Around Lake Zurich

I was looking high and low.  I was probably looking too high!  I was mesmerised by the crane's silhouette.

View from hotel room in the morning

Only the next day, the day after my wonderful bike ride around Lake Zurich, I looked down out of the hotel room window, and saw this!

Beehives on the rooftop (double click to enlarge)

Perfect!  This meant the bike rides qualified for a blog entry.  This is what was playing on my mind: how can I blog about a bike ride that is not an audax (or a FNRttC) and there isn't even anything about bees going on.  So the rule was conceived.  I thank myself for making my life that little bit harder.

Then I came across the 'Hive' poem by Carol Ann Duffy in the weekend's Financial Times.  The same edition with an article on Westvleteren.  I do like tenuous links.

I used the free bike hire scheme called ZuriRollt: no helmet, no puncture repair kit, not water bottle, no cleats, no cycling shorts, no time pressures, no map, no GPS, no brevet card .... and off I went all around the lake.

I was sooo excited that it all worked out.  It had happened before, where you follow an advert to hire a bike, only to find the scheme terminated, or they only have one bike and the tyres are flat.  Not here!  Loads of bikes in stock, the guy checked the bike over, I raised the seat, and off I went.

It didn't take long to see fantastic views over the lake.

There were other riders on the road.  Serious 'roadies' they looked like.  I wondered what Cancellara was up to.

My lunch stop at Rapperswil was great.  So much to look at: buildings, mountains, paintings, shops, trees, ....  I did miss out on the wooden bridge.  I just didn't know about it, hadn't come across it in the little research I did on Zurich and the lake.  Shame, but I will not complain. I had an excellent long weekend in the company of inspiring people.

The photos will tell you a fuller story: Rackstar Zurich

Other highlights during the weekend

• Rackstar dinner
• Seeing the amazing first ever showing of the Nahmad collection
• Learning about Yves Tanguy
• Permanent collection in the Kunsthaus also very impressive
• Learning about Ferdinand Hodler
• Service at Grossmunster
• The sounds of the bells on Sunday morning
• The price of a slice of bread!