Final call for Saleve airlines...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – How’s this for a quick getaway; hop a bus to Veyrier, grab the first gondola up the mountain and catch a flight on Saleve airlines.

Saleve Mountain Instructor Hubert showing the "ropes"

The Etrembières based paragliding school joined the Saleve Mountain Bureau, the Saleve Tramway, Horizon Restaurant, the Maison du Saleve cultural centre, Illico Travel, Segwaygeneve, the Geneva South Port Convention Centre and the Annemasse les Voirons Tourism Office on Thursday afternoon for a mountain top exhibition of their respective services.

So I went for a solo parasail… Not quite, but I did get the lowdown on what it takes to get your parawings – about two weeks of flying instruction and 1,200 CHF.

Preparing for the descent at the Saleve

I also checked out the zip-line strung up by the Saleve Mountain Bureau, sampled some tasty hors d’oeuvres and rode a segway on the patio overlooking Lake Geneva.

While the afternoon exhibitions were largely tailored to area event and excursion planners for business retreats, the outdoor guides on hand were more than happy to talk about area adventure possibilities in general.

Interested in getting into the mountains on two wheels? Xavier from the Saleve Mountain Bureau can organize an outing from anything from an afternoon to a few days.

They also do guided skiing, canyoning, and climbing outings, among other activities and can custom tailor excursions for family or work groups.

Looking for a cool idea for summer activities for your kids? Try the Mountain Passport for teens and pre-teens – a week of outdoor adventure in the Lake Geneva region with professional guides.

Fabrice from the Saleve Airlines team gets ready to help a parasail student

Check out the Maison du Saleve cultural interpretation centre as well, located at the base of the mountain in neighbouring Presilly, France, for information on this area landmark and regular family activities.

After weeks of rain, the break in weather is a call to the wild. These Geneva/Mount Saleve area enterprises can make it happen.

Therefore, I was all tooth and grin last week as I scoped out the 2012 Triumph Tiger 800 with WRS’ Susan Flory, at the local Geneva Triumph dealership, a fine balance of athletic muscle and off-road machine.

Check out Motoring On and listen to what I found not only about the Triumph bike but also on the Honda VFR750.

Honda Jazz hybrid-smart just got smarter

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The 82nd Geneva Auto Show closed this past weekend with the usual fanfare and plenty of eye candy on hand, but the standouts for me were the omnipresent exhibits of zero emission concept cars, hybrids and e-vehicles.

The “green theme” this year seemed to dominate, not only in the Green Pavillion, where eco-friendly vehicles were available for testing, but throughout the show.

Renault "plug n' go"

In addition to a range of market-ready plug-in vehicles from Chevy, Citroen, Ford, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, and others, the plethora of hybrids and smart diesel machines boasting +/- 4 liters/100km was impressive.

As a stalwart BMW fan, I was pleased to see a Five series hybrid sedan, in spite of the drab two-dimensional traditional exhibit. While Volkswagen featured club music and flashy multi-media presentations to show off their full line of  eco-friendly “Blue Motion” vehicles.

Oh no you didn't...

Got some money to blow and want power and clean air? Then opt for the Audi A8 hybrid; 245 horses, 6.4 litres/100km, CHF 108,000.

I look forward to seeing more German ingenuity putting to rest the myth that we can’t have top notch, efficient cars.

Last and maybe least, on my list, was the Land Rover convertible AWD coupe mishap; apparently they didn’t get the memo – ugly, non-functional, gas hogs are no longer babe magnets. Sorry guys.

Chevy Volt-Go ahead, make my zero emissions day

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – No, this is not an infomercial and yes, for the first time in several years I found myself checking out Chevy’s new lineup, as I perused the wares at the 82nd Geneva Auto Show.

Chevy’s Volt, which premiered in 2009,  was awarded European Car of the year for 2012 based (partly at least) on its ability to travel nearly 60 km propelled solely by an electric engine, after which it can continue another 500+ km (numbers vary by usage and between US and EU ratings).

Plug 'n go Volt

Sixty kilometers may not get you to grandma’s and back but consider that people in Switzerland “travel” an average 33 km per day. That translates into a lot of zero emission milk runs.

With a CHF50,000 base sticker price however, it may not fly off the shelves as Detroit is finding out, production has been temporarily suspended due to an overstock.

Chevy Spark struts its (diminutive) stuff

The real head turners at the Chevy exhibit however, were the Spark and Aveo pocket cruisers, and the Eco-friendly 7-seater family trucksters, Captiva and Orlando; Chevy and company seem to have found the New millennium formula for good looking, comfortable rides with reasonable power to efficiency ratios (at least on paper).

The Captiva sports a 184 horse 2.2 liter diesel engine that boasts a 6.6L/100 km fuel efficiency, while the Orlando LTZ with a 1.8 liter gas unit generating 140 horses is 10,000 francs less at CHF32,000. This can be swapped for a 130 horse diesel power-plant for an additional CHF4,000.

The latter will haul your wife and 5 kids plus luggage, burning a mere 6 liters per 100km!

