Never bored with boarding.....

Sunday morning sitting in the snow at the top of Gstaad, a mountain range in the French speaking part of Switzerland, waiting to clip my boots to my board and set off on my first run of 2009 was exciting but also filled me with a nervous trepidation of wiping out big time and losing my confidence. As I prepared myself to go, my 2 buddies (Andy & Davide), both avid boarders, set off down the piste at ease (although not their first time this year like me), and carved through the powder making easy work of this. All set to follow close behind, I edged closer to the point of no return and slowly moved over the parapet and set off behind them. Maybe it's like riding a bike, as I glided alone and was soon making my first of multiple turns in the snow, although keeping a safe distance behind both of them.


My confidence growing more and more as at ease I carved through the beautiful powder, only to watch a massive wipe-out with both my colleagues as they crashed big time into each other. Crazy f****rs, I thought and on the first run of the day. They were glad they invested in helmets as this could have been nasty. I too never go without my helmet as you never know what could happen, especially as we later went off piste in the very deep powder.

Luckily they were both ok and we carried on to see what the rest of the day’s adventures would bring.

I'll be Black!

Today Tuesday 4th November, 2008 history is made in the United States of America with the election of Barack Hussein Obama II (47 year old), as the new President, beating Senator John Sidney McCain III (72 year old), to the Whitehouse.


Strange things do happen in the US as Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger, on November 17th, 2003 was appointed 'The Governor' of California, not forgetting the unformidable figure of Ronald Wilson Reagan the first movie star to reach the Whitehouse. Although Arnie the 'Govenator' is married to Maria Owings Shriver a member of the Kennedy family this does not give Austrian born Arnie the right to become President as I'm sure he would have been an ideal candidate.

With the announcement of Barack Obama winning the Presidential campaign, not just the US rejoiced in this monumental achievement, but so did the rest of the world. Having an Afro-American at the helm of the Whitehouse will hopefully be as rewarding as seeing Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela as the first black President of South Africa after 27 years incarceration for his political views.

We still have to wait for the official Inauguration Day before Barack Obama relieves President George Walker Bush of his duties, although a day the world is waiting for with intrepid optimism for the many problems Obama will have to sort out in his 4 year term.

A Rubbish Service

A Rubbish Service: ITV 1 - UK television.

Is this a waste of time?

I watched this and was amazed by what actually happens with our so called green way we are supposed to collect and recycle household waste. As local authorities punish residents for failing to abide by recycling laws, Mark Jordan (ITV reporter), looks into whether the organisations themselves stand up to the same level of scrutiny. The reporter also looks into what becomes of recycled rubbish after it is taken away by refuse collectors. It is unbelievable that household waste that was separated into special bins and taken away by recycle collecting companies (who were awarded the contract from the local council), have been collecting all the different coloured bins (on different days), and sending them all off to India as separated recyclable waste. Such as tin cans, plastics, paper, etc. all to be recycled and used again. But this is not happening; they are all mixed up in the same shipping containers and when they get to India, or wherever they are going, end up in a land filled site, completely useless to anyone. So household waste is travelling 5,000 miles to a new hole in the ground, a complete waste of time, resource and adding to the anti green effect. This was one example of what happens to peoples waste, and to prove this was genuine, the reporter excavated the land fill sites (up to 30 feet deep), and found all UK waste with the UK branded goods. Having found some personal letters, that were supposed to be recycles as pulp for paper, they traced these back to the owner in the UK, who was flabbergasted as to how they ended up in a land fill site in India. All unbelievable, yet just the icing on the cake. So being green, is this really doing a good deed and saving on the environment, when the only thing the refuse collectors are interested in is lining their pockets with the 'green back!'

Mallorca Uncovered!

Having just arrived home from a magical experience in Majorca (as the English would say), this is definately a place worth exploring. I have visited many Spanish islands before but have always kept at arms length from Mallorca as it has always been assoiciated with the 'larger louts' and beach bums, but how nieve I have been. 

Arriving in only 1.5 hours direct for Basel airport the journey was easy and hassle free for me, but not so easy for Bi, as she had to fly from Porto first to Madrid, then change flights and fly on to Palma. The timing was perfect as we arrived within 10 minutes of each other and made our way to the car rental for our pre-booked car for the next 10 days. Not actually the car I planned to have, as I quite fancied the advertised Citroen C2, but ended up with a Ford Ka, which turned out to be ok and great for the small roads and mountains we were to endure and with my pre-loaded maps on my GPS we were all set to explore.

