Slow Start to Lausanne

To Lausanne, Switzerland -- 45.4 miles, 12.3 mph, 850 ft

Today, we had a very slow start. It was beautiful, sunny, and slightly cool -- the first time I've dug out my fleece jacket firmly buried at the bottom of my pannier. The campground, though right in town, was nestled up against incredibly steep, tree-covered hills.  We've decided that, geologically speaking, the Alps must be pretty young given that they haven't seemed to have worn down too much -- steep and jagged.

At the summit yesterday, we had heard from an American couple about two main attractions in Martigny -- the Picasso Gallery and the St. Bernard Museum... with ten St. Bernard puppies. There was little doubt which of those two we'd be visiting. The puppies and big, old St. Bernard’s were the stars of the show.

Tired mama

As a result of the museum visit, we didn't finally get rolling until noon. That still seemed ok since we were headed to Lausanne today following the Rhone River, 45 miles away. Although Komoot showed a bunch of climbing at the end of the day near Lake Geneva, I was pretty sure I could override Ms. Cranky’s voice commands and stick closer to shore.

Despite the beautiful, single lane bike paths and gentle grades, our legs still felt like lead from the ride yesterday.

After 15 miles, I’d had enough and needed to eat. I am still dismayed at the fact that Dex and Kylie seem to have limitless energy and hardly eat when we stop. They jumped off the bikes and ran toward the river to play a game dropping sticks and leaves into the current, and were content with a couple pieces of cheese and a packet of broken biscotti wafers. I, on the other hand, was famished, still working on a deficit from yesterday. Between Meg and I, we finished the peanuts, cheese, and a package of sliced prosciutto. The only thing left was a container of honey, which I promptly started squirting into my mouth.

Ten miles up the road, we stopped at a shopping center to replenish our food supplies. I had been fantasizing about a soda for miles (not normally like me). Meg and I were lured to the McDonald's like zombies. We're starting to get the hang of the big, self-order touch screens. A cheeseburger, fries, two unadulterated 1/2 liter Cokes (no ice for me), and a large chocolate sundae, and I was feeling all kinds of better. Finally, what I'd been craving -- sugar!

Meg let our WarmShowers host know our 5:30 arrival would be closer to 6:30. He took advantage of our late arrival to take a swim in the lake on his way home. Sticking to the main road along the lake, the last 20 miles zipped by. We all seemed to be feeling good as we powered along the undulating road, orchards on the steep hills to the right, and beautiful Lake Geneva and the Alps to the left.

I was amazed to see a huge crowd on the street as we rode the last block to Julien's, conveniently located a stone's throw from the lake. He met us on the sidewalk as we pulled up -- 6:30 on the nose. The crowd was assembled at the giant, big screen TV set up for the Italy vs. Spain game, already in progress. A gigantic roar let us know that someone had scored. Julien, apparently not a huge soccer fan, explained that that would be Italy, as there were far more Italian fans in this area. After the big win, the horn honking and flag waving continued for what seemed like days.

Once math homework and showers were done, Dex accompanied Julien to the corner market for dinner fixings. Julien had already mentioned some of the cycle touring he had done. One incredible trip traversed most of South America -- Patagonia to Lima! Every time we asked about some part of the world, it seemed he had already cycled there. For dinner, Julien led us to a quieter spot along the shore (where he normally swims), and we had a delicious, peaceful meal of salad, bread, cheese, prosciutto, and cookies. Another good day.