Ladies and gentlemen, please put on your helmets and secure all body parts within the bike. We are about to embark on a bumpy ride as Becca learns to cycle. Brace yourselves for: a plan, a path, a few falls, a sprinkle of regret, and a future plan to think twice about.
that’s one way to celebrate
I packed my bag, and then took everything out again to set aside what I could reclassify as nonessential.
Extra layers? No.
Floss? Leave it at home (sorry dad).
Soap and towel? No can do.
With a total volume of only nine liters in the bag I’m taking, even the smallest bit of efficiency is needed. The idea started as a solo getaway to celebrate my birthday weekend with a bit of sports and solitude. And really, what says “Happy 25th” more than an intense first cycle trip fueled by expensive Swiss food?
why in the world are we cycling?
The prior weekend, I racked up 35 casual kilometers biking between coastal towns near Cervia, Italy (in the Italian Riviera of Emilia Romagna). I took frequent stops that involved drinking a cappuccino with baked goods, enjoying a seafood-packed lunch, taking a dip in the Adriatic sea, and exploring a quaint fishing village.
This was part of my “try”athlon, in honor of the Ironman taking place there that day. I tried all three sports, not only cycling but running 10k and flailing in the water for about 50m. For this beautiful September day, casual sports were the perfect way to explore, not to mention an inspiration to compete in a future triathlon.
But for the time being, I wanted to focus on the cycling aspect by converting my love for hiking and trekking into an adventure on wheels. Thus the idea was born in the young, definitely-not-fully-developed brain of Becca (25 is proving a difficult age to turn).
where, oh where could we be going?
Sometimes you have to look no further than your own home to find the perfect starting point for an adventure. The closest edge of Lac Léman (English: Lake Geneva) is situated a mere 10km from the house, and it is common to cycle around it, completing the Tour de Lac Léman. This 180 km loop (200k from the house) is generally flat, passing through two countries and countless lake towns–with their countless boulangeries selling breads and pastries.
I thought that spending two days cycling the route and sleeping near the halfway point would be a the best approach, and decided to take advantage of the following weekend’s good weather.
but first, “bike math“
Alas, the question circling around my head as the weekend approached. As an athletic person but untrained cyclist, is 200km in 2 days doable? Well let’s break it down: it’s 100km in a day. It’s really just 50k in the morning–easy!– and 50k in the afternoon–doable! Anyone can cycle 50k, right? So I math-ed myself out of any doubts, forgetting that 50+50 is still 100 and 1 day followed by another is 2 days.
Quick poll: is four short rides over a few weeks enough preparation for a non-cycler to take a solo 2-day large distance cycle trip with a new bike? Short, and obvious, answer: probably not.
Two nights before I left… “Can I borrow bike shorts? Yeah, and the shirt… I don’t have a thin jacket. Those arm warmers look nice. No, no buff either. I do have gloves and socks, though!” The percentage of the weekend’s outfit and gear that was mine was abysmal. My host family was so nice to let me use their equipment for the weekend, stocking me up with bars and sugary goodies to snack on as well.
It was decided that I would borrow a proper road bike instead of taking the one I had been riding for the past weeks. A smart decision would have been to take the new-to-me bike for a proper ride to adjust the fit and get comfortable with the new systems before the trip. Uh oh, looks like we have already reached our maximum number of “good decisions” for the month.
untrained and imbalanced
The most striking new feature on the road bike was the cycling shoes. The pedals required special clip-in shoes that allow you to both push the pedals down and pull them towards you for a smooth riding experience. Cool if you know how to use them, but stressful and potentially dangerous if you are learning. If you have both feet clipped into the pedals and come to a stop without unclipping one of them, you will inevitably fall with the bike to one side or the other.
Even after a bit of practice, I didn’t like the idea of being attached to my bike and unable to quickly bail. I also knew that it was the next step in the “Becca learns to cycle” series, so I asked minimal questions and accepted my fate. And anyways, I’d already fallen off a mountain bike that month, what’s one more fall?
falling: an unavoidable part of the journey
There ended up being about four falls over the course of the two day journey.
My personal favorite falling method was actually while starting rather than coming to a stop, which surprised me. If you try to start without sufficient momentum, you quickly fall towards the side that you are clipped into since your entire weight is on it.
