Lutry, Switz. to Annecy, France (128 km)

Quote du jour:  "It is no longer a beast of steel…no it is a friend . . it is a faithful and powerful ally against one's worst enemies. It is stronger than anxiety, stronger than sadness. It has all the power of hope." -Maurice Leblanc
I (McKayla) left beautiful Lutry this morning at the reasonable hour of 9am. My traveling buddies left quite a bit earlier (3 and 5am) to catch their respective trains and planes. Erin and Amie are spending the weekend with friends (Amie in Amsterdam, and Erin in Milan), and I have decided to continue biking towards southern France. After a week of our solo journeys, we will meet back up in Marseille on Wed. Oct. 27. From there, we will continue biking along the southern coast of France into Spain. I already miss their wonderful company and smiling faces, but I'm sure we will have many great stories to exchange when we reunite next week. I have the laptop with me, so I'll probably have the easiest time posting blogs, but hopefully they will find a way to get online and fill you in on their whereabouts!

I could not have asked for better weather for my first day of solo riding. The first section of my ride was effortless as a tailwind practically pushed me all the way to Geneva. I rode along the north side of lake Leman and had crystal clear views of the Alps the whole way. In Geneva, I ate a warm ham and cheese sandwich inside a Starbucks cafe where I was comforted by the voice of Norah Jones on the stereo system. After fueling up, I took on the daunting task of navigating my way out of Geneva. It was a challenge to say the least, but I eventually made it through the last of the suburbs and hopped on a direct route (D1201) to Annecy. The second half of my ride was as equally beautiful as the first. I could see the snow-covered Mont Blanc off and on as I dipped in and out of the valleys. Time and kilometers flew by. I reached Annecy without even peaking down at my bike computer to check on my stats....that rarely happens.

It took me an average amount of time to locate my hostel. I'd say 5k of searching...haha. Like usual, I was so relieved when I finally saw the good old youth hostel symbol (a one door house next to a tree). I checked in, ate all of my snack food for dinner because I didn't want to bother biking downhill 3k to town, and I looked at my maps to plan out my route for tomorrow. I'm shooting for Grenoble! I'm mentally preparing for a hilly ride. Wish me luck!