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Friday Quiz
Apart from a 16 year age difference, what do the above hubs have in common?
May Riding Stats
Woah, in May I rode 1’013 km, climbed 29’732 m and spent 55 hours and 42 minutes in the saddle. When I stepped outside the house this evening to take off for the last ride of the month, it just started raining. I had gotten outside with my road bike. Seeing it rain, I went back inside, switched bikes and left on my cross bike. My stats were missing 17 km to reach the 1’000 km mark. In the end, I rode a short 30 km loop and passed this magical distance a little bit before the Hohmatt. Now I don’t think I’ll be making it a habit or should I better call it an obsession to ride as much in a month. I only got there thanks to several benevolent factors all coming together during the same period. First, May 2012 was one heck of a spectacular month that got blessed with very favorable riding weather. Next, I had a week off where I was able to ride every day. Lastly and most importantly, I wanted to be out riding and had a lot of fun doing it. Sometimes other things will have priority and sometimes there just won’t be that itch to head out, so I don’t expect to repeat this often and I certainly won’t set it as a goal. But if I cross the 1’000 km mark again having such a blast as this month, I’ll be feeling just as good as tonight. June starts tomorrow and I’m supposed to get a Quarterhorse some of these days. Summer’s ahead and there are a few rides to be done.
Grand Chômeur Au Grand Chaumont
Okay, the title’s not really accurate. With over 750 kilometers ridden this month it may look like I’m not doing that necessary evil, but bills need to be paid and so do bikes. So like most of us unfortunate ones, I continue to do that 42-hour thing called work and have at the same time been very fortunate to log a lot of hours on the saddle this month of May. This week I also took a break from the office grind to enjoy my local hills on two wheels. After a mountain biking visit to the Chasseral yesterday, I went back again today on the loop I rode May 17th. For a Thursday afternoon there were a lot of cyclists on the road. I passed a few older dudes then crossed a large, spread out group with support vehicle as I descended to Nods. With temperatures around 25°C I refilled my bottle once. Glad that there are plenty of fountains along the way.
| Translation: | chômeur (french) = jobless person |
| Distance: | 89.9 km (55.9 miles) |
| Elevation: | 2’321 m (7’615 feet) |
| Time: | 04:00:45 |
| Speed (avg/max): | 22.4/73.3 kph (13.9/45.5 mph) |
NeilPryde Alize 1 Year Anniversary
Exactly a year ago, I received a package from NeilPryde with a medium, blue & white Alize frameset. I built the bike up with a bunch of hand-picked components and have been riding it since. A year later, I have a huge smile on my face each time I’m sitting on this sweet carbon road bike. While I loved my previous titanium road bike, a Litespeed Ultimate, which I rode for an whopping eleven years and still ride on my daily commute, that titanium bike sure beat me up on long rides. The 6Al-4V teardrop down tube and the short rear triangle with curved seat stays just didn’t offer the road smoothing compliance one needs to sit in the saddle for an extended period of time. The Alize on the other hand is a dream machine for +100k rides. Despite the aero seat post that does not flex like a slender 27.2mm post would, the frame itself is the most comfortable road bike I’ve owned to date. I chose the Alize last year for its stunning design and the many good reviews.
I don’t time-trial nor do I spend much time on flats where an aero bike truly shines, yet of everything the market had to offer the Alize sat comfortably at the top of my list. After a year of climbing lots of mountains in the Swiss Jura, I can say that the Alize does an exceptionally fine job at going uphill. There’s one component though, that needs mentioning here, because it contributes a major part to the bike’s climbing abilities - Rotor’s Qrings. These oval chainrings are the best bits one can add to a bike. Their ovality is pure mechanical dope. No hidden electric motor needed. Toss them on an Alize and you end up with a bike that seems capable of neutralizing gravity whenever the road points to the sky. Whether hitting a climb out of the saddle, descending curvy mountain roads or covering flat stretches at high tempo, the Alize is an absolute pleasure to ride. It’s my first road bike that continuously pushes me to set the limits of distance and elevation farther and farther. Could another bike perform as well? Certainly, a bike like the upcoming BuraSL would probably even perform better in my hilly riding terrain, but I’m not someone changing bikes often.
The healthy investment I make in a bike like the Alize is one done for a couple of years and when I ride something that puts a huge grin on my face, there’s really no reason to look at anything else. A year criss-crossing the Jura with my Alize has me wanting to explore every single paved climb in this beautiful region of Switzerland. Give me a few more years and I should know and blog about every square inch of road in the Jura - on top of my NeilPryde Alize.
Group Ride With The Ice Saints
After yesterday’s sudden snowfall while I was crossing the Montoz - thank you Sophie - I should not have been surprised when the Ice Saints joined me again on today’s road ride. The thermometer stood near zero in the early morning. The chimneys on the nearby homes were all blowing smoke. The heaters kicked back in, yeah it must indeed be cold. My lesson learnt from yesterday, I put on a pair of knee warmers and a long sleeve undershirt and pulled on a long-sleeved cycling jersey. Yesterday’s cold left me a little drained so today was not going to be a particularly fast day. I just wanted to ride the Chasseral and get some good miles under my tires. I left town on the forgotten little road to Gaicht, then climbed up to the Twannberg. When I popped out of the forest and looked at the Chasseral the whole mountain was white. I didn’t expect to find it like that and wondered if the roads would be clear. I rode to Nods then took the road to Lignières. Instead of riding into the village, I turned right and easily continued to Lordel. I turned right and hit the very steep climb past the few homes. The climb eased once it reached the tree line. A wonderful climb took me through the Chuffort Forest and brought me to La Dame. Be warned, the climb is paved through the forest but turns to gravel for the last half mile in the open. Arriving in Grand Chaumont the fast descent to Savagnier followed. Feeling a bit like an icicle my fingers remained around the brakes on the bumpy descent. A quick crossover to Chézard St. Martin launched me into the next climb to Vieux Prés and the Pertuis. The ride to Les Bugnenets across the Joux du Plane provided a welcome break where the legs were able to recover a bit for the last long climb up the backside of the Chasseral. I went easy and kept a steady pace. Funny how these climbs are actually not even all that long when you know them well. The last pitch to the top of the mountain pass was made easy by a stiff tailwind and made difficult by snow and occasional ice. At the top I turned left to go to the very top but shortly after the restaurant, I had to turn around. The road to the antenna was covered in snow. I hit the descent to Nods behind cars. Today, I made no attempt at passing. Wet roads and icy temperatures offered no high-speed conditions. An equitation event in Diesse required a small detour, then I took my usual route across Magglingen to get home.