If you want the full effect when you try this method yourself, it’s best done after you make a wrong turn and have to consult the map. The fun really comes in when you recognize your fate and desperately try turning the handlebars and unclipping at the same time before the inevitable fall. Confused? That’s okay, if you follow from the first step, you are very likely to experience a similar, exciting road bike fall and will have the same anxieties and embarrassments as me. Happy falling! I mean biking…
day 1: pain and suffering?
I love writing with humor because life doesn’t have to be so serious. But sometimes, it actually is that bad. After about 98 kilometers on day 1, a mere 9 minutes from the hostel I booked, I hit a breaking point. Everything hurt, the lack of motivation from cycling alone all day was hitting, and I had no desire to go on.
Sitting here in my comfy clothes and with fresh muscles writing this, it is hard for me to remember this low state. Luckily, there is a minute-long voice recording to bring me back to that moment, starting with complaints “oh my god this sucks so bad” and then attempts to change my attitude “its going to be fine. im so close”.
In that moment, it didn’t matter if I was 9 or 90 minutes away from the destination, the fact that I have to move at all, ever again, was enough to bring real tears to my eyes. I could have taken this opportunity to take a dip in the lake, but even continuing towards the beach was not in the books.
Somehow, someway, I ended up back on my bike and slowly cycled the remaining few kilometers to arrive in:
a. one piece (me)
b. two pieces (me and my bike)
c. three pieces (me, my bike, and I)
Waiting for dinner, I wrote on the singular sheet of paper that I brought, “Was that fun? I really don’t know. Type 2 fun? I am in pain and so tired.” I genuinely wasn’t sure I would be able to even mount the bike the next day, let alone make any progress on the 100k planned. Bailing out plans were made.
I regularly challenge myself, and seeing myself persevere and succeed is extremely rewarding. Setting very high metrics can be valuable too– failure is just as important because it helps you find your limits and learn to grow past them. Easier to say after the fact, anyhow.
day 2: easy life
Waking in the morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my legs felt quite fresh. With newfound positivity, I started looking forward to the path ahead: the flatter land and the larger, more frequent Swiss bike lanes. Since the exhaustion of day 1 led me to believe I’d make it anywhere from 0 to 25km, I was content to reach 40k as I continued past the city of Lausanne to Morges.
Now for some well deserved train time. From Morges, I relaxed during the 40km ride back to Geneva. After getting quite turned around in the big city, I finally reached the road that ascends towards our village. I was so happy to recognize my surroundings and be close to home that I momentarily forgot my exhaustion. As the ascent continued, I sent a hail Mary text to my au pair family, seeing if anyone was back home from the weekend to take me back up the mountain. I ended up skipping only the last–and steepest– kilometer, and at last was done cycling.
Day 2 evening recap:
- Cycled: 50 km
- Wrote: “My god. I am back and in one piece.” (two pieces, if you count me and my bike)
- Thought: never cycling again !!! (the equivalent of someone hungover saying they’ll never drink again)
- Received a text: “And just thinking about your plan to do ViaRhôna…” [a 800km cycle path in France]
- AHHHH!
cycling to cycle or cycling to enjoy?
It turns out that I prefer to cycle the same way that I hike: taking time to appreciate the view and eat good food. It’s the difference between hiking 20k vs 30 in a day (or cycling 60k vs 100). With one, you can stop to grab a coffee and enjoy the area you are in; the other, the focus is on doing sports and making progress.
When you put me on a bike, since I can’t ride too confidently with less than two hands on the new handlebars or less than three eyes on the road, the whole “looking around and enjoying yourself” thing goes out the window. Add in the clip-on cycling shoes and you also take away my preferred method of exploring: my own two feet.
Discovering this valuable information as I plan my vacation with Janik in October is crucial. Originally, I thought that cycling most of the week from Geneva towards the Mediterranean Sea on the ViaRhôna was a perfect plan. With an agreed upon focus on exploring our surroundings and enjoying each other’s company, we will be able to enjoy ourselves rather than stress about mileage. With trains again as a potential backup, that sounds more like my speed.
Ok love you bye, thanks for reading 🙂
P.S.
Two days post trip: I wanted to know if the drive to take the bike out again will come back. Hopefully it will soon, so I can do this all over again and regret my ambitious decisions.
Seven days post trip: I can confirm that the desire to bike does come back. See you on the road 😉
P.P.S Enjoy the video