One Heck Of A Muddy Day
The day started with a drive to town to dispose of old electronic equipment and lots of cardboard. The collection place opened at 8AM and as I pulled in, there was already a long line of cars waiting. The whole collection was well organized and set up for a high volume of cars. I didn’t have to wait long, popped my trunk and five guys pulled out all the stuff I had to recycle. A few minutes later I was on my way back home happy to have made some space in the basement.
With the snow melting I had no intention to ride at altitude today. Instead, I opted to cyclocross around the lake like earlier this month. The temperatures were nicely above zero which meant thin full-finger gloves, arm warmers, thin tights and an under-shirt under my jersey. No need for extra socks, a jacket or a cap. Sweet! Instead of heading straight to the lake, I took a detour to Brügg to reach the Aare river. As soon as I entered the forest, I could have swapped the bike for ice skates. The wide trails were fully covered under an inch of ice. With no spikes I rode slowly always keeping an eye for the safest line and had to get off the bike twice. In Brügg I crossed the river and turned right to follow it to the lake. The trails were soaking wet and muddy. I was flying and had a blast. The trails along the lake to Sutz were in very much the same condition. Both bike and I got showered with dirt. From Sutz to Mörigen I was on pavement. Today, I didn’t turn onto the illegal shoreline trail but stayed on the marked biking trail following the red signs to Erlach. At the Hagneck Dam I stopped for my now traditional photo then headed to Lüscherz for a few single-trail miles through the Burgenerlenwald. The trails in the forest were muddy and sometimes still under a layer of snow. By the time I got to Vinelz, my drivetrain was grinding like it had sand in the gears. The bike got a little break from dirt until I reached the harbor in Erlach. More wet trails followed until I turned onto the street at the St. Johannsen prison. I stayed on the road through Le Landeron and La Neuveville, where I rode up through the old town on cobblestone and made a right turn to head towards Twann. If you ride through there, take the speed down a notch and take a look around. The old part of that town is pretty amazing. The stretch from La Neuveville to Schafis is the start into the vineyards, it’s flat and it’s awfully fast. That speed comes to an abrupt stop, when turning up into the steep climb to the Ligerz church. At the church it’s now over yet. The path continues steeply until it crosses the Neuweg. Going hard that one hurt. I was able to relax a little passing Twann, then jumped into another short climb, the Pulverweg near Wingreis. A couple more short climbs followed until I dropped into the Tessenbergstrasse and shot down to the main street in Vingelz. I crossed Biel. Covered in dirt I probably looked scarier than the carnivalers out on the streets. Once home, I hosed down the bike and then myself.
| Distance: | 52.3 km (32.5 miles) |
| Elevation: | 699 m (2’293 feet) |
| Time: | 02:20:34 |
| Speed (avg/max): | 22.3/55.1 kph (13.9/34.2 mph) |
