Weather looking a bit grim over here

Wet roads here, but I don’t think it is raining

Still raining here. Let’s wait

Tour du Canton starting a bit later

I’ll head out in about an hour, should stay dry from then

About 100k ok?

I did my biggest outdoor ride of the year so far last weekend.

The original plan was to do a Tour du Lac, 180k and often around 6 hours of riding.

There was a slight problem with that plan.

It was still raining when we were supposed to meet.

My riding buddies decided that we needed to delay our departure as 180k in the rain is not our idea of fun.

I wasn’t arguing.

But I did need to be back in order to go watch our local football team that afternoon and leaving at our original start time was the only time I was going to make that.

So, we hit on a compromise.

Still a Tour but now shrunk to be a Tour du Canton.

The Canton of Geneva has a surface area of 282km2 and 95% of its border is shared with France – 103km out of a total of 107.5km.

It was around this border that we were now planning to ride.

The canton doesn’t have a huge amount of elevation difference, in fact it is the Swiss canton with the smallest difference between its lowest and highest points, being only 184m.

But our route would certainly make the most of all the ups and downs we could find.

We were only 3 on the ride and Daan and I met at the Flower Clock in Jardin Anglais right next to the lake.

Our plan was to ride out and meet Seb at his place in Hermance, about 30 mins away from downtown Geneva. Hermance is pretty much right at the very edge of Switzerland, and beautiful little lakeside village.

The roads we still very wet and it was February so we set off at a brisk pace out along the Geneva lakefront towards the first little climb of the day up to Vésenaz. If you’re ever out this way and need anything bike related there’s a helpful bike shop just at the top of the hill called Ciclissimo.

Once past the top of the hill there’s a great rolling road all the way to Hermance and the third member of our Tour du Canton party.

We’re right next to the lake now and to continue our ride we need to hit the steep hill up out of the village, past the ruined 13th century castle’s tower and into the vineyards.

From here we continue gradually uphill until we get to the landmark of the 25m high water tower of Jussy.

Now we’re onto really quiet vineyard lanes, which are still wet and also very muddy.

*The Salève from Jussy (on a drier, warmer, all around nicer day)*

Daan brought his gravel bike, which at this moment in the ride was pretty useful on these slippery roads.

The route continues to skirt the Swiss / French border passing through orchards, cow fields, and tiny villages.

After almost 40k of the ride complete we are back in the urban jungle for a few minutes, passing through Thonex, before crossing the motorway and getting back onto quieter roads in Veyrier.

Mont Salève now looms above us as we head southwest on super quiet (still wet) lanes.

I glance down and if I didn’t know better, I’d think I’d actually been on an off-road ride looking at the state of my bike and clothing.

We turn at one of the highest points of the ride in Croix de Rozon, sticking close to the border and the French town of Saint-Julien-en-Genèvois.

We now have a wonderful long steady descent now down to the Aire River in Lully (where 17 years ago I bought a second hand ikea kitchen table for 100chf which still lives in our kitchen).

We’re getting back into the vineyards now and pass through the beautiful vlllages of Soral, Avussy, Avully and cross the Rhône river at La Plaine.

Coffee is calling now but first we take the Corniche up to Dardagny, delighting Daan as he’s never been on this wonderful little part of the route before. We climb up through the vines and gladly stow our bikes at the coffee shop / local store / bakery in the middle of Dardagny.

Suitably refreshed (thanks Seb!), we’re now into the hilly Geneva Vineyards proper, and smash our way up a couple of climbs on our way through Malval, Choully and Bourdigny.

Here’s where I wave goodbye to my fellow riders as I need to get back to get to the footy.

The great thing about this loop is that one is always only 20-30 mins or so from the centre of town.

I head back in via Vernier and am home in plenty of time for a wash so I can be clean to watch Servette FC win their game 3-1. Allez Servette!

Places still available on the Maratona dles Dolomites Week

If you’re looking for an amazing week on the bike we still have a couple of places available on our Maratona week. All inclusive stay at a spa hotel right on the finish line of the Maratona sportive, with guided rides each day to get you ready for the big day.

Find out more here.

What I’ve been listening to while writing

Cymande – Cymande

As the recent documentary trailer suggests. Cymande are the greatest band you’ve likely never heard of. A group of Black British musicians who all came to the U.K. from the Caribbean as children, released three brilliant albums in quick succession in the early 1970s and were embraced in the USA. But in the U.K., they faced a music business beset by prejudice against homegrown Black talent and were largely ignored. They originally split in 1975, but their music lived on, as successive generations of artists and fans found and embraced their songs. Hip Hop, House, Drum and Bass, R&B, Rare Groove, and crate-digging communities all saw something in the songs of Cymande that inspired them.

My favourite tune currently is Dove – 10 minutes of musical magic.

Trailer for the documentary is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lmBTKw5ewA

Rain Check …

Ding Ding!

Getting into the rhythm