• Day 3 Ride - Dutcher Creek

      27 maj, Förenta staterna ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

      Last ride of the trip! We started an hour earlier than previous days in order to make it back in time for hotel check-out and a send-off lunch.

      We had the standard route overview from one of the guides and quickly made our way out of town north to Geyserville before peeling off west to Cozzens Corner and Dutcher Creek Road. This meant the majority of the ride was in Alexander Valley -- famous for being the largest and most planted wine region in Sonoma where Cabernet Sauvignon reigns king. Merlot and other Bordeaux varietals are also noteworthy as well as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

      Today's ride ended up being the shortest ride of the trio, which was not at all a bad thing. My traps were complaining at the 25-mile mark where we stopped for a water bottle refill and some snacks. At this point, Chris split off for the Avid ride (a long climb out-and-back) while I finished the regular route back to Healdsburg.

      Feeling accomplished, I cleaned up and joined the other non-avid riders for the final part of the Trek Tour program, a food and wine pairing from an Australian IT-exexutive-turned-vintner's tasting room next to the hotel. Having done a number of wine tastings before, I appreciated the inclusion of a food pairing. Our host went into detail about how the notes of the wine elevated the food and vice-versa. The wine was fine, but after several hours of biking, the food stole the show. Chris was able to join about halfway through, but missed about half of the food. Some of the other guests were staying for an additional two days of biking, but the rest of us said our goodbyes and thanks to our guides for a great experience.

      Since we needed additional food to halt our bodies from eating themselves, we stopped at the bakery that supplied the sandwiches from our Day 1 lunch. They were just as good the second time around. We wolfed down the bonus lunch and then hit the road to start back to San Francisco. Naturally, we encountered traffic that prolonged the journey, but finally made it to our hotel near the airport.

      Chris relaxed in the hotel room while I went out for a walk along Oyster point to catch a sea breeze and keep my legs from cramping up. Neither of us were up for going back out, so we ordered Mediterranean food in and spent a low key evening watching a playoff hockey game and drinking the bottles of beer Chris had bought at Russian river. Not a bad way to round out the day.

      Far from the most sedentary vacation, it was a great time, and one I'm sure I'll think back on during future bike rides.
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    • Day 2 Ride - Armstrong Redwoods

      26 maj, Förenta staterna ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

      Day 2! Again, we woke up with plenty of time before it was time to convene. We took our time having coffee and getting breakfast before suiting up and heading over to the bikes.

      Our guides gave us the lowdown on the day's route. I started the ride feeling a bit saddle sore and stiff, but not prohibitive. Once I got going, I felt fine, which was a relief.

      We cruised along as a peloton for the first two miles until we made it out of town and then the group drifted apart. Chris and I held back in the vanguard before accelerating and joining a woman in the middle of the pack.

      After about 10 miles, we turned left onto what ended up being a rather busy road. Riding on the shoulder and trying to dodge glass shards left by previous accidents. After a few miles, it finally clicked that our GPS has stopped giving us cues, and that it was unlikely they would have planned a route along that road for that long, given the volume of cars buzzing by us.

      We pulled over to confirm our suspicions, called one of the, and figured out how to get back on course. Which of course meant backtracking to the point where we were supposed to go straight (and then left). Great. Bonus miles.

      Unfortunately, getting back on course wasn't the end of the misfortune, as almost immediately my bike decided to throw another curveball and have the chain pop off while shifting mid-climb. I nearly went over, but managed to unclip my shoes from the pedals in time to avoid disaster. It was fully wedged though, and neither Chris nor I were able to unlodge the chain from the carbon steel frame. We called for help again and one of the guides rode down to us and tried his best to fix the bike. We felt a little better when he also struck out and had to summon the van with more tools. Teamwork makes the dream work and we were able to get the chain back on the bike and resume our ascent. We didn't have long to go at that point as the first rest stop was only 10 or 20 minutes away.