Leaving the airport behind us it only took 15 minutes to get into the centre of Palma our first destination for a couple of days. Our hotel was the Santa Ana, situated on the west side of the the city and right on the beach. Having eventually found a suitable parking place, as there is nothing at the hotel, we made our way to the reception in the 35° midday heat, sweating and looking forward to running into the warm sea to cool down. Cautionary note; when you book a hotel on the internet read the reviews and double check the rooms as they may not be a true representation of the actual hotel. In our case, we looked at various hotels and this seemed to be very nice, and if you get a sea front balcony room it could be very nice, although for us we got one of ten or so back rooms, on the opposite side of the building, with a view of the main road and the very noisy clubs and bars. We did not realize this until we returned to the room and tried to get off to sleep and found the heat in the non air-conditioned room, with no fan, or windows that opened was like a Chinese sweat shop and we just could not sleep. Having opened the balcony door this did not help as only the noise came in and no draft. So we had to resort to opening the front room door to create a through draft that actually worked and the room cooled down enough to be more comfortable, but the street noise did not subside until around 5:30 in the morning, so we were extremely tired in the morning as we had to set the alarm so we could at least get our inclusive breakfast in the only room with air-conditioning before it closed at 10:00. At the reception there was one sympathetic guy and he tried his best to get us a better room but the hotel was over booked already so impossible. The reception was also a joke as the receptionists had one fan for three people and they were sodden with sweat which was quite amusing. It wasn't all doom and gloom and as it was only for 2 nights we knew that the next hotel destination would be completely different, so we just enjoyed the beach, the city and local places of interest and knew we would be off soon......

Having dragged ourselves out of bed we went down to breakfast, which was not too bad and quite a variety of food. Pretty much a self services buffet style, nothing special, but ok and in a nice cool room. After breakfast we decided not to stay at our hotel beach, which was very busy, but to go to another one along the west coast. .......... Photos and more to come.........

Gurnigel

Gurnigel! What am I talking about, you may ask? Not an easy place to find, but like a lot of hidden places in Switzerland you normally have to be recommended by a Swiss person or someone that has been there. Well today the weather looked ok, some clouds and a forecast of rain, but around 10:00 this morning it looked fine, so I thought I would take advantage of this and get out on my bike, yes my motorbike. Not really sure on where to go, but somewhere not too far in case the rain did come, so I thought Gurnigel. I could barely remember how to get there as it has been nearly a year since I was last there. Although I have GPS on my bike, it only helps if you know the name of the destination and I could not remember, but a had a pretty good idea where it was, and I knew once I got there I could save the coordinates and then I would have this listed in my favorites so as not to forget for next time. The ride out was beautiful, as there was hardly any traffic on the road towards Belp, before I turn right and head off up the hills for Riggisberg. I cannot describe how perfect the scenery is as you climb higher and higher, with the mountains off in the distance and the low lands of Belp airport (Bern airport), disappearing as I wind my way through the smaller country roads. The temperature was perfect, around 24' with a slight breeze and lots of sunny spells with a few clouds dotted around the skyline as I motored along in perfect harmony with my Triumph, which was making easy work of the hills as I passed all the cyclists destine for the summit. Having passed Riggisberg I carried on until I found Gurnigel where I stopped for a comfort break, some lunch and to take in the fanatic view of the mountains and lake Thun in the distance. Once refreshed it was time to complete the circuit and return home, just as the rain started although not too heavy, so I made it home just as the heaven opened up and it poured down, but luckily for me I was home dry! One thing I did notice was a Western style ranch, which looked great fun, so I checked it out on the internet and fancy myself as 'John Wayne' so will inquire about a day’s western style horse riding. Looks fun!

La Chasseral

Having a motorbike in Switzerland can be great fun, but with a country that has thousands of wonderful places to visit, it is often a daunting challenge to think where to go. It's therefore good to ask friends, colleagues or native Swiss people for ideas and start from there. Last week I was on my colleagues sail boat on Lake Neuchâtel (biggest all Swiss lake in Switzerland, around 40klm in length), when I spotted a massive Swisscom communications tower on top of a hill and was told this is La Chasseral in the French speaking region.

