Another weekend of VTT.....a now close second to skiing ;-)

So the weekend rolled around like usually and I was ready do something cool in CH...and as last weekend VTT was on the plate du jour for Saturday. After a night of shopping (bought some bike gear and too much food) I watched a movie and was ready for biking the next day....to bad my internal clock wasn't. At about 4AM I woke up and was hoping it was 7....I looked at the clock and it was 4! After some tossing and turning I got back to sleep and was ready to head to meet Jay at 8:30. It was another sick day with temps in the 20s and sunny. I arrived at Lavuax and hooked up with Jay. We decided that we would head to Les Get that day so we started at Les Crosets at PDS....and the day went like this!
Great views!

A ride through the "goat town":

Rocking out..Jay:



G:


My favs (Nice shot Jay):

Lunch in Les Get (with horrible French service) but one of the best views of Mont Blanc:

..and a return to the sheep in CH:

By the end of the day we were DONE..tired, happy, and ready for some R+R.
I returned back to Geneva to hook up with P+P for a little party in the Paquis district of Geneva. We drank, ate, and were merry with a few of our other friends and I returned home reasonably early. Sunday was a down day and I chilled in Carouge. Another great weekend.....I think I am now fully addicted....like skiing addicted....more to come this weekend ;-)
..and a nice return

CH in full effect! ..PDS VTT

As I told you last post I am getting addicted to this VTT stuff and I can tell you now.......I am fully...100%....done..I love it..mtns, CH, friends, excercise, and fun!! What more can you ask for? Everyday I go out in the mtns is a great one and this past weekend is not exception. I chilled on Friday night recovering from a cold and got up on Saturday to a "Il fait beau jour." I was meeting Ripz/Jay for another day at PDS. Friday night I went and scoped bikes but didn't pick one up in Les Gets or Morzine. I headed to PDS with no bike, but I got lucky and found a deal on a 2006 Kona Stinky. There was a little negotiating, but after a few test runs and I now own a bike!

After the purchase it was time to get some eats and luckily there was a cow festival in Les Croset in PDS. Jay and I grabbed some "Grillade" and a bottle of "vin" ...this was a party!




..and a little yoodling...

After our drink and food it was time to ride and we rocked it out on the Les Croset VTT course (my current favorite)...Jay:

G:


By the end of the day we were happy with the runs and views....WOOOHOOO! Return back to Champery:






Ending another great day:

I went home that night stoked and tired but ready for another day on Sunday.
Sunday came and Jay was not ready. That was OK. I was up early cleaning the flat and ready to rock. I headed to Pully to Jay's to get my gear and pick up my bike in PDS. I arrived at Jay's and said hello to Jen and grabbed my gear. I took the local route on the way up to PDS...great views as always in CH:

I arrived at PDS, grabbed the bike, and went off to Les Croset to run the VTT. I rode for 3+ hours and then headed back to Geneva. I had another great weekend, but before it was over I searched my pics for one that I forgot to add prior. Here are some... National Day in Carouge...in from of my place:

Jay and I last weekend in th fog in PDS:

A marmot at PDS:

As always more to come this weekend. It is snowing in the mtns, so that means a possible road trip to Zermatt..... I LOVE LIVING HERE! -G

PS: On a side note, I have posted this before...but I want to thank my parents for the continued love and support....I am living my dreams daily...thank you...I miss you too. Love, G

A new addiction....VTT in CH!

So VTT stands for Velo Tout Terrain (in English Bicycle All Terrain)and I am officially addicted. Before getting to that my week started with a little travel back to DE for work. On Monday I was in Marktheidenfeld for a meeting and then stayed in Frankfurt that night. The next day I drove 200KM an hour to GG (Gross Gerau)for some more meetings and back to GE that evening. The rest of the week was a little painful with employee reviews but Friday arrived quickly.

On Friday night I chilled in and had a nice dinner (as always prepared by Chef Geo) and went to bed early because I knew I was going VTT with Ripz.

For some reason I woke up at 6 AM...kinda like when I go skiing...weird..but I was so stoked to hit the trails and get in the mtns again. I LOVE CH! Ripz and I were meeting up with another Mag from TGR Brian. I picked up Brian in Geneva. He is working for the WHO on an intership from Berkley. We headed to Morgin part of PDS where Brian and I were going to rent bikes. Brain and I met Ripz (Jay) at Lavaux and then headed. We arrived on a cloudy/sunny AM. After getting our bikes (Kona Stinkys)we were ready to rock! This angle of PDS was new for me so it was very cool. Some rad terrain and great views!


We arrived at the top of Morgin and hit some DH courses....I killed it and had a blast!



After a few rips down Morgin we headed over to FR and some other courses. The day was perfect for biking..cool and sunny..Ripz enjoying the view:


Ready to rock!

We stopped for lunch around 1, but after kept going for more runs and chilling with cows of course:

We got back to Morgin around 4:45 tired, beat, and stoked...VTT RULES!

That night I cooked a roast beef at "chez moi" for P+P and then went to watch the Fete fireworks in Geveva. The rest of the weekend was chill, but I kept thinking about biking....I am truly addicted. As always more to come for G! Love to my family and friends....I miss you. -G

PS: I am truely blessed.

11 months in a row....Swiss National day..and more biking fun!

The week started off like any other with me arriving to the office on Monday morning ready for a hard week at work...but this one was a little different. Last year I remember the 1st of August was Swiss National Day and it was in the middle of the week. I checked my calendar and remebered that I planned Thursday and Friday off after the holiday on Wednesday....WOOOHOOOO a little holiday!Jay and I talked a few weeks ago about going to L2A, but the weather was touch and go, so we made a plan to drive up to Zermatt/Saas Fee for a little ski ski. I ended work at about 10PM on Tuesday and made plans to meet Jay in Pully at 7AM. I woke the next morning to a clear day ready to rock at 5:30 AM. I picked Jay up and we were off into the Valias. After a brief conversation it looked like Thursday was going to be a rain day (and it was...buckets in Geneva) so we were doing this as a day trip... 3 hours later we were on snow and the length of the drive was forgotten...we were here!



This was the first time for me in Saas and it is really a pretty place as you can see. We skied until they closed at 1PM and then had a little lunch...before that I had to catch a little air!



Chilling:

Lunch:

We were exhuasted after skiing for 5 hours straight but we jumped in the car and made our way back to Jay's place in Pully. The day wasn't over.....a little grilling for dinner..Thanks Jay!

I drove home that night tired but really happy that we made the effort...there is no reason I cannot ski in August..this place rocks!
Work has been hectic and I am off to DE on Monday so I decided to go in Thursday. A productive day work-wise but I will have to take another day off in the ski season ;-) Friday was another story though.....Jay and I were headed to PDS for some more biking. This time I was a little more prepared. I called for a proper bike (a real DH one) and it made a world of difference in my riding and experience...I am getting hooked on this DH thing and with views like this why not?:




Yo cows get out of the way!

Moo!!!

It was a little muddy and Gregor bruised his left hand, scraped his leg, and cut his right hand...but was really happy with the day! I feel like a kid again with all the scraps and bruises. I returned Friday night tired but hooked up with Paul and his mate to have a few beers. This weekend I am preping for my DE trip and just relaxing. Life is still sick in CH and I am happy. More to come this week. GG