      After the break was the most challenging climb of the day, but we hammered our way up and then flew downhill. My rear wheel started to slide out from under me -- I had just enough time to think "absolutely not" and corrected it before it could manage to bring an end to the trip.

      Mercifully the rest of the ride to lunch was uneventful. We stopped at the Korbel winery. Though it was Memorial Day, we were pleased to find that it wasn't packed to the gills with other tourists and enjoyed a sandwich from the deli and a crisp glass of dry champagne in the shade.

      Feeling sated, we hopped back on the bikes for a relatively short ride to the stopping point for the day, Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. We enjoyed some light hiking (and a beer) while they packed up the bikes onto the van, taking in the giant trees and generally enjoying a different activity than biking. The Redwoods were truly stunning, it was awe-inspiring to see how wide around, and straight-upward tall some of them were -- the oldest was 1400 years.

      We relaxed on the van ride back to town, and then settled in for a nap before dinner time. Dinner was a 5-course tasting at Valette. Each course was fantastic, and it was the perfect amount of food. The bone marrow absolutely stole the show. A cocktail and glass of red wine helped round out the night.
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    • Pre-lunch cooldownA little wine before hopping back on the bikeSpoonbarRussian river brewpub

      Day 1 - 40 Mile Ride

      25 maj, Förenta staterna ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

      When Chris asked if I'd be interested in a 3-day Trek travel bike tour, I'll admit that I was skeptical. I enjoy a good bike ride here and there, but doing effectively the longest ride I've ever done three days in a row seemed daunting. Nevertheless, it was an excuse I needed to take a vacation and some motivation for some exercise/training.

      We left Madison in the morning yesterday (Saturday) and arrived around 1pm Pacific. We snaked our way through downtown San Francisco, working through traffic leading up to the Golden gate bridge. I white knuckled the car across it, since the car's lane assist did not agree with me where the lanes were and was trying to drag us over into the neighboring lane. It took us another two hours with various slowdowns, but we ultimately made it to Santa Rosa, where we'd be spending the night. Santa Rosa is home to Russian River Brewpub, whose beers Chris holds in high regard. We sampled their flagship IPA and some of their Belgian-style beers, which were all pretty spectacular.

      With our bodies still on central time and a day full of exertion looming, we called it an early night. Unsurprisingly, we also got up early, unable to sleep any longer past 5am PT. We ultimately decided to pack up and drive the remaining 15 minutes to Healdsburg and have coffee/breakfast there instead of remaining in Santa Rosa.

      After a hearty breakfast, we made our way over to our hotel, since the lobby served as the meeting point for the adventure. Other guests trickled in until it was 9am and one of our guides arrived. He introduced himself as "Hershy" and gave us the lowdown on how things were going to work. We migrated to a nearby parking lot where the van/trailer with all the bikes was staged. It took about an hour to get the bikes customized, hear the safety lesson (wear your helmet), and prep for the ride. We'll see if I made a poor judgement call in foregoing the e-assist bike. Even without, the bike (Trek Domane SL 7) is definitely a step above my bike at home. Lightweight and responsive with electric shifting.

      We set out of Healdsburg just before 10:30 on our Dry Creek loop. We started off easy working out way out of town, and then the group separated based on desired pace. We rode for about an hour before making a quick stop near Geyserville where the van had parked alongside the road. We refilled water bottles and wolfed down some snacks before hopping back on bikes to continue riding.

      After another bit of riding, we reached the toughest part of the ride -- a climb of several hundred feet leading up to the bridge crossing above lake Sonoma. Once we reached the bridge, Chris elected for the "Avid Option", which continued climbing an additional ~600ft and another few miles. I elected for the "this is plenty Avid, thanks" option and turned around at the prescribed location. Since what goes up must come back down, I went for setting a speed record flying back down the hill, topping out at 41.7mph.

      After reaching the bottom of the hill, the route veered off down a side road. I misunderstood my GPS device's cue and started down a nearby road, but quickly realized I was off course when it began beeping incessantly at me. Not eager to add additional miles, I whipped around and found the adjacent entry to a vineyard which was the planned site for lunch.

