. About half an hour later I was standing atop of the dam and enjoyed breathtaking views. To get to the dam wall one has to pass a small tunnel at the end of the paved road and then turn left. As this is Switzerland of course everything is perfectly signposted.

A huge dam...

Tired but very happy !

This panorama compensated for the tough climb.

Endomondo trip details

La Rionda via Morcles

I have had an eye on this climb since a long time and decided to try it finally before the arrival of winter. Last Friday the weather conditions were perfect for that tough ascent. I started in the early afternoon from the parking lot of the SPA at Lavey les Bains. As I had read the decsription of Will Davies about this climb, I knew more or less what to expect. The first 10 kilometers were on perfect swiss tarmac and pedaling up the 29 hairpins to Morcles through the autumn forest was a pure pleasure although pretty hard due to the slope. Many military trucks went up and down that narrow road because just after Morcles there is a military camp. At Morcles I stopped for a quick coffee and an energy bar. The nice road continued steadily uphill and after 3 more kilometers the tarmac ended and a fantastic gravel road started. The slope didn't change a lot and 300 altimeters higher I needed another break. Sitting on the grass beside the road I enjoyed the nice views towards lake Geneva, the valley and the mountains on the opposite side.

It was already getting a bit late and I wasn't sure if I would make it to the top at 2200m. 10min. later I was again on the saddle and slowly moving uphill in the smallest gear. After passing the last mountain huts I suddenly arrived at a closed barrier with a signpost saying "Road closed, bridges removed".

I couldn't believe what I read and was very surprised as I had not read anything about a possible road closure or bridge removal and so I decided to check it out myself. Passing the barrier wasn't a problem. I continued on a very nice but steep forest road until I hit the first bridge, or better the remains of it. The signpost was indeed no joke, they really had removed the bridges and I was stuck at about 1800m.

I took a few pictures up there before returning back to the barrier were I met a hiker who came up by car with the intention to walk to "Cabane de la Tourche", at 2200m. He said he often hikes in that area after work.
I shot my last photos and started a nice descent back to the car parking. Exhausted but happy I drove back home and decided to return here next summer with the plan to terminate the unfinished business of climbing La Rionda and Cabane de la Tourche.
While searching the web for information on that climb I found out that according to www.climbbybike.com this road is considered the 29th steepest in the world ! Although not having arrived at the top I still felt a bit proud of what I had accomplished...I was only 400 altimeters and 3km below the top.

The chart below speaks volumes...

  Endomondo trip details

Cycling climbs 2013

Around La Dole

Our third trip on the MTBs started from home towards St. Cergue and initially we wanted to visit the cheese farm "Les Fruitieres de Nyon", but once arrived at St. Cergue we decided to continue our climb towards France and closing the loop by returning via Col de la Faucille. Instead of following the road with heavy traffic, we chose an alternatice path away from traffic leading through farm land at the foot of La Dole mountain. We had a detailed cycling map with us but still got a bit lost as the forrest path abruptly stopped and transitted into a grass path which was difficult to identify. Thanks to our well developped navigation skills we nevertheless managed to stay on track and finally found the connection to the gravel and later tarmac path connecting to the road to Lau Baudichonne, a place which I have already climbed several times from the Swiss side of the Jura but never from today's side.The weather got really nice in the early evening hours and we were riding back to Col de la Faucille via La Vattay in beautiful sunshine. After a short photo stop at the pass we put on our wind breakers and plunged down to Gex and back home...a wonderful afternoon ride which turned into the discovery of unknown territory around La Dole mountain.

Endomondo trip details

Genolier - Col du Marchairuz

Our second MTB trip started in Genolier after arriving there by car. We climbed on our bikes the paved road from Bassins up the Jura following teh Swiss national cycling route #7 and at the junction where the national MTB route #3 split off, we followed it until arriving at Col du Marchairuz. I had already climbed until that junction and further on my touring bike and on the racer, but never came here on the MTB. At exactly that place I had a flat tire three years ago with my touring bike and still remembered that unfortunate moment.

We didn't encounter any other people but arrived a bit late at the col to have lunch, so we only ordered a few drinks (= beer) and a plate of cheese and bread, although it needed a bit on insisting as the waitresses were anything else than friendly. With a full stomach we continued our tour, first descending from Col de Marchairuz before returning on the small but paved road towards "La combe des Amburnex" and L'alpage des Amburnex. After chatting a bit with the cheese makers there, we bought two pieces of Gruyere and continued our journey descending back to Bassins and Genolier, where the car was parked.
My friend Klaus was very enthousiastic after that trip as he had seen a typical part of Switzerland, an alpine cheese farm included. We arrived at home a bit tired but very happy and HUNGRY !

