July 9: Fun is where you find it.
This is a Laverda. It is an Italian motorcycle, and this particular one is more than 40 years old. It is sitting in the pouring rain at the top of a pass called Le Markstien, not far from Colmar. After this picture was taken, I got on my bike and headed out. The rain intensified and then the fog rolled in, so thick that I could see perhaps 10 metres. It was like that most of the way to the bottom of the pass, and probably the worst conditions I have ever ridden through. And that covers a lot of territory….
On the other hand, this is a picture from the top of Col de le Forclaz. It runs along the east shore of Lac d’Annecy, which you see in the picture. The Col was used by the Tour de France a couple of years back. It ends (or begins, I suppose) in Talloires, which is pretty much in the centre of the picture, where I stayed for the night. I got lost 3 times trying to find the Col, and hit a patch of gravel on the way to the bottom that had me momentarily sideways. It gave new meaning to the phrase “pucker factor”. As you can see, the lake is not that large – perhaps 10 km long and certainly smaller than Lake Muskoka for instance. But every inch of the shoreline is developed with towns, private homes, and roads, with only an occasional public park or beach. Little wonder that many Europeans think our northern lakes are “unspoiled wilderness”.
The city in the distance is Grenoble. You can tell from the haze that it is very hot, perhaps 40C. I came down a secondary highway which started out as a really fun ride, but gradually deteriorated as the afternoon wore on. Finally I hit a stretch of 5km of pea gravel on hot asphalt where they were resurfacing the road. Some of my friends enjoy the sensation of sliding a bike round some corners – I do not. And just as I was thinking things couldn’t get much worse, the dogs appeared. Two of them. Full charge toward the side of the bike. Much cursing and a few well-aimed swipes of the boots and I escaped unbitten.
Every day brings some new form of “fun”. If I persevere, I know I will find a comfortable hotel room, perhaps not always as nice as this one looking out on the Rhone in Tain L’Hermitage. There I can have a hot shower and reflect on the day. The challenge of riding, dealing with the weather, avoiding large dogs… With that comes a satisfaction that is hard to describe. As the old axiom says: “For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who don’t, no explanation is possible”. Call it “fun” if you will. It certainly keeps me motivated to see what tomorrow will bring.