morning ride.

we're back to grind here in lausanne. howie back to classes and i to my computer. i think i should go to bed soon so that it doesn't burn a hole in my lap! i've been working on a couple of graphics projects and also started seriously planning our italy trip for july.

but this morning when i woke up i didn't quite know what to do. i thought about running, but my toes hurt from all the walking we did over the weekend. i looked at my bike and knew that even though i didn't feel like hauling it downstairs, it would be exactly the thing to start my week.

somehow i found myself all geared up and ready to go so i hit the road towards vevey. i didn't plan to ride the entire route, so turned around somewhere in the middle. the route is seemingly simple- ride along the lake. but occasionally there are small towns you can ride through or the road changes into a highway, or surprise roundabouts... just enough to make a simple ride a little confusing.

misty morning lake.

so my first mistake was riding up to the top of a steep hill after riding through a town, only to find myself arriving at a round about exactly at the same time as a car, who of course did not stop (maybe didn't even see me?) but luckily there was literally only enough room for the car, maybe about 6" clearance, me, and about 1" between my tires and the curb stones. somehow i managed to stay up and just rode right through it all with the passenger in the car looking amazed that i didn't stop. i'm just amazed that i didn't fall OR touch the car! later i realized that the car had come from a hidden side road and legally had the right of way, so i should have stopped, which also would have made me fall over :)  i think i'll just avoid this intersection in the future.

that's the road i was supposed to be on... 

second mistake was on the return trip as i meant to stay on the main road and avoid all small towns. i followed the biking route sign and ended up riding through a town. somehow i missed the signs back to the main road, and ended up following some signs which took me up into the vineyards. this turned out to be not such a bad mistake- but that path has many more hills, and the occasional car popping out from nowhere. also its actually a little scary as i felt like the wind would blow me right over the edge of the path. you can't really see whats below, so might as well be the lake! i wasn't on the vineyard path for very long, but i will have to try it again soon.

vineyards are finally green!