Allez, Allez!

Bonjour les amis mon. Today's post comes far removed from the wilds of the Northwest coast of the United States. The bike is now "un velo" and I have gained an "e" and am now a cycliste. Welcome to riding in France; specifically, Annecy, France - in the southeastern corner of the country close to Switzerland and Italy.

Those of you who followed my posts during the Seattle - San Francisco journey will recall that I annoited California clear winner of the title "Best State in which to Cycle" over Washington and Oregon. Well, the Golden State has now been supplanted, knocked off its perch, had its ass kicked or, in other words, absolutely crushed by La Republique Francais." Recent economic research has shown that building cycling infrastructure provids much better returns than we get from subsidizing the automobile. The French clearly get this as I enjoyed a 48 mile ride today, at least 2/3rds of which was on separated bike paths. Those parts not on bike paths were on sparsely travelled country roads leading to the Col du Tamie. Had I so desired, I could have stayed on the bike path that runs along the east side of Lac d'Annecy and taken it all the way to Albertville - 44km away.And the great thing is the clear proof of the "network effect" as infrastructure attracts cyclists, which attracts more cyclists and a virtuous cycle is created. Never have I have I seen so many senior citizens, kids in school groups and everyone in between on a bike path. The flow was constant and varied.

But let's go back to the beginning. As part of the 2011 50th birthday festivities I decided that I'd like to take a trip to Europe. Of course, this would include the family so we're all over here. After a few days in London we have come to Annecy and are staying at a friend's house that is about a three minute stroll to the center of the old town, amazing boulangeries, great coffee and a huge farmers market three times a week. It also sits on the shore of a remarkably beautiful and clear lake - the aforementioned Lac d'Annecy. It's a fantastic property and if you ever decide to visit I highly recommend it as a place to stay. Contact me and I can provide the info. Speaking of the old town, here's a shot at dusk:

The first couple of days we explored the old town, swam in the lake, took pedal boats out and did some local bike riding. Having done a bit of research I knew there was a decent bike rental place called Roul' ma Poule that had Scott (no relation to the author) road bikes for rent. Aluminum frames yes, and heavy wheels but Shimano Ultegra rear derailleurs and Shimano 105 front deraillleurs and brakes - not bad. I had to get out and ride at least one day and today was it. Here's a map of the ride - 48 miles and 3,700' of climbing. It was a great ride on a perfect day and France is my new favorite place to ride....at least until I get a chance to do so in Italy!



And here are some photos of the ride

Flying the MCBC Colors

The West Shore