Day 15 – Countryside
Leaving Lausanne I chose Strava’s way: longer but easier. I was not in a hurry. Today’s destination was Salavaux, a small village en route to Bern, where – thanks to a friend of a friend – I had a place to stay. I had never heard about this place before. The ride was mostly nice, passing through a countryside of endless fields of different crops, vine grapes and many small villages. It is somewhat surprising to me that in an industrialized country, there is thriving agriculture at such scale. Everything was neatly combed and orderly. The roads were well maintained. Old traditional farmhouses sat next to modern cottages.
There is a documentary by Michael Moore, “Where to invade next”, where he visits various countries to examine how Europeans view work, education, health care, sex, equality, and other issues, with the intention to steal the good stuff and bring it home. I wish my countrymen would make one like this to get the best of European know-how to Russia. Although, on second thought, a movie with that name might make Europeans think Russians are really going to invade them.
Somewhere in the middle of the ride, I got hit by a nasty patch of heavy rain. I was going downhill and images of cyclists at the Tour de France crashing on a wet curvy downhill road were passing through my mind. It was a bit unnerving, particularly when a big truck passed and sprayed me with even more water. In a matter of minutes I was drenched. That included my “waterproof shoes”. But the rain stopped as abruptly as it started, and rest of the day was mild with periods of sun and clouds.
I arrived in Salavaux around 5 pm and was met by Jeanne, my hostess. She showed me around the house, a mansion really, where I have my own suite with a bathroom and kitchen. We chatted for an hour until Jean-Marc, her husband, returned from work. We went to a nearby restaurant where we spent a lovely evening eating, drinking, talking, watching football and drinking again.
So far, the Swiss part of the tour is quite enjoyable.
Today in numbers:
89 km – distance covered
4h48m – riding time
1141 km – since the start of the tour, if my gadgets don’t lie
