Ride on Thurs 1st Oct: Jussy / Hermance

Where: from my place

When: 18:30 Thurs 1st Oct

Ride: Jussy & Hermance

Dinner: Hermance pizza (yum yum)

Bring: Lights (charged and mounted)

Le "Rapid' Cycles" ride report

Saturday 27 June ride (lead Labrico, but ride request posted by Limoncello on June 26 - Claude had technical issue to post), hence ride report written by the same Limoncello

Ride Stats:

• 74 km
• 1528m up
• 4h50 on the bike
• Average temp 23C, Max 37C. Temperature on top of the Salève was perfect.

From Veyrier, went half way up the Salève, down to Monnetier for an unplanned break, then up the Salève by the road, all the way to the end of the Salève above Cruseilles, return to Labrico's home then Veyrier.

Highlights

• Great biking day, and writing this report only now, I am glad I had we had this ride dear Claude.
• Labrico fixing his bike at Rapid' Cycles: that's a place to go (may be for a year end dinner). This music bar / pub has been closed for years, and is being re-opened by the  next generation. Vintage coffee machine and oven in the kitchen, stage for gigues, the kind of place with a heart (bon, en français: avec une âme). The owner sees DH riders stopping by with broken bikes, so he put some tools outside the bar (not the right tools though). Place is called Café de l'Union
• Statue of the oak on the way down. You guys probably rode nearby in the woods by the Maison du Salève in the bois de Pomier.
• For both bullet points above and pics beloz, see quiz posted 27 june (no good answer)

Points:

• Points for both for a great ride
• Shared points: Labrico organizing, Limoncello appointed as personal secretary for ride request and ride report

Still discovering new things in the Salève area

Behind les Voirons ride report

Ride: les Voirons via Bonne

Ride posted 27 June: BoumBoum and Limoncello started on the banks of la Menoge up to Bonne, then up to the top of Les Voirons. A nice pause for a snack, and then a great downhill to reach Annemasse and go to douane de Fossard all along the Foron.

Stats:

• 54 km
• 1420m up
• 4h on the bike

Highlights:

• Some have ridden the banks of la Menoge in the current direction and it is up, down, left, right all along for 3 km ich. We did it the opposite way and went up to Bonne, which none had done before. This was really cool.
• Going up les Voirons via Bonne, we met at some stage migrants from the bois de Jussy, namely starving mosquitoes, although it (fortunately) only was for a section of the uphill.
• Great downhill in the Voirons, dry and beautiful
• Nice "dérapage" from BoumBoum while going underneath the bridge to cross the Annemasse-Thonon road. Not that often that I can see him grounded.
• Going all along the Foron to Fossard, which included some climbing over fence and bridge
• All together, a really nice MTB day

Points:

• Participants: BoumBoum, Limoncello
• Host: Limoncello
• Mother nature: Scenery/landscape, sun and temperature, tracks, etc … 10 points

Salève and Petit Salève from Bonne

Salève and Petit Salève from les Voirons

Jura from les Voirons (c'est pas mal non plus)

Tues 29th / Wed 30th Sept

Anyone keen to ride this week?

I suggest Bordes du Rhone ride. 

Either Tues or Wed, all the same to me. 

Let me know who's here & in!!!

JB

2015 Corporate Games - Ride Report

Not officially posted (I though I had), but worth reporting:

• Event: Annecy, 15 sports, including MTB (team and individual race), 4000 participants, 100+ companies represented (mostly French and Swiss, but quite some from other countries)
• MTB Race: lap of 10 km, 250m up (see reports from last year Corporate Games 2014 report )
• Team race (Saturday): relay, 4 riders, 1 lap each
• Individual race (Sunday): 2 laps
• Cat Riders: Cédric R., Nicolas T., Olivier B., Limoncello

Highlights:

• Hot, it was hot, especially on Sunday
• Cat team finishes 6 out of 27 teams, scoring 3 points (in each sport / category, the first 8 score points, 8 for the winner, 7 for the second …).
• Corporate Games Party on the Saturday night: no comment, you have to be there. Engage your company for the 2016 edition and you'll see
• Individual race: Limoncello collapsing. I don't know, probably a combination of the aftermath of the party and the heat. Average heartbeat per Garmin: 180, no energy, I finished in the last 10 out of 120 I think. Agonizing all along, really, but not giving up, never!

