“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
My first real experience riding big mountains was on a trip to Bourg d’Oisans back in 2007. Me and a couple of friends drove down there, with tales of 20km climbs and Alpe d’Huez fueling our excitement.
Alpe d’Huez arrival 2008
I can assure you that out of the three of us, two weren’t anywhere near fit enough, nor did we have anything like the right gearing for the Telegraph, Galibier and Alpe d’Huez. But what it did give me was an unquenchable thirst to see the world’s mountains from a bike
As the cycling got more and more serious, I explored many of the mountains around Geneva: Le Salève, Col de la Faucille and the Jura, Col du Saxel and the Vallée Verte, and adventures down to Annecy.
At the Col de Feu in the Vallée Verte 2007 (please don’t comment on the jersey, I didn’t know any better)
We also drove south to Ventoux, and let that old volcano do its worst in terms of wind and heat. We even returned to do join the brotherhood of the Cinglés du Ventoux on a beautiful weekend.
Completing the Cingles de Ventoux with Ally 2015
I wondered how I could get away to see even more mountains – and have an adventure at the same time. In conversation with an old friend we struck on the idea of a point to point ride leaving from and returning to Geneva. Very quickly the Genève 500 ride was born and has been running pretty much every year since 2012.
Climbing the Col de la Croix Fry 2015
The organization and approach got more and more refined, and I often considered branching out to organize a larger number of trips to help more people see these incredible mountains from a bike. But work tended to get in the way.
Then towards the end of 2023 I happened to find myself with a lot of free time.
I also happened across this article dealing with the one question it says we all need to ask ourselves. It ends with the following sentences:
Building a better life begins with being as truthful to yourself as you can and listening to whatever it is you find. That life may or may not be wild, but it certainly won’t be boring. It is precious, and it is your only one.
I realized that what I really wanted to do with my precious life was to give people a chance to experience a truly exceptional way of enjoying the world’s mountains by bike.
And this is one of the major reasons why Borne Cycling Tours is open for business.
Find out more about your next bike tour with Borne Cycling here