      I sat in the shade overlooking the vines for a peaceful break while waiting for the Avid crew to rejoin those of us who forgo'd the extra challenge. Once the majority of guests arrived, we sat down for some phenomenal sandwiches from a local bakery, served alongside salad, fruit, and some killer cheeses.

      After slathering back on more sunscreen, we finished the remaining distance -- another 13 miles to round us out to an even 40. It was high fives all around, and then time for a shower and nap to kill time before rooftop drinks and dinner.

      After some snacks and drinks, dinner was right next to the hotel at a place called Spoonbar. They had a pretty cool art piece of water flowing down an array of small, suspended spoons, plinko-style. We sat next to the eldest couple on the trip, and it was a competition to see who could make it the longest until we succumbed to exhaustion and needed to excuse ourselves. We outlasted them, not by much, but at least until dessert arrived.
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    • Tuk-Tuk Fondue Tour of Geneva

      21 juli 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

      We spent the last few hours of our time in Crans-Montana going through our standard routine: breakfast and coffee, gym, pool. Having enjoyed our time there, we checked out and took the funicular down and train over to our last stop in Switzerland -- Geneva.

      Geneva is known for great hotels, and ours was nestled right in the heart of the city. Once we checked in, we had some time to look before dinner. Laura stayed in the hotel to deal with some work, while I went out to walk aimlessly. There are so many monuments and landmarks packed together that I didn't really need to have a plan. After popping into the Cathedral Saint-Pierre, I ended up down by the lake to see the massive fountain, and circled back to walk through the English gardens. Legs stretched, I rejoined Laura to get ready for dinner.

      We walked down to the meet up location, and then clambered into our guide's Tuk-Tuk. In the middle of the vehicle was a cleverly crafted table that held a fondue pot, forks, a, bread basket, and a wine bottle / glasses. While neither of us were all that fond of all the attention and looks from the other tourists, we'll both admit that it was a pretty good way to see some of the highlights of Geneva in a short amount of time. The cheese was quite good, too!

      And with that, our trip to Switzerland comes to its conclusion. We had a blast travelling around the country and enjoying all the different regions and activities. Switzerland definitely has a place on the would -go-back-someday list. Tomorrow is a long travel day, but we'll be ready to get home to our doggies, our own bed, and the "real world".
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    • Dinner at LeMontBlanc

      20 juli 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

      [Post by Laura]
      For our final night in Crans-Montana, we had a reservation at the chef's table of the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant, LeMontBlanc.

      We were welcomed and ushered through the restaurant and back into the kitchen where we were offered a glass of champagne and seated at high bar stools at the stainless steel counter where the kitchen staff did final plating of each dish. The chef, Yannick Crepaux, came over to greet us and immediately started the evening with three different amuse-bouche bites.

      The explanation of the food is always one of my favorite parts, especially when they explain how you should eat it. Once the three bites and glasses of champagne were finished, we were moved from the counter back to the single cozy chef's table, where we had a great view of the entire kitchen and staff. The chef's table dinner is a tasting menu that is a surprise to us - we didn't know how many courses there would be or what they would bring. We had just told them that I didn't eat red meat. Dish after dish was brought to us and explained, either by the chef or one of his head wait staff. Everything was phenomenal - so creative and unique, from the flavor pairings to colors and textures. My favorite dish might have been an artichoke stuffed with truffle.

      We noticed that throughout the evening, other people were brought into the kitchen to have a welcome drink and the first three amuse-bouche bites at the counter, but then continued their dinner in the main dining room as there is only one chef's table in the kitchen. It was impressive to watch the kitchen work their magic - it was surprisingly quiet and ran smoothly, each person having their own station and area of responsibility. However, as they evening progressed, you could feel the hustle and urgency increase.  As tickets came in, Yannick would shout out the orders to the very attentive staff as they responded, "Oui, chef!" Some of the more senior members of the kitchen were clearly mentoring newer members, pointing to plates that needed some sort of adjustment or correction, helping them to plate the food to meet what were clearly high aesthetic standards.

