Well, that’s it. I left Annecy for the last time on Wednesday. It’s not so much a farewell to France (not yet at least) since I’ll be spending the next month in France on holiday, but it is a farewell to my friends there of course, as well as a farewell to a kind of way of life. Although I was working full-time, the region was fantastic for activities – winter or summer, there was always something to do, whether it was skiing, hiking, cycling or swimming. The next couple of months will be a lot calmer (and probably a lot less healthy…).
Mont Veyrier from the lake shore, my starting point
As a goodbye to the area, I decided to go for one last bike ride on Monday. I came across a cycling website a few days earlier, called Cycling Challenge (a guy who lives near Geneva who sets himself an annual cycling challenge – last year and this year it was/is to cycle 160,000m of vertical distance – crazy stuff). One of his posts is about a ride he did in 2006, up the Col des Contrebandiers on Mont Veyrier, right next to the Lac d’Annecy. It seemed challenging without being impossible and was within easy striking distance from where I was, so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Me proudly (and somewhat nonchalantly) posing next to the Col sign
Starting from the lake, at an altitude of 447m, I cycled through town and up the side/back of the mountain. Most of the way up I was wondering why Will on Cycling Challenge recommended using a mountain bike (it seemed unnecessarily heavy) although on the way down, when you go far faster of course than on the way up, I understood his comment about the road quality. I was also wondering if I’d lost my mind, doing this on a summer day when it was about 30C (comfortable if you’re not moving, somewhat warm when cycling up a mountain) – I took 3 liters of water with me and ended up drinking it all.
The forest through which you hike on the 'back side' of Mont Veyrier
Anyway, I eventually got to the top of the col, at 1054m, where there were a dozen cars parked – I was the only person on a bike. After the col you have to hike for 15-20 minutes further to get to the top of the mountain, another 200m higher up. The hike is through the forest and, on its own, is actually also quite a nice hike, since as you head up you get a view of the adjacent mountains (the Parmelan in particular). When you hit the top (and ‘cross over’ onto the other side of the mountain so that you can see the lake and mountains on the other side, e.g. the Semnoz), you suddenly realise just how worth it the trip was, simply for the view. There’s also the joy you get from thinking about the fact that you have a 600m descent ahead of you during which you don’t have to peddle – not once (almost a full 20 minutes without peddling).
The view from the top
Sadly when I got home the prospect of packing was even less appealing than before the bike ride. But it got done eventually! On Friday last week I also went out for a meal with a group of friends who were also interns at the same company, finishing around the same time as me. It was a great evening, culminating in a midnight swim in the lake and drinking beer in a park next to a police van at 2 a.m., but that’s another story…
