Switzerland (all)

In the morning we headed back up the hill in a light drizzle that turned to snow just below Gletsch. But wait there's more. As we entered the high valley below the Rhone Glacier and Furka Pass (2431m), we saw snow blowing about in brilliant sunshine on the summit. It was so cold and dry our clothes were completely dry as was the road where the snow just blew to the gutter. The drifts of powdery snow on the summit were so deep that my bicycle would stand alone in it. It was an exhilarating climb with storybook weather.

I passed the closed Lingotto FIAT plant, with test track on the roof, that is being refurbished as an automotive trade center. The modern streetcars with antique trolley poles and bronze trolley wheels wend their way between ancient buildings on narrow streets paved with 0.5x1.0m red and tan granite plates set at a 45 degrees. The rushing sound of the trolley wheel on the wire is truly a sound from the past for me, reminiscent of four trolley tracks on San Francisco's Market Street in my youth.

The Iseran probably earns the ``highest pass in France'' title, being actually higher and because it is steep, spectacular, and is surrounded by glaciers and snow. When you're there you know there's a There there. This is truly the haute Savoie, whose red and white emblem was the inspiration for the emigrants who took their red flag with the white cross along as they founded Switzerland.

The Stelvio may not be the hardest, longest or anything else, but it has a special place in my heart for its magnificent and exquisitely orchestrated landscape. It seems to have its own Wagnerian accompaniment, magnificent and grand. I have ridden it in every weather and it is always an emotional moment at the top with the ice caps of the Ortler and snowfields of the Gran Zebru as a backdrop to the road that drops 1000m into the canyon in the Shadows of this deep ravine. Forty nine numbered hairpin turns and 2000m below lies the valley.

Dem Hitzschlag nahe erreichen wir nach rasanter Fahrt Passau. Der erste Eindruck ist hervorragend, eine alte. schön gelegene Stadt am Zusammenfluß von Donau, Inn und Ilz. Wir fahren durch die Altstadt, um erst einmal ein Getränk zu bekommen, denn heute ist Maria Himmelfahrt, ein Feiertag in Bayern. Ein großes Spezi rinnt die Kehle hinunter.

Wir fahren durch die ganze Stadt zurück zur Jugendherberge. Unten steht ein Schild: 22%ige Steigung, Autos kommen kaum hinauf, ich probiere etwa 10 Meter, Torsten vielleicht 30, dann geben wir auf.

Schieben, schieben in der Hitze bis ganz nach oben auf die Burg. Die Rezeption liegt nochmals 20 Meter höher und schließlich unser Zimmer im vierten Stock des Burgturmes - kann es schlimmer kommen? Wir schleppen alles hoch, das Zimmer hat zwanzig Betten und bietet als Entschädigung ein toll es Panorama.

First I took the train back to Andermatt, then west to Oberwald where I got off and started climbing up the mountains. I rode parallel to the old abandoned railway (the new stretch runs in a long tunnel under the mountain) up to Gletsch. It felt very unreal to think that I'd ridden a train on that very track in 1981, shortly before the tunnel was opened. Now the rails were all rusty and rocks had fallen onto the railbed in several places. I saw that there's work going on to re-open the Furkapass-bahn. I hope they succeed!

After my first ride through the Alps the previous year, I had the opportunity to go with a friend, Jobst Brandt, who had been riding in Europe since 1959. We would brave fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown in Russia. A plume of radioactive dust blew over the Alps while we were there, so here's my glowing report.

The Alps have long been a summer and winter playground for vacationers around the world. They ski, they hike, they ride bikes. What better venue for the Tour de France than the Alps? After many years of reading, seeing, and dreaming, I had an opportunity to see Europe by bike. As a free-lance writer working part-time at Palo Alto Bicycles, I had no commitments. It was 1985. Greg LeMond had nearly won the Tour de France and was competing in the World Championships in Italy. I decided to go see him race. A friend who was familiar with riding in Europe gave valuable advice.

On these pages we will show you the cycling pursuits of John and Daniel Gould (from Australia) and our friend Peter (from Japan).Our challenge will be to ride from London to Istanbul through 12 countries in 2 months while having a great time and seeing the sights. Peter should be there to Italy and then its just 2 unless anyone else wants to join us. For father and son John and Daniel the quest will also try to raise money for Odyssey House.