The Chevrolet concept car, TRU 140s gave a welcome edge to the otherwise suburban nature of the exhibit, and, I couldn’t help but ogle the Camaro’s front end on my way out the door.

Check out more Auto Show information on GL and look for updates this week as we continue the motor mania.

And therein lies the problem.

Know your lane - beware e-bikers

As the Swiss daily 20 Minutes documented last month, e-bikers are accounting for an increasingly growing number of two-wheeled run ins with traffic on the road.

Imagine, the motor vehicle department handing out motorcycle licenses to anyone willing to pay 1,500 francs, or the cost of a modest e-bike – this is after all a motorized vehicle. Only many riders have never been on two-wheels before, let alone with a motor attached.

In the first two months of this year, I have been cut off in the bike lane at least a dozen times by e-bikers who neither follow bike etiquette nor the rules of motor traffic – they are neither nor, and therefore answer to no one.

As an avid bicyclist, I have little tolerance for the cigarette puffing e-biker veering from the car into the bike lane at 25 km per hour – last week – or the reverse, the commuter who jumped from the sidewalk into traffic tonight on my way home.

As a pedal-power cyclist, you know the limits of your maneuverability and adapt accordingly, not to mention looking for other vehicles that can decimate you in an instant.

E-bikes? Great idea if in fact they cut down on four-wheeled congestion, but as with any other vehicle, LEARN HOW TO DRIVE!!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Attuned to “car” reality more recently, I had forgotten that a city bus ride can take you to within a stone’s throw of hiking trails in Geneva.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The climb up through the “Petite Gorge” is a good workout any day, including scaling a few rock faces; the iced over rock and no crampons made the going slow and delicate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The snowshoes never came off my pack regrettably, it was more of an ice-mud slog, but the solitude on the trail and the payoff at the top made it all worthwhile.

Ready to climb

LA PÉTROULE, SWITZERLAND – This year I am preoccupied, maybe obsessed with dreams of snow.

This is the first year since I have lived in Switzerland that I have gotten more than a week’s consecutive use from my down parka, and I have realized, I really like a good winter. And, I am liking it even more having rediscovered back-country skiing.

The view up top

At less than one hour from Geneva and with a nice combination of gentle pistes backing up to open space, La Dôle-St. Cergue is a great morning/afternoon ski fix.

Arriving at 11 AM on Saturday to an all but empty parking area, I happily noted a few seasoned back-country fans packing up their equipment after an early outing.

Snow Dreams

The relatively short runs and lack of crowds make the area around La Dôle well suited for “climbers”.

In 45 minutes I scaled the piste and took in the views around me, nothing but blue sky, sunshine and snow.

Stowing my skins, I looked greedily over the expanse of snowy slopes dotted with pine trees, before dropping into the bowl between the  lift area and the Dôle Massif at the center of the ski station.

And then there was bliss; 10 minutes of uninterrupted silence as I wove my way down the slope with the sun burning my face.

At the bottom, I crossed over a groomed cross-country track, switched back to skins and began climbing the Massif through the evergreens now dripping in the afternoon warmth – but the added traction was hardly necessary.

Back to my obsession – a downy snow mirage in the middle of winter.

The temperature yesterday must have been approaching 8 or 9 Celsius in the sun and I watched dolefully (never mind the pun) as the 100 plus centimeter base turned to a gluey mush bogging down each forward thrust.

Half-way up the Massif, I cut my losses and retraced my route back to the lift area. Even the mush couldn’t dampen the exhilaration of being outside on Saturday though, much less when the last leg to the car was a run down the groomed piste, past all those funny people riding the mechanical lift up the slope…

Note to self: go early, go higher, go soon, before it disappears.

New Versys 1000, back to basics

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Riding home tonight on my bicycle I was caught up short at the sight of the new Kawasaki Versys 1000 sitting out front of my neighborhood motorcycle shop.

Versys face-to-face

Versys profile

Most of the recent Japanese bikes leave me completely nonplussed aesthetically, but Kawasaki’s new Adventure-Tourer strikes just the right balance of technological innovation and no-nonsense styling.

The big in-line four cylinder engine (1043 cc) reminds me of my old KZ and Gpz, 700 and 1000 bikes and indeed the motor is borrowed from Kawasaki’s z1000 naked sport bike (which was apparently designed by a Manga artist).

The Versys, which debuted at the Milan Motorcycle Show in November 2011, is conservative in appearance (read sensible, pragmatic) but comes equipped with a three stage adjustable traction control and economy shift option for the six gears in addition to the increasingly standard ABS option.

For starters, I love the double-wide saddle for both rider and passenger, the rear luggage rack flows seamlessly from the rear cushion, and the modest quarter fairing and overall bling-free design is a major plus. The white, gray and matte black color scheme adds just the right gravitas for this bike, which has been described as “chunky.”

Some initial reviews question the need for another SUV bike that is too heavy for off-road use, on the other hand, the upright riding position, adjustable windscreen and clean lines get my vote for a back-to-basics tourer; Kawasaki does no-frills well, and I look forward to following this bike’s success.