California Trip 2011
A couple of vacation photos taken mostly by Geo.
Short Vacation In Brazil
Flight with Lufthansa from Zürich to Frankfurt. A long wait to reach my gate for the Condor plane to Salvador, Bahia. It looked like half the airport wanted to board that same plane. Dropped into seat 34C only to switch to 40B so that a young couple could spend the next ten hours together. Spent the flight translating for the young French woman next to me. She didn’t speak a single German word and the flight crew neither spoke French nor Portuguese - on a flight to Brazil! “Man spricht Deutsch” on German airlines, jawohl. Let my French flight-companion get up for a potty run each time she finished a cup of water or coffee, a good half dozen times on our way across the Atlantic. We could have switched seats. Long line in front of immigration at the Salvador airport reminded me of the many entries to the US. Same wait but fewer signs, cell phones okay. Even longer wait for my luggage. Met my wife and her mom right after I walked through customs and we drove straight into Salvador for the traditional arrival snack - Acarajé and Abará.
Spent a week and some more with family and friends dining and drinking and dining and drinking. Lots of good foods from fine Sushi in busy Japanese restaurants to delicious Bahian soft-shell crab Moqueca. Had some Brazilian Cerveja but much more Caipiroska. Always go for one made with local fruits like Umbu-Cajá or Jabuticaba. Good times. Only spent one afternoon at the beach and instantly burnt my neck. Arms and legs are used to the sun from cycling, but the rest of my body hasn’t been sun exposed in the last decade. Glad I kept my shirt on. Went shopping for clothes a few times. Lots of nice boutiques that design and manufacture their products locally. Was amazed at the rate Brazil is growing. Everywhere new high-risers are popping into the sky. Road conditions though are a whole different story. Salvador roads look as bad as the roads I used to travel daily in Sonoma County. Pot holes galore! Time flew too quickly. Sunday afternoon, my wife and I stood amused at the check-in at the Salvador airport. Amused because some blonde European tramp changed clothes three times while waiting in line. From mini-skirt to even shorter shorts to tight jeans. We hugged our family and said good bye and proceeded to our gate. We flew in comfort or whatever class, had more leg room and a better dinner. Frankfurt suffered delays due to rain and gusty winds. We flew two waiting loops far above thick clouds and later departed Frankfurt on a tiny Swiss plane half an hour off schedule. Returned back home early Monday afternoon. Although I brought my camera along, I didn’t snap any photos with it. Instead, I instagrammed a few places with my old iPhone.
My Day Off Watching The Tour De Romandie Stage 3
When a road race like the Tour de Romandie races through the region, it’s a good time to take the day off and go watch the pros fly across my local roads. And when the race passes just a stone’s throw away from the Chasseral, it’s a no brainer to climb the mountain on the way back home. Friday is an awesome day to visit this gentle 1600m peak - there’s no one else up there! The crest trail was ridden under threatening clouds with lots of thunder from south and north. Luckily, neither lightning nor rain crashed today’s mountain bike party. Now if only I could do that more often rather than sit in a silly office.
First Road Ride In 2011
Photo 2After interviews for two pretty awesome jobs, one Monday, the other Tuesday morning, I had a free Tuesday afternoon, which in my opinion was best spent on the bike out in the fresh air. When I got home it was drizzling a bit and when I left the house on two wheels the first rain drops hit. I could have chosen an easy ride and climb up to the Bözingenberg. But I wouldn’t be me taking the easy way. Instead, I had Cortébert in mind with a climb up to the Anabaptist Bridge and the steep descent into Corgémont from where I’d return to Biel shooting through the tunnels. That’s not the way I’d generally chose, but I figured that there’d be too much snow on the fire roads to climb across the mountain to reach Orvin. When I got into the St. Imier valley the rain fell harder and a stiff head wind tried its best to slow me down. I didn’t care much as I was too deeply sunken in thought. My head was spinning at a thousand RPM and my legs were trying hardest to catch up. Sure, it was cold and my body’s signals of pain probably banged on the door. My head though, was somewhere else. As I reached Cortébert and rode by the train station to start the climb, the rain had ceased.
Climbing felt good, my feet seemed to start drying and my mind was once in a while focusing on what the motor was doing. When I reached the first switchback, it started snowing all of a sudden. Just a few flakes, nothing to worry. Sure! I continued to climb only to reach a small snow storm blowing almost horizontally across the road. Just a centimeter covering the road, just two, just three. Silly to turn around, so I continued. The last five hundred meters to the Anabaptist Bridge were almost impossible to ride, but I knew that beyond that point things would get better. And sure enough, the other side got less snow, but snow nonetheless. Riding a road bike, I wasn’t taking any risks on white roads. I dove into the descent with a tight grip around both brake levers. The way down into Corgémont at low speed seemed almost as long as going the opposite, and it was brutally cold. Once the road was clear I gave the brakes a rest and hurried into the valley. Back on the main road, I was hauling ass. “You can unload all your buckets of rain, snow and what not - but you ain’t stopping me”, I yelled. I got out of the saddle, sprinting and shooting through deep water puddles - having fun in awful weather. Made it home, showered and planning to go out for Sushi. Life is good!
| Distance: | 48km (30 miles) |
| Total Climb: | 1370m (4490 feet) |
| GPS Track: | GPSies.com |
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Great Bikes: Specialized Tarmac
Specialized’s 2011 Tarmac Expert, SL3 frame construction, Shimano Ultegra components and Fulcrum Racing 4 wheels.
