Slow Up Bike Ride

This past Sunday we participated in our first International School of Neuchatel (ISN) Parent's Club event which was a bike ride around Lake Morat. It's only about 30 minutes from our home. The event started with a brunch at a nice hotel that had a playground to keep all of the kids entertained. It was an opportunity to meet some of the other parents and also to get out and participate in a biking event across Switzerland called the "Slow up".

The brunch was nice and relaxing with typical Swiss type food. That means that there was very little that Stanton would eat and very little that I could eat since I'm pregnant and the Swiss are very fond of raw meat and soft cheeses! It was still enjoyable especially since it was a beautifully sunny day with temps in the low 70's.

We then ventured out on the "Slow Up" bike ride. The loop around the lake was about 20 miles but our plan was only to ride part way and then take the ferry back across the lake to where we started out. There were 100's of people biking. All car traffic is kept off the roads for the entire day and people start riding at any point around the lake (all in the same direction) so there is a constant flow of bikers. Payton probably hung in for about 1/2 a mile. Stanton was towing the buggy since we figured on Payton not lasting long. Once he tired out he jumped in the buggy to enjoy the scenery from his chariot. Stanton and I loved the ride. It wound through farm land and small scenic villages. We enjoyed it so much that we missed the town we were supposed to stop in to catch the ferry so we had to ride back against the flow of bikers. Fortunately only for a short distance.

Once we got to the ferry station we had a series of mishaps of missing ferries because our understanding of the ferry schedule and the French language are both less than adequate. Fortunately there was and ice cream stand nearby for us to cool off with and a play ground to keep Payton busy. 4 hours or so later we finally boarded a ferry and made our way back to our starting point. The ferry was probably the most exciting part for Payton. They actually go surprisingly fast and Payt loved running around the boat checking out the view.

We made it back to our car as planned. Tired, sun burnt (except for Payton who I lathered up with sunscreen), but committed to doing this again in the future. There are "Slow Up" events through out the year all around Switzerland. It was a great way to see small towns and scenery that you don't appreciate when you are speeding by in a car. This definitely makes my list of things to do here in Switzerland!