Endomondo trip details

Col de Crozet - Col de la Faucille

My friend Klaus arrived on 28th September by train from Dortmund and after visiting the accelerating engine of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) on the first day of the Open Days weekend at CERN, we spontaneoulsy decided to cycle my home ride up to Col de Crozet and back via Col de la Faucille. The weather was not perfect but apart from a few drops of drizzle, we didn't get wet. Only the sweat drops dripping down our forhead made our trousers and bicycles a bit wet.
Once arrived at the top we refilled our batteries with the obligatory energy bars and water. As the panorama was miserable, we quickly continued heading for Col de la Faucille, where we had a cool beer before descending down to Gex on the main road.

Endomondo trip details

Rotwandhaus

Yesterday was a fantastic Indian summer day in upper Bavaria and after picking up my freshly serviced mountain bike, I decided to climb up to Rotwandhaus (1737m) from my mum's old house in Josefsthal. I wasn't sure if I could do it because after my last ride I had some pain in my right knee. After the first few 100 altimeters I felt that I had a good day and this feeling got confirmed while finishing the ascent to Spitzingsattel, a kind of pass at 1100m. The decision to continue from there on was taken and so I continued my ride on a quick pace, even overtaking other riders on my way up. I had last done this route about  2 years ago and still remembered that there were two really steep ramps, but as I felt strong that day I knew I would master them without problems. Indeed these two parts were pretty steep (one at 18% over 700m!) and I had to use my biggest sprocket, which I didn't use until that point. Once I had mastered those monster ramps I continued gently but steadily and my thoughts were already occupied with deciding what lunch I would order at the mountain hut that was approaching quickly. The view on the top was fantastic and I felt lucky to be there on such a nice day. The pain was well worth it and hungry like a wolf I started queuing up for lunch. I was hesitating between "Kaiserschmarrn" and "Kasspatzn" and went for the latter, cause Kaiserschmarrn in combination with wheat beer often creates heavy gaseous activity in my intestines...
A fairly strong wind was blowing, so I finished lunch quickly and enjoyed sitting on the meadow away from the crowds, taking photos and enjoying the panoramic views towards Austria and the Bavarian mountains.
During the descent I was still enjoying the wonderful views and although there were many hikers walking back down, I still liked the downhill section.

Endomondo trip details

Sunday afternoon relax ride

This afternoon I went cycling with my son Christian, leaving from home towards Switzerland via Ornex, Bossy heading to Chavannes des Bois where we had "Kaffee und Kuchen", before returning via Sauverny, Versonnex and Bossy. We went past the astronomical observatory close to Chavannes des Bois but couldn't use the forest path as they are building a new gaz pipeline there.

In total we accumulated 23 km and 186 altimeters, which qualifies this post to be inserted into this blog ;-)
My legs still hurt a bit from yesterday's Barillette climb, for which reason I chose to do this gentle outing. Christian enjoyed it a lot and with a bit more training I will soon initiate him to his first ascents up the Jura.
Next week I'll pick up my MTB in Bavaria and will certainly ride up a mountain to enjoy  "Kaiserschmarrn" and a "Weissbier" in one of the numerous cozy mountain huts.

Stay tuned...

La Barillette

Today on summer equinox I decided to climb one of my favorite paved Jura roads, La Barillette. I have cycled up already on my MTB two years ago and this summer for the first time on my road bike (two plateaus only !). Today I took the trekking bike as I wasn't 100% fit (in between two night shifts !) and my time budget was limited. The weather conditons were perfect for cycling (sunny but not too warm) and traffic was moderate until I started to ascend. This road is quite popular amongst motorcyclists and weekend tourists and so it was no surprise to see many bikes and sporty cars roaring up there.
A lone cyclist on a road bike passed me right after Florettaz but that was the only uphill biking guy I met on the 13km long road to the top. I quickly gained altitude and was in fairly good shape considering that I had slept only 6h after a night shift and not cycled for ~2 weeks. On two occasions I had a quick drinking stop but without losing too much time because I was keen on reaching the summit where the Swisscom antennas are pointing into the sky. During the whole ascent I never used the biggest sprocket.
After about 2:16 and 30km I reached the highest point from where I could soak up the fantastic panoramic view over lake Geneva with the Alps and the all dominant Mt. Blanc in the background. It was the compensation for a tough piece of work and many sweat drops dripping down from my face onto the frame bars of my bike.
When I arrived there no other cyclists were present, only hikers and young guys with their sports cars enjoying the amazing view and scenery.
After eating two energy bars to fill up my batteries, emptying my water bottles and taking many photos, I decided to return back home.

Endomondo trip details 

My cycling hero Will has a nice description on his cycling challenge website: La Barillette by Will