Escaped the rain showers by the skin of my teeth

After we got back from our Rigi trip, I wanted to go out for a bike ride.  The skies were full of rainclouds but it wasn't actually raining, so I thought I would try my luck.  The distance I had in mind was 50 miles.  This is more or less the minimum daily distance I will be doing each day of the Vuelta Sudamericana.  It is much easier cycling on a racing bike on paved roads than it is to cycle on a mountain bike on unpaved roads, but at the same time I wont be planning on going so fast as I was today.  In the Vuelta Sudamerica I will have all day to do the distance, and the only issue will be keeping it up day after day.  For this, having a solid fitness base is the most important factor.  If your muscles and ligaments and tendons are all strong then the rest of you can cope.

I headed out towards Steinmaur and the surroundings.  This is the route that I always used to do with the informal UBS cycling club a few years back.  I decided to do it in reverse this time though, as that meant I was heading towards the rainclouds at the start of the ride and would be coming back under clearer skies.  My hope was that the rain would wait till I had passed under the clouds before unleashing itself.  The rain gods got their laughs yesterday after all, soaking Anny, Negrita and I from head to toe on the Rigi.  I was indeed lucky as the only rain drops I felt were on the last couple of kilometres, coming back into Zurich.  The route that we used to do with the cycling club was only 40 miles long, so I added an extra section out towards Niderhasli and back at the end of the ride.

All in all it was a very pleasant ride, and I did it at a decent pace.  My plan for tomorrow is to run to work, and depending on the weather forecast either to go for a bike ride or to go to the gym and use the stationary bike.  It might be a good idea for me to start doing a few weight bearing exercises like squats, as the extra strength would sure come in handy over the coming months on my various escapades.  I used to be a gym freak, but I have gone off that now, as I prefer to be outdoors taking in the sunshine and views.

An organisational error can be a nice evening out

The inseparable trio at the top of Rigi

Yesterday Anny, Negrita and I hiked from Goldau up to the top of Rigi.  We set off quite late in the day as I had a bit of a hangover, so by the time we set off from Goldau it was some time around 3pm.  The sun was baking down on our heads and we were all feeling the effects of the heat on the first section which passes along a small road through farmland, as there was very little shade on offer.

The next section passes through forest and the temperature in the forest was much more bearable.  Not long after hiking through the forested section we stopped for a drink and a snack.  Then it was time to hike onwards towards the top.  At one point there were several signposts pointing to Rigi Kulm, so we chose the Bergweg (mountain path) option.  A kilometre or so after taking the Bergweg there was an option of taking one of two Bergwegs to continue.  The one was much more well used than the other.  I thought it would be more interesting to take the lesser used one, but after following that for a bit Anny wanted to go back to the more well trodden one, as the lesser used one was more "interesting" i.e. small obstacles and nearer to some drops and more likely to trip over.  So we went back and continued on the well trodden route.

As we approached nearer the top a thunderstorm started coming in fast.  I am not really that comfortable heading towards the exposed top of a mountain when a thunderstorm is heading your way.  There wasn't that much option though as we wanted to get to the top to catch the train down, and it was quicker to go up from where we were than to do down.  About 1 kilometre from the summit the skies unleashed a veritable torrent of rain and we decided to take shelter under the roof of a small farm building attached to a farmhouse.

After waiting out the worst of the shower we decided we better get to the top before it started getting dark. There were a couple of options.  One was to continue up towards Rigi Kulm via the more exposed route and another was to head on a shallower route away from Rigi Kulm but then later to turn back towards it.  Due to the presence of the thunderstorm we decided the best way was to take the more sheltered route away from Rigi Kulm and then climb towards it later.

Actually after walking for a bit on the less steep path the rain stopped and the skies cleared.  This afforded us a magnificent view of all the surrounding mountains and the lake below.  Anny was very happy as she has never climbed this much vertical distance in one day before.  By the time we got to Rigi Kulm it was 8.15pm or so.  Much to our dismay we found that the last train would be in over 2 hours time, at 10.40pm.  Not only that but we would miss the direct connection to Zurich from Goldau and end up having to change 3 or 4 times and get to Zurich at 3 or 4 in the morning, which was just crazy.

We decided that we would take advantage of being in this beautiful scenery and stay overnight in the Rigi Kulm hotel.  Plus Negrita was shaking like a leaf because she was sopping wet and her tail was down firmly between her legs (a sure sign that she was not happy).  Luckily they had a room left, although it was 240CHF, which is rather pricey.  The kitchen was going to close soon so we went to the room to dump our stuff, to dry Negrita with a hairdryer, and then we went straight to the restaurant.  The food in the restaurant was scrumptious so it made for a lovely romantic atmosphere.  After satisfying our hunger pains we were ready for a good sound nights sleep in our room.

We woke up full of energy at 9am, took a nice breakfast and then headed back to Zurich where we now are.  I will now put on my cycling kit and go out for a bike ride while the sun is still shining and before it decides to rain.  In the meantime I think Anny is going to the gym.  Maybe my influence is rubbing off on her as she seems more committed to getting fitter in the last few weeks.

Changing the way I do my food shopping

Tonight when we went food shopping I found I was looking at everything in a different way.  I was paying a lot more attention to what I was putting in the shopping trolley.  This is a response to reading the book "Racing Weight", which I am about half way through I would like to add.

Wherever possible I was replacing refined foods by wholegrain foods.  For instance I bought wholegrain pasta for the first time.  I was also purchasing natural yoghurt instead of syrupy flavoured yoghurt.  There were quite a lot of soups in my trolley too, because apparently eating soup before your main meal helps to satisfy your appetite a little, and you end up eating less overall.

I also spotted some bee pollen, which is considered by many as a superfood, and couldn't resist putting that in my trolley.  Usually superfoods taste like crap but this one is actual nice tasting.  I really hate the taste of maca for instance, despite its numerous health benefits.

Now is the time to start eating my way through these healthy foods.