So all geared up and GPS system set to La Chasseral as my destination, I was ready to go. Heading off in the direction of Neuchâtel and Biel, I was on my way to explore another region of Switzerland on my list of many. After 30 minutes of riding, passed along Lake Biel to Vingelz and then ascend towards Lamboing. From here I rode around Mont Sujet in a Northwestern direction up to Mét. de Prêles. While one would expect cows to be grazing here, the beasts one sees are actually buffalos. Then follow the asphalted country road (pretty steep and windy), upwards and get to the Chasseral via Mét. du Milieu de Bienne. The views are breathtaking: the Mittelland is bordered by a ring of alpine peaks. If you fancy going further you can then descent to Nods which can either be done on the road or along steep paths, yes getting off the bike and walking and going in the direction of Twann via Prêles, but I was not in any hurry to leave this scenery, and did not want to walk too far in my leather gear as it was still around 20'.

Once at the top and I parked up my bike along with the many others and headed for the Swisscom communications tower which was not a blip on the hill anymore, this was a magnificent Giraffe like creature (from below), laying claim to the highest peak. I then took a walk along the top (very easy and great views in every direction). With the Jura mountain range on one side, and off in the distance more mountains, which you can see on a clear day 100’s of klms. The snow capped mountaion are a beautiful backdrop to the scenery. I thought of an alternative route back home heading towards Le Doubs which is the river that forms the border between France and Switzerland. This is a great area, or go to St. Imier and then to Saignelegier and then down to Goumois. This being a long way round but has to be a terrific ride on a motorbike. Although for me that would have to wait another day as it was already pushing on into the evening and I wanted to get home before dust fell.

My little French came in handy as all the walkers you meet are French speaking and it's amazing what a Bonjour and a smile can bring. :-)

Tour de Gurten

What can you do on a Friday after work? Well stretch your legs and get out from behind your computer and do something less boring. Leave the week behind you and head of for a nice cycle up the Gurten in Bern. The Gurten is around 900 meters and can be very steep in places, such as the bottom section, a part in the middle and the last couple of bends. Great for a nice walk, but a challenge on a bicycle. It's been a while since I last took to my pedal power and actually cycled up a steep hill, actually a year, so today was a mental and physical challenge to see if I could still do it. So dressed in my shorts and a t-shirt, off I ventured, down to the river Aare and then to Wabern to start my hill climb to the top. Having got to the base camp starting point where the cable car starts (which would have been a better idea to take to the top), I quickly engaged the lower gears on my bike, which seemed to run out pretty quickly, leaving me wishing I had more than 24. Luckily for me the road has recently been resurfaced and instead of a rough track there was nice new black ashfelt lining the tree path. 5 minutes into the first section I thought was it the warm Friday evening sun, or am I just getting too fat and lazy to make my legs rotate. Maybe both, but I persevered and at a snail’s pace very slowly climbed up the first section of the hill. By the time I reached the summit of the first section, a bend in the road where it levels out a little, I was sweating like a fat boy, but determined to get to the top without getting off my bike. It was times like this that I wished I was sitting on my motorbike as this would have been an easy climb and no effort for me. The things we do to try and keep fit, but then sitting behind a desk all day, or on a train, plane or taxi, I do need to kick start some fitness and get rid of some of the corporate dinners. Anyway to cut a long hill short, I finally made it to the top, soaking wet and in need of a new pair of legs as these were burnt out. Having rested for 20 minutes, gassing semi paralyzed into the early evening sky, I finally found the energy to go home. Luckily for me I took a drink and an energy bar with me to get me some light refreshment for the journey home. Descending the hill was too easy and within 5 minutes I was at the bottom, which was a bit of a disappointment as it must have taken 30 minutes to get up. I did get the pleasure to pass other tour de Gurten cyclists on their way up, so it wasn't so bad. This also reminded me of a runner I met on another occasion, running up and down the Gurten. He passed me the previous time going up and I never saw him again until I was coming back down later on, so I stopped him and asked how many times he is running up the Gurten. He replied and said ONLY 3 times, up and down in a circuit, running up the road and down the steps by the cable car. Wow I thought; is this guy crazy? He said this was a warm up ready for a run across the Pyrenees later in the year. So when I think of my pathetic one time hill climb in comparison I do need more exercise.