July 15, 2025

 Tuesday. Lamboing, above Twann. Left around 10:45. Blacksmith. Our part of the hill covered in clouds, and some left-over dampness on the roads. Warm on the climbs in the sun, cool-ish on some of the shaded descents. Down the road toward Le Neuveville, through Preles with its fine views of the lake (and, allegedly, the Alps). Overshot, and thus the entire climb from Le Neuveville to Lignieres, requiring some effort. Left at Lignieres, then right at the split: the little, quiet road toward Latena. Then a switch-back right, at a golf course, onto the road toward Enges, and some more climbing through and past this little village (the signs said altitude 814m). (This is where I realized that this ride was not being recorded). Beautiful farmland, forested areas, nice vistas, and even on the roads to and from the lake front fairly light traffic--all just short of spectacular. Past Enges, at a red Holstein farm, an eagle on a fence post, examining me with interest. Home with the tailwind through Nods. More news about what some naively call a major shift in the White House vis-a-vis Russia. That will be the day (although I'd love to be proven wrong). Also in the news that Moscow reads the 50-day ultimatum as a window-of-opportunity to achieve a break-through ("still no new sanctions!") and that the U.S. Senate still doesn't have a vote scheduled on a bill that would punish countries continuing to buy oil and the like from Russia. Furthermore, questions as to whether Europe--those countries "willing" to put their money where their mouths are on Ukraine--is actually following through on the pledges made this past spring. Meanwhile, the NZZ confirms that Moscow indeed seeks to achieve a break-through in the coming weeks. Push may come to shove sooner rather than later--too soon perhaps for anyone but the Ukrainians themselves to be able to act.