Points: don't know, up to the ref. Limoncello organizing the Cat MTB team, participating and bringing points to the company during the team race

Left to right: Cédric R., Limoncello, Olivier B., Nicolas T.

Newbees ride report

No official Jo other than Limoncello on this ride, but report anyway since the ride request was posted Aug 28.

Riders:

• Grazziano, recently joined Cat Geneva. For Cats (and Dogs who were Cats in a previous life): career in used equipment  ex CGT, then FSA in Madrid, and now Cat in Geneva
• Marc, neighbor of Grazziano
• Limoncello (host)

Ride: Bords du Foron, bords de l'Arve, Petit Salève

Stats:

• 36 km
• 654 m up
• 2h20 on the bike

Very nice Sunday morning on the bike. Marc knows the Salève well, but Grazziano discovered … the best spot in the area! Really cool

Points:
I don't know if this ride qualifies for point. Ref, up to you.
May be a compensation for 5 late ride reports ….

Left: Grazziano, Right: Marc

Balls the Farmer ride report

Ride on Jeune Genevois day (posted 9 Sept 2015)

Happy riders: Balls, Old Jo, Limoncello
Play ground: les Voirons
Distance: 37.9 km
Ascent: 787 m
Duration: about 3h30

Highlights:

• Beautiful biking day while les Vaudois étaient au boulot. Perfect temperature, sunny and dry. Fantastic.
• Old Jo keen to show that la fusée verte can go up easy …. and it does indeed.
• Old Jo alias chippendale to wear a greeny jersey somewhat matching his new bike's color, right when a 82 year old lady was hiking with her 86 year old husband (hope any of us will be in that shape reaching their age, although I have serious doubts for some)
• Great great great DH in les Voirons
• Hidden romantic spot (cascade) found as we were trying an unknown track. We managed to keep the Chippendale quite though
• "Joe Bar Team" like turn on the asphalt by Limoncello as he was racing with Old Jo (speed about 60 kph heading to a U-turn).
• Refreshments and snacks in a boulangerie somewhere near Puplinge. Balls met a new friend and now knows everything about the challenges being a farmer in Switzerland, the strategy to set the price of milk, and the tensions between neighboring fire brigades. Marcel's new friend is a perfect candidate for a Wednesday dinner (a reference for those familiar with the French théatre de boulevard).

Points:

• Participants: Balls, Old Jo, Limoncello
• Ride host: Limoncello

Moi, Tarzan!!!

So romantic ….

Courtesy from Joe Bar Team

The Bouncing Boobies Ride Report

Not quite those, but the intent was definitively here, and let BoumBoum literally speechless for a minute….

What: Bouncing boobies' ride
When: 11 Sept 2015 (ride posted 9 Sept 2015 (Jeune Genevois ride)
Starring: BoumBoum, Limoncello, featuring whoever she was
Where: Petit Salève via Bout du Monde

Stats:

• 38 km
• 803 m up
• 2h45 ride time
• 185: max heartbeat prior to even riding.

Highlights:

• Initial plan was to meet at Veyrier, but we ended up meeting on the bridge over the Arve (after the stairs leading to the stade of Bout du Monde)
• BoumBoum and I arrived almost at the same time. We were about to start when a ring made us look on the bridge to see a young lady racing on her MTB, in obvious need for more oxygen. She passed us with a smile as our lower jaws were about to touch the floor. No time for picture, but that was very similar to the one posted.
• DH'd 2 segments that BoumBoum re-discovered and had not ridden for may be 15 years … Beautiful.

