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Riding big wheels in Switzerland Frankly, because bigger is better

Sunset from the Lothurm

Temperatures are getting chillier, evenings are getting shorter,
people outdoors are getting fewer and riding is getting better.

Distance:33.5km (20.8 miles)
Elevation:1’854m (6’082 feet)
Time:02:04:56
Speed (avg/max):16.1/49.9 kph (10/31 mph)

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Friday’s Deserted Trails • After the work week ended with a glass of wine at the office, I looked at the sky and decided to wrench on the bikes instead of jumping on one to head out for a ride. Around 6.30 PM I was done tuning bikes and returned back outside to check on the weather. Clouds in the sky, no rain and plenty of time to go climb. I grabbed the Air 9 Carbon for some trail riding and left for a couple of hours. Amazing what a couple of clouds in the sky do over here. I didn’t run into a single person out on the trails. I ran into a fox and a badger and saw hundreds of slugs and snails. Birds were awfully quiet and humans all stayed home. Trails were fast, grippy and fantastic. Zoom

Friday’s Deserted Trails

After the work week ended with a glass of wine at the office, I looked at the sky and decided to wrench on the bikes instead of jumping on one to head out for a ride. Around 6.30 PM I was done tuning bikes and returned back outside to check on the weather. Clouds in the sky, no rain and plenty of time to go climb. I grabbed the Air 9 Carbon for some trail riding and left for a couple of hours. Amazing what a couple of clouds in the sky do over here. I didn’t run into a single person out on the trails. I ran into a fox and a badger and saw hundreds of slugs and snails. Birds were awfully quiet and humans all stayed home. Trails were fast, grippy and fantastic.

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The Nearby 4000 Footers The best way to end a long workday - climbing a couple of hills - doing 30km and 1100m. Zoom

The Nearby 4000 Footers

The best way to end a long workday - climbing a couple of hills - doing 30km and 1100m.

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After yesterday’s ride I tippex out the name Mont Sujet on my maps and renamed this darned hump of a Jura mountain “Mont Foutu”. Back on October 30th of last year, both springs of my Eggbeaters broke within a few minutes of each other on top of this mountain. Last night, I had another one-two failure riding across this jinxed hill. This time both of my Eclipse tubes deflated. First, my rear tube started to lose pressure while climbing to the top of “Mont Foutu”. Being a slow leak, I decided to continue the ride and pull out my pump each time the tube lost too much air. After I had reached the bottom of the Spaghetti Trail, the front suddenly quickly lost air as I was heading towards Evilard. The front tube needed to be swapped. Got to work, but by the time I was back rolling home I was riding in the dark without any lights. I’m still kinda in the dark as to why they failed. I don’t think they got snake-bitten. Punctured by a sharp object? Maybe, though nothing was sticking in either of my tires. An inspection and repair is planned tonight. Stay tuned!

Distance:36km (22.5 miles)
Total Climb:1150m (3760 feet)
GPS Track:
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Too Early  

This evening, I left the Jet 9 at home and headed out for a spin on my Air 9 Carbon, which I haven’t ridden since I got frame #2. Being on a fully for some time now, it was a interesting change to be on a rigid singlespeed again. When I sit on a geared bike doing climbs spinning a high gear, I wonder how I do this pushing a hard single gear. When I’m on the singlespeed doing the same climbs I don’t even think about gears or gear ratios. I just do it!

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