      The end of the meal was two dessert courses, a melon and lavender sorbet, and then a dish that had highlighted the peach - it was prepared three different ways. Finally, they brought a sampling of chocolates that we just didn't have room for, so after snapping some pictures, they boxed them up, along with another loaf of the incredible pine needle bread and sent us on our way.

      10/10 would do again.
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    • Mountain Biking Adventure

      20 juli 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

      Today is our last full day at the Crans-Montana resort. There was a bit of a snafu with our bike tour (something about an exploded tire on their van) so it was pushed back from 10 to noon. We used the extra time to spend a little time at the gym, and then just hung around on our balcony reading or staring out at the mountains.

      Our guide did indeed arrive around noon, and had the bikes all set up and ready to go. We got a quick demo on how to operate the electric-assist, change gears, and raise/lower the seat on the fly. A moment later we were off. We made our way back towards the area we had hiked yesterday and began to climb.

      We demonstrated ourselves competent hikers yesterday, and we were determined to match that performance on our bikes. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. I started us off by getting stuck on our very first steep rocky hill, at a pitch where remounting the bike was nearly impossible without flipping backwards. I managed to pull it together after relearning how to manage the gear+assist-level combo, and then immediately managed to tumble over while attempting to hop my front wheel into a bridge a staggering 3" off the ground.

      Laura took over the struggle from there, as the loose rock caused nerve-wracking slippage and the narrow turns left us stopping and starting with some regularity.

      Still, we made through our 3 hour journey in one piece and largely in good spirits, if somewhat wounded (pride or scraped). We also got up close to waterfalls and a herd of cows. Laura drove through a cow pie, but I one upped her by planting my foot firmly in one while attempting to photo a cute calf. Worth it!

      We stopped in town to grab some cold beers and snacks as a reward for the day's exertion, which we slammed down before spending the pre-dinner hours at the pool once again. We were pretty well exhausted, but also looking forward to the main attraction of our stay at the resort -- a chef's table dinner at the michelin starred restaurant. Look forward to Laura's write up of our dinner.
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    • Gourmet Hike + Dinner Repeat

      19 juli 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

      We spent a little time at the hotel gym this morning after breakfast, but were careful not to overdo it so that we were fresh for the main activity of the day -- a guided hike.

      Our guide met us in the hotel lobby at 11, and we were thrilled to see that he was bringing his dog along for the hike. In fact, he introduced her (named Shooki? Jeuqis?) as our guide for the tour, which we initially took as a charming comment, but indeed, she ended up leading the way for the majority of the hike.

      We hopped in in the guide's van and rode about 25 minutes east until we pulled off and parked on a treacherous roadside cliff. Soon we were off. He spoke little English, which was just fine as we took in the views and watched our doggie guide plop down into every water source to cool off, before shaking off the water and running ahead to resume her guide duties. She made the hike all the better, as we also thought fond thoughts about our own doggies at home.

      We were pleased that our guide evaluated our fitness as above average, and so elected to take us on the longer and more challenging loop. We stopped near the top of the climb for picnic on a large flat boulder, and simple (but gourmet) selection of bread, meat, cheese, and pickled veggies. In total we hiked a bit over 5 miles, with many enchanting waterfalls spotted along the way.

      Once we got back we collapsed into bed for our now-standard afternoon nap, and then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon again at the resort pool and sauna.

      We loved our dinner so much last night that after evaluating our options we decided to go back to the same Italian restaurant. It proved to be the right choice, as the owner was thrilled to have us back and delighted us with freebies of amuse bouche, pallette cleansers, and grappa/amaro. We got the same Gorgonzola gnocchi to share, and Laura doubled down the chicken dish we shared last night, while I branched out and had the pork belly with ratatouille. We made sure to save room for the dessert we had to decline last night, and enjoyed the 4 flavors of sorbet and home made glace.
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    • Swanky Crans-Montana Resort

      18 juli 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

      Largely another travel day today as we say goodbye to Ouchy/Lausanne and head to the resort in Crans-Montana.