Points:

• Participants: BoumBoum, Limoncello
• Ride host: Limoncello
• Bonus point: BoumBoum for an (almost) new DH segment in the Petit Salève

Oyé, Oyé ! Simon The Ref. is turning 50

Happy Birthday Simon. 

Keep on rocking the way you do !

Welcome in the roaring Fifties.

Cancelled for lack of participants ;-( ... Tuesday Ride - Petit Salève

Seems that tomorrow is the best day of the week, and Petit Salève will probably be the driest spot in the area. I'll try to find a trail (down) that BoumBoum showed me last Friday, that he had not ridden for at least 10 years.
Meeting point: Parking de Veyrier
Meeting time: 18:00 ready to go
Dine: Christèle kicked us out this time, so we can have a bite in Veyrier or drive to Gaillard to Mama Rosa if we are in time (the best pizza / pasta)

Happy birthday Labrico!!!

Hey Labrico,

All the best wishes to you on your big day!

We all hope to see you in action soon. 

We miss you right now. 

Courage!!!

A plus,

Toutes les equipe

Jenue Genevois bridge (Friday) ride

Meeting point and time : Veyrier, 10:00
Ride: Petit Salève, or cable car and Salève, TBD

Jeune Genevois ride (Thursday)

At least some of us do not work tomorrow.
Meeting point: Puplinge
Meeting time: 10:00
Ride: les Voirons (still dry, won't last)
Meeting time/point can be adjusted if needed

@ Balls: last chance before you flight south, counting on you!

Announcing: Dogs and Cats Mountain Biking Blog

So as you may have noticed, there has been a change.....

The name change is not just for the blog, but also for our own 'team identity' and is as a result of much discussion and "soul searching", not to mention a few beers, by the remaining cats and a couple of dogs!

There are indeed, less and less cats riding and more and more dogs but more importantly the commitment to internal MTB promotion within Cat implied by the origins, the old "team" name and the blog had become....well..."out-dated"

The new name is obviously not that new, as we have all been either cats or dogs or even both...!!! just a natural evolution.

Cats and Dogs or Dogs and Cats?? The first was too close to the pet shop so the second was chosen....

I hope that all are happy with the change: The Caterpillar years were good ones, but its time to move on: The king is dead - long live the king!!!

Lastly, the blog the URL hasn't changed, but I am working on how to manage that, as have a couple of other things too. I will update over next week with some additional changes....

Feedback welcome.

The Grand Bois ride report

Then there were 2... (famous poem by JB)

There was talk of rain,

but it never came,

there was talk of mud,

but not a sud,

The Green Lantern said he'd arrive,

but in the end he took a dive!

Wheels were a-wherring,

bikes were a-purring,

Both Limo and Balls,

had fun for all!!!

Where: Ballaison, Grand Bois, Hermance ride

Distance: 43km

Time: 2hrs 10mins

Up: 500m

Points:

+1 Limoncello & Balls, the only riders "in the storm" that didn't materialise

+1 Limoncello for rocking up

+1 hosty toasty Balls

-2 Green Lantern (aka OldJo) for bailing at last minute ("I don't want to get my bike wet...")

We had agreat time out!!!
And he is the Green Lantern - on a dry day...



World Famous Fondoo Run WEDNSEDAY 9'th September

Departure: 17:55 Train from L'Asse

Let me know....

Bring lights.....

...backpack to CARRY stuff.

....emergency kit

....cash....+-30 CHF

The BRR

first points to who guesses why its called the BRR: it can only be guessed by those that were there (as it relates to the event) but that's you price you pay for NOT turning up.

Ride: 21 km

Up: 934 m

Who: Missile, Nascar, Limoncello, Jabeast, Balls, Alpine, Old Jo

Lost in the woods: A true camel trophy.

Hostwiththemost: Missile

Animals Killed: 1 Jabeast

Lateness Trophy: Papy = -Howmanypoints for that....?????

Fleche Verte Award: Old Jo = +2

Major Mechanicals Award: Old Jo (gear cable) = kill the mechano at H.P.

One BBQ too far: Missile burning the ribs -2

Who wins the quiz....???? +1