Up the Hill and Bike Tickets

I brought Alice back to Adelboden with me for the week. I thought we'd go on some nice ride in the mornings and I could even use her to get to work more quickly. Apparently I become delusional when I'm away because there is No Way I'm ever riding up the Chalet hill again.

I had no problems with my bike on the train from Delemont to Bern, and I nearly got off in Fruitigen without any troubles. Unfortunately, the ticket-checker-man cornered me as the train was stopping and I was collecting my bike. He looked at my ticket and I was preparing to walk out when he asked me where the ticket for my bike was. What? Excuse me? It didn't even use a seat and there are no signs anywhere that say your bike must also be a ticketed passenger. Babies get to ride for free, but not my bike. Then he told me that he should write me an 80 franc ticket and I think something about how awful I am. Instead, he let me off with light verbal abuse and allowed me to buy the bike ticket right there, for ten francs.

Because I was peeved about having to pay for my bike on the train I decided to get my money's worth for the week and ride the bike up the hill on Sunday. I was tired from the mountains over the weekend though and only barely made it to the Chalet. I even fell off once. I did not cry though, that's good news.

I was lucky enough to get a lift up the hill to my house on Sunday night, so I only had to ride back down the hill.

And now it is Tuesday and the bike has been sitting in my apartment since Sunday night. Alice the bike simply does not belong in Adelboden because besides the Chalet hill and bike tickets, the bike doesn't even fit in my apartment. It can either be in front of the front door, the kitchen sink, or the bathroom door. Since I need to access all those things at least once or twice a day, I have to move the bike from one side to the other at regular intervals. I can't wait to go back to Delemont this weekend.

Laura and I were planning on going to France to see the Tour finish in Paris, but news this morning is that there's no way we can get international tickets, or it will be difficult and involve skipping work to go to the train station and try to communicate in broken French. And then, there's no way we can afford hotels and it's likely the hostels are full. So! We've decided to do our own Tour of France and go to Winkel and beyond.

Winkel here we come!

In other news: Look what the Vols found in the costume box!

And, yesterday instead of a special shaped birthday cake I made a Special Diet birthday cake: No eggs, no dairy, no nuts. It turned out alright...If I had cared a bit more I could have dusted a white cross on the middle with powdered sugar to make it look like the Swiss Flag. Next time. Right now I'm in preparation for the Chalet Birthday next Thursday. I'm going to make a cake that has all the Chalet buildings and grounds on it. First I have to find a map....