Into Switzerland

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Blog -- July 20
Creating World Peace

Lady and the Tramp got a little present today -- new brake pads! They certainly deserved them after 56 days on the road. Unfortunately, they got they got them here in Switzerland, where everything is more expensive.

We awoke to, you guessed it, more rain. After breakfast with the Thomas’s and the other two cyclists, we decided to walk into town, hoping for the skies to clear. Dressed in our bright red and yellow rain jackets and black rain pants and carrying an umbrella, we made the trek into town where we stopped at the formagier and bought two kilos of a variety of cheeses for our friends in Switzerland. Bill made fun of me for buying five more pounds of stuff to carry over the mountain into Switzerland, but I ignored his taunts.

By 10:30, the rain had slowed to a light mist, so we packed up and headed out, up the mountain toward the Swiss border, taking the longer route in order to avoid heavy traffic. (Because salaries are high in Switzerland and the cost of living is low in France, many people live in France and commute to Switzerland every day, a phenomena that is quite common all along the border between the two countries) Twenty-four kms. of very easy climbing. I kept expecting it to get steep, but it never did. Then a nice easy descent of 5 or 6 kms. By this time, however, the mist had turned to a hard rain, forcing us to pull off for a while.

Just 100 meters before crossing into Switzerland (in the rain, of course), Bill’s front brakes began acting up. We had discussed getting the brake pads looked at earlier in the week, but had never gotten around to it. But sure enough, something had gotten on the rim of the wheel and then eaten through the pad. Much better a front brake than a rear brake, but nevertheless, a cause for concern and a warning that Lady and the Tramp needed some attention.

We meandered our way into the town of Orbe just a few kms later and found a bike shop, (thank you, God) where they replaced both sets of brake pads on both bikes. While they were repairing the bikes, we made a little visit to an ATM to get Swiss francs. (While the other countries we’ve visited are on the euro, Switzerland retains its independence financially, which means getting used to another currency.) Back on the road. Mist, rain, drizzle, rain, sprinkles -- vacillating back and forth, but not as cold as it had been early in the day or on Tuesday.

Bill had contacted a Warm Showers host last night, a young couple with a 15 month old son, living in the suburbs of Lausanne. We had their address and a general idea where they lived, but it took us a bit of wandering before we found it. It was definitely worth the wandering. Mathilde and Nicolas are in their late twenties; he recently earned his Ph.D in computer science; she is working on her Ph.D in seismology. Their son, Elliott, is an adorable kid with bright blue eyes.

Lady and the Tramp are, right now, drying off in the basement of their apartment building. We were treated to a hot shower, snacks, and a delicious dinner. The snacks included the meat from one of those large hog legs that are cured and that people shave meat off of for months -- so popular in Spain but the first I’ve seen in France. Quite good and, yes, Bill took a photo. Dinner included our first taste of a “kinda gazpacho,” soup made with zucchini rather than tomatoes. What a lovely young couple whose lives, I’m sure, are quite full, yet they found time to host us in their home. They, too are cyclists, having taken their tandem through Norway and Canada. In fact, they are planning on taking that tandem and a trailer with their toddler on a trip in August. That should be fun?!?!?

Nicolas tells us that the weather is supposed to gradually improve over the next few days. I sure hope it’s not too gradual! Tomorrow it’s on to Colonges where we will be staying in the same campground where we stayed in 2006. Hope for clear skies.

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