Spring in the Jura

April 12, 2015

Map link

Dan wasn’t feeling well but the weather was too good to ignore. I left him relaxing on the balcony and headed south. I didn’t have much of a plan. The weather was so great that I considered heading as close to the Alps as I could. But it was already noon and I know that traffic coming back into Basel on a Sunday evening can be brutal. So – not too far, but somewhere I could enjoy the lowland budding trees and blooming flowers. Once again, the Jura would answer the call of duty.


Coco keeps Dan company while he reads

I considered a quick ride over Passwang Pass, but the closer I got the more thick the other motorcycles were. I didn’t want to share the road. I took some roads I hadn’t been on before and found that the only vehicle I had to share the road with was a horse-drawn wagon.


Two-horse wagon heading for the village of Wahlen


Green fields


Lambing season!


Therapy


Coming in to Bärschwil

I was spit out onto a road I knew, one that I usually took when “going somewhere else”. But this time I had nowhere else to go so I chose to explore some of the roads that diverged off into the hills. I took the first right and headed up.


I shared the pavement with more hikers than motorized vehicles

At the top of the ridge I parked the bike and took off my helmet to enjoy the sunshine and the birdsong. What I heard mostly though was the radio that the four Swiss people were enjoying at a nearby fire pit. Oh well – it was too nice of a day not to share it.


Hikers on the other side of the ridge


Aerial hunter


Flora hunter


Back on the bike for further exploration


Someone likes their garden gnomes

The next thing I knew I was crossing the border into France. Whoops. The landscape opened up slightly and I wound my way through forested hills. I set the GPS for “Curvy Roads – Home” and sat back to enjoy the ride.


French roads

I felt something tickle my chin, then my lips and eventually my cheek. It tickled and I wondered it if was a spider, an ant or something more exotic. I didn’t mind it crawling around in there, but I didn’t want it to get pinched and bite/sting me in defense. I opened my visor, hoping that it would blow out, but instead it blew back into to my chin. Whoops. Where I was riding left me no place to pull over so I just squinted my eyes as it crawled over my lashes and across my eyebrow. Eventually I found a wide spot in the road, pulled over and opened my visor. The insect, as out of focus as it was on the edge of my helmet opening, appeared to be a honey bee. It flew away immediately and I resumed my ride home. Success!


Beauty shot


French brick work


The greenness grows greater!


Kiffis, France


Riding into town for lunch

It was a short day and while I could have very easily more than doubled my time out, it was time to go home. Days like this should never be taken for granted and I’m glad I got out for as long as I did.

2 comments

  1. Erika Leeuwenburgh says:

    Thank you once again for sharing your experience. I love imagining riding with you in such a beautiful part of the world.

    • DantesDame says:

      Hi Erika! How are things? Are you still on two wheels? After all, if you want to ride with me here, you need to keep practicing there :p

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