On Friday we went on a sponsored tour of the lac de Morat by bicycle. What a perfect way to kick off the start of the long weekend and enjoy the weather in beautiful scenery.
I think the last time I rode a bike for any length of time was when I was in Mexico about ten years ago. That time I was riding on a rusty and broken old bone shaker of a bike one of my friends had found for me (I suspect from the rubbish dump). This time however was a vast improvement as Jean had ordered electric bikes for our outing!! Our justification for this motorised assistance was that we were each pulling a little trailer, one containing Elio and Alba and the other containing Jude and our picnic!
We found a parking space easily at the train station which is where Rent a Bike is to be found. You book online then you have to go into the train station to pay before you can go to the hut to collect your bikes and helmets etc.
It took us a minute to adjust our bikes and get everyone installed. I think I had one of the smallest adult bikes and it was still a shade too high for me (I’m 160cm) but just about manageable so we had a little practice lap then we set off. Then we stopped when we realised we had no idea where we were going and consulted a map, then we set off again :-). Now, I had imagined that the tour of the lake would take us off the main roads and directly along the shores of the lake but that’s not the case. Instead the circuit takes you through beautiful little villages, open countryside and past plenty of ports and beaches to stop and explore.
We really loved our electric bikes as we would never have been able to manage the whole circuit purely under our own steam. In general it’s quite flat but there are still a couple of steeper patches and a few places were the roads were quite busy so we took it slowly and kept our eyes open. Just after Môtier we peeled off the path up to Vully for a picnic. That was quite a big hill and I made the rookie mistake of stopping midway to meddle with the bike gears which made starting again with my passenger quite a challenge. It was a nice spot though with views over the lake below and a rather rusty looking play ground which nonetheless kept the children busy for a few minutes after our picnic.
The tour takes you through plenty of pretty places to stop for lunch if you don’t fancy picnicking and the great thing about being on a bike is that you have more time to look at the scenery around you so it’s easy to detour off the main route to explore if something catches your eye. We past lots of wineries which would doubtless have lured us in if we didn’t have the children with us.
The second part of the ride was my favourite, the weather was warm and there was a pleasant breeze. We weren’t sure if Elio would appreciate being strapped into the trailer but after a bit of grizzling he settled down and even slept a bit! Jude loved it and was happy to point out cows and other sights as we passed.
As we approached the end of the ride we decided to visit Murten which is a really pretty, bustling town and well worth a visit.
I had really forgotten how much I love riding a bike and it was one of those experiences with the sun on our faces and the birds singing, that simply makes you feel glad to be alive.
Discover more pictures here !
Information
Parking : Yes (Murten's train station)
Toilets : Yes (Murten's train station)
Baby Change Facilities : Not that we saw
Accessibility : Suitable for children older than 1 year
https://www.rentabike.ch/en/home and their facebook page for useful tips
Very useful FAQ just here.
From Rent a Bike : "Thanks to Stiftung Cerebral [the Cerebral Foundation] and Rent a Bike, people with special needs can have a new experience of mobility in beautiful parts of the world. In using a bicycle, on the one hand they have the chance of doing something in the open air and enjoying the exercise in spite of their problems; and on the other hand, the whole family can plan an excursion together, which is not always an easy matter when one family member has special needs."