      Our morning was free, so we decided to walk up to and through the botanical garden. We found some funny statues mid tumble down the hill, which I was compelled to mimic, much to Laura's delight.

      We checked out of the hotel and did a quick load of laundry at the laundromat, urging the dryer to speed it along so we could race up the hill and catch the next train (we made it).

      Once we disembarked in Sierre, we rode the funicular up to Crans-Montana the hotel shuttle was waiting for us. And by shuttle, I mean Maybach. After muscling our luggage up to and off of the funicular, I thoroughly enjoyed the air conditioned massaging seats while our driver raced through the twisting and turning roads winding the way up the hills to the ski resort.

      We enjoyed the view from our room's balcony with a glass of champagne. We enjoyed a quick nap (I'm still dealing with that head cold), and then went to enjoy the resorts pools, hot tub, sauna, and steam bath.

      Our driver took us back down into town for dinner, where we ate outside at a charming Italian restaurant. The owner was delighted by Laura's mastery of Italian, and ensured that every part of our meal was delightful.
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    • Chasselas GrapesShe's stunningWorking Press >100 years old

      Lavaux Wine Tour

      17 juli 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

      We slept in a bit, so we had to hustle to eat breakfast and get out the door for the day.

      We caught the metro and train towards Montreux out in the countryside along the hills. Our wine tour guide met us at the station, and after applying some sunscreen we immediately embarked upon our tour.

      We wound our way along the edge of various plots and service roads while learning the history of the region, the nature of the iconic Chasselas grape the area is known for, and the various responsibilities and growing styles the owners follow to tend their vines. We were grateful we had the late morning tour before it started to get too hot, though I was still suffering a bit walking down the steep slopes given the damage that my legs are still working to repair post-hike.

      Some wine tasting quickly addressed those pains, as we finished our tour at a family's home / winemaking cellar. The woman we met was delightful, sharing her experience as the wife who married into the family's winemaking business and talking us through their seasonal task, harvest, and pressing. We tried two varieties of white wines in her shaded verdana, before she took us into the cellar to see where they press the grapes and store the wine in massive barrels called "foudres" (translates to lightning). We finished by sampling a red Pinot Noir, and concluded the tour. Probably our favorite wine tour we've done, beating out Bordeaux and Napa vineyards.

      We had lunch at a very small restaurant down the road in town. The special of the day was parmigiana, which was right up my alley, and Laura had the lake perch.

      We took a nap to sleep off the wine, and spent the afternoon at the hotel pool. In the evening we went out to the city center to see the cathedral, and then had dinner at an outdoor sushi restaurant.
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    • Travel Day to Lausanne

      16 juli 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

      Yesterday was largely a travel and chore day. We checked out of the hotel in Grindelwald, caught the train to Interlocken, and then settled in for a long scenic train ride on the Golden Pass Express to Lausanne.

      Laura hustled off to the Laundromat, while Caty and I took the metro over to Ouchy and checked into our hotel. We had a simple lunch at a Kebab stand, and walked along the pier looking at boats on lake Geneva, and seeing the Olympic clock.

      Shortly after Laura rejoined us, it was time to take Caty over to Geneva to catch her flight to Rome to spend the next few weeks in Italy with her dad. I seem to have caught my obligatory vacation-cold, so I stayed in the hotel for a nice nap. When Laura made it back, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel's restaurant. You can definitely tell we've arrived in the French-speaking portion of Switzerland, as the menu changed from sausage/potatoes to a more varied selection. We enjoyed a bottle of wine alongside dinner, which made it a great meal.

      After dinner we took a brief stroll along the waterside before calling it a night.
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