| Distance: | 89.8 km (55.8 miles) |
| Elevation: | 2’380 m (7’808 feet) |
| Time: | 03:54:51 |
| Speed (avg/max): | 22.9/76.4 kph (14.2/47.5 mph) |
Nippy Moron Loop
Back in March I mapped out a ride that I partially explored on April 28th. Today, I finally managed to ride the whole thing and came back knowing that this is a ride worth doing a couple of times a year. I wrote about the first stretch from Biel to Sornetan in my blog entry from April 28th. Today, the Sornetanians weren’t piercing paper targets with bullets at their small shooting range and the passage was open. I crossed this small hamlet that sits atop a small hill, dropped down a curvy road and then turned right to hit the road to Moutier. There was a short climb into Souboz and then the road flattened until it started to go down into Perrefitte. This is a sweet stretch of road - wide with smooth pavement and lots of turns. It feels like a roller-coaster, is fast and a lot of fun. The eleven kilometers to Moutier were covered too quickly. A road like that should just go on and on. In Moutier, I turned right but instead of riding the busy road through the Gorges de Court, I took a small mountain road to the right to reach Champoz. Early into the climb I met a group of mountain bikers who cheered as if I was the “tête de la course” in a Tour de France stage. I replied with a smiling “hey guys” and continued on my way. I’ve never done this stretch before and the 300 meters of extra climbing are absolutely worth it. The road snakes its way up through a dense forest to Petit Champoz, then the pavement makes way to cement for the open stretch to Champoz. All the elevation gained was lost again heading down to Bevilard from which I continued to Court. I took the main road, but will change to taking the paved path along the Birs creek next time. I thought my legs would be tired by now, but I launched into the Montoz climb still feeling fresh. On the way up, I met a mountain biker and rode a few minutes alongside chatting. On the descent from the Obergrenchenberg to Grenchen I had a bunch of cars in front of me. It’s Sunday after all. Really cool though, every single driver pulled to the side and let me pass. Arriving at the bottom, I now entered the Grenchen - Biel segment, for which I held the leader position on Strava with an average speed of 40.6 km/h and a time of 11:03. After 2’800 meters of climbing I wondered if my legs were still up to beat that time. I had a tailwind that facilitated the challenge and made it in 10:24 with a speed of 43.2 km/h. Temperatures were hovering around 10°C all day and perfect. My engine runs better when things get a little chilly.
| Distance: | 115.3 km (71.6 miles) |
| Elevation: | 2’822 m (9’259 feet) |
| Time: | 04:36:09 |
| Speed (avg/max): | 25.1/70.8 kph (15.6/44.0 mph) |
| GPS Track: | GPSies.com |
Friday’s Cyclocross To The Chasseral
Work and weather didn’t give me a chance to ride much this week. Thursday I attended a trade show and spent the sunniest and hottest day in a closed expo hall. On a quick trip outside for lunch, I realized what a nice day it’d be to be out riding - even more so because I was surrounded by some sweet mountains. I was lucky enough to make it back home by 6PM to have plenty of time for a ride before sunset. After several weeks of mountain bike and cyclocross abstinence, I grabbed the Mares for a loop to an old friend - the Mont Sujet. On the climb up to the Twannberg, I passed a group of mountain bikers. 26 inch full suspension mountain bikes versus an agile cyclocross bike was like an encounter between a group of slugs and a lizard. On Friday afternoon I pushed the cyclocrosser out the door yet again for a visit to the Chasseral. It was hot to the point of being close to unpleasant. Good thing there are plenty of shaded climbs where temperatures are much milder. I headed to Rondchâtel to climb to Les Coperies for an approach of the Chasseral from the east. Still feeling the previous ride, I took things easy. After I passed the turnoff to the Petite Douanne, the trail to the Métairie de Morat disappeared under a thick layer of snow. Bike around my shoulder it was time to hike. Mid May and I’m hiking in bibs and short sleeve jersey through piles of snow that will possibly remain into June - in the Jura? Next I climbed around the Petit Chasseral dancing uphill like Alberto Contador to reach the last tough pitch to the antenna at the peak of the Chasseral. Steep with a stiff headwind Alberto was suddenly gone. I dropped into the smallest gear and tried to take cover from the wind by staying at the far left of the tiny road. I crossed two mountain bikers at the top and smiled seeing that other folks come up here on a late Friday evening. I stopped to shoot a last photo, then dove down the street to Nods. I swooshed past two motor bikes who seemed a bit wary about letting their bikes fly down the road then took the quickest way back to town.
| Distance: | 61.6 km (38.3 miles) |
| Elevation: | 1’843 m (6’047 feet) |
| Time: | 03:15:34 |
| Speed (avg/max): | 18.9/77.5 kph (11.7/48.2 mph) |
