Bike ride Geneva to Annecy

Sunday was another early day, I met my friend Fintan at the bike rental place at 8:00 am to bike from Geneva to Annecy in France. The ride was a long gradual climb, followed by a really fun long downhill.  It was my first time biking in France, so I pretended I was in the Tour, naturally.  A really slow version of the Tour, with two people with no bike shorts, wearing backpacks and periodically chatting along the way.

The route from Geneva to Annecy.

The scenery along the way was really beautiful.  We biked along beside the Saleve for a while and at the top of the climb, there was a gorgeous view of the farms and villages in the valley below.  We crossed a really high bridge with castle-like archways at the ends.  I think it would make a good bungee jumping spot, I got spooked looking over the edge.

A bridge in the middle of the route.

We were chilly when we arrived in Annecy, on account of the breeze on the long down-slope into town. We stopped for a coffee to warm up and then explored the town a bit on foot.  We also ran into another group of interns eating lunch along the river.  They had hired a car for the day to go visit Annecy.  WHO interns are everywhere!

Fintan looking small next to the castle

We ate our picnic lunches by the castle and then biked around the lake a bit to get a better view.  The sun started to come out after lunch, and the streets and parks were really busy.  I love how everyone flocks to the parks and to the lake when the sun comes out.

Awkward Kristin in front of beautiful lake Annecy.

On the way home, we took a bit of a different route, through the town of Annemasse in France before heading to Geneva.  This route took us much closer to the Saleve, and we saw a bunch of paragliders jumping from the top.  By this time the skies were fully blue, and it was quite an awesome sight.  I should have stopped to take a photo, but we were biking too fast on the way back down to Geneva.  I have to say, cars are very courteous to cyclists in France, it was much appreciated, merci!

By the time we returned the bikes at 5:30pm, I was pretty tired and sore.  The weather was so beautiful, that I went down to the park by the lake to relax for a bit before heading home.  Hanging out by the lake in the sun was a great way to end my last weekend in Geneva!