Rain woke me a couple of times during the night, and I woke to rain in the morning. I ate breakfast, and pondered how the day should go. The rain from the day before soaked my cycling clothes, unimproved from the rain all night. Two days out from when I needed to be in Geneva but only 60 km, I could wait and hope the weather improved; I had until noon to check out. I could adopt Carsten’s suggestion and take a boat, with another option the train. Then I dithered about, waiting to see what might change. The forecast called for rain today, and tomorrow as well. The rain eventually stopped, but still threatened with occasional sprinkles.
I finally decided I’d been trying too long to get to Geneva on time; waiting in Lusanne another day left me one day to get there. Funny that I fretted about how to get to Geneva, 60 km away, in a day, when I went from Vienna to Brasov and back in 24 hours. Perhaps I didn’t want to repeat the experience? I packed everything up, including my dry inside but soaking wet outside tent, and other wet articles, and headed out of the campground north for the harbor.
You know, the weather’s looking better.
I don’t really want to take a boat to Geneva; this is a bike trip.
If it starts to rain, the path to Geneva has bus stops and other places to hide.
And buses. And trains. And boats. And campgrounds.
The route is on a lake, so flat. I can do 60 km standing on my head at this point.
I turned the bike around, and headed to Geneva. I pushed hard; the weather still threatening.
Wait, what’s that? A decoy.
If I slowed down, the rain would sprinkle me as a reminder. If I sped up, I could barely get to sunshine. By the end of the day I could see the rain on the other side of the lake, paralleling my path but slightly behind. I rolled into Geneva around 2pm, still dry.
Shortly thereafter I readily found the hostel, which seemed an easier and drier choice than the campground 5 km outside of town. After settling in, I binged on free, fast Internet access for the first time in many days, and then headed out for dinner and recon. I found the main train station near the hostel, where I’m to meet Andrew, and the bike rental shop where we need to pick up his bike. I updated the GPS and sent Andrew reference photos. On the way to the train station I also passed a couple of supermarkets.
I also reviewed cycle paths near Geneva, and still wonder why they end shortly after moving further counter-clockwise around Lake Geneva. I’ve got the Swiss Mobility App (which has all the cycle paths) but hopefully I can get a cycle map tomorrow at Tourist Information. The hostel costs more than my usual daily “budget”, but at least breakfast is included. Besides the usual touristy stuff to visit, I’ll update my groceries, and hopefully pick up more fuel for the stove, finally running low. I don’t have an agenda for Andrew besides “cycle”; we’ll figure it out.
I’ve made it to Geneva. Hard to believe I’m actually here, after heading this way for so long. I’m looking forward to wandering about in Geneva tomorrow, secure that I have nowhere to go. I’m looking forward to cycling with Andrew. I’m looking forward to resuming a path with no deadlines for a while. I’m looking forward to visiting with my (former) coworker in France. I’m looking forward to cycling in Ireland. I’m looking forward to coming home, and seeing family and friends. I’m looking forward to whatever life brings next.