Many tour reports:

• 2005 - Von Den Haag nach Berlin - unterwegs auf dem Europaradweg R1
• 2005 - Quer durch den Thurgau nach Rohrschach
• 2005 - Flotte Fahrt zum Bodensee
• 2004 - Entlang der Flüsse Naab, Main, Tauber, Altmühl und Donau
• 2004 - Von Zürich aus nach Aigues-Mortes ans Mittelmeer
• 2004 - Mal eben um den Bodensee...
• 2003 - Bretagne...ausnahmsweise mal mit Auto und Ferienwohnung
• 2003 - Von Zürich nach Würzburg - Siebene auf einen Streich
• 2003 - Neckarttalradweg
• 2002 - Das Loiretal zum Atlantik
• 2002 - Through the Valley of the Loire to Brittany (english version)
• 2002 - Tour de Hessen
• 2002 - Spritztour ins Elsass
• 2001 - Von Zürich aus ins Loiretal
• 2001 - Von Lausanne nach Olten
• 2000 - Von Oberviechtach ins schweizerische Solothurn
• 1999 - Fränkische Schweiz, Aischgrund, Taubertal und Jagst
• 1999 - Von München nach Oberviechtach
• 1999 - Stein am Rhein und Bodensee
• 1998 - Bodensee und Hochrhein
• 1997 - Fulda- und Weserradweg
• 1997 - Von Zürich aus um den Bodensee und wieder zurück
• 1995 - Von München aus ins Markgräfler Land
• 1995 - Von Erlangen nach München
• 1994 - Rundfahrt Altmühltal und Donau
• 1994 - Donauradweg von Donaueschingen bis Regensburg

iVoyage en bicyclette de Losone (Locarno) à Palerme via Bologne, Florence, Bolsena, Rome, Naples, Pompei, Paestum, Taormina, Cefalù.

L'idea di questo viaggio è da attribuire a Pietro Angeloni di Golino per degnamente festeggiare i suoi 50 anni. [...]
Il tempo è sempre stato molto clemente, senza pioggia, la temperatura sino in Calabria è stata piuttosto fresca ed il vento generalmente in nostro favore. La foschia e la parziale mancanza di sole ha un po' penalizzato la qualità delle fotografie (in particolare le vedute della Costiera Amalfitana) ma non si può avere tutto!
Man mano che si andava verso Sud il traffico diventava più caotico, il lato stradale meno pulito, i prezzi più abbordabili e la gente più calorosa.

L'idée de ce voyage est à attribuer à Pietro Angeloni de Golino qui désirait fêter dignement ses 50 ans. [...]
Le temps a toujours été clément, sans pluie. La température jusqu'en Calabre a été plutôt fraîche et le vent généralement en notre faveur. Le manque de soleil et une légère brume ont un peu pénalisé la qualité des photos (en particulier sur la côte Amalfitana), mais on ne peut pas tout avoir!
Plus nous nous dirigions au sud, plus le trafic devenait chaotique. Les bords de routes étaient moins propres, mais les prix plus abordables et les gens plus chaleureux. Cela se confirmait, on ne peut pas tout avoir!

Passes in Switzerland, in France and in Italy are described on this site. The most important information for cyclist in figures and texts, of course some pictures and partly historical backgrounds. In addition tips to accommodations, maps and (at the moment mainly german) links.

Tabular data and altitude profiles of mountain passes all over Europe.

A photo album of mountain passes in the Alps

From the cycling pages of Karl Brodowsky: see the German Version for plenty of interesting reports in German.

A great photo archive. Each page includes no more than 3 photos, on average, 25,000 bytes. We hope you enjoy them. There is a help page if you are having difficulty viewing the images. The photos are not of printable quality - if you wish to use any of these pictures in a hardcopy publication, please contact us and we will supply a high-resolution file.

Reports and pictures from various mountains of Europe, America, and Australia. Partly in Dutch.

A huge collection of altitude profiles of cols and climbs.

Extensive data about Patrick's extensive tours in the Alps from 1991 to 2005: includes reports, maps, diagrams... a must-see for the Alpine cyclist. Contains a list of passes in the Alps and the Jura, true stories about cycling, and some pictures.

The winter of 1963 brought the longest cold spell to central Europe in a many years, freezing the landscape deeper than it had in 100 years. Realizing that such weather probably would not occur again in my lifetime, if ever, I decided to do more than read about frozen lakes and deep frost [...] The ice was glassy smooth here [in Zürich], the sun and warmth from the city having melted the surface during the warmest part of the day. I walked down onto the lake and mounted my bicycle carefully. From having ridden on snow packed streets, I was aware that the best gear was the highest (50-13) to prevent undesired wheelspin that could dump me onto the ice. Traction would have been even poorer had it not been -20 Celsius.

Jobst's 1960 tour started and ended in Tuscany. The Net was not in place yet, so the report had to wait...

Well, there's a first time for everybody, and Jobst too had to discover the Alps once. If you are looking for the inspiration to do it yourself, just go ahead and read this glorious report.

I had asked Mr Cinelli what the greatest road in the Alps was, to which he replied without hesitation, the Stelvio, but that I might not like it because it was unpaved. That especially caught my interest so here I was heading up the Valtellina at Tirano where the road to the foot of this great pass starts its climb.

I arrived in Bormio at 3:30 and decided to go to the top in beautiful afternoon sunshine. After a snack at the store I headed up the road that ran out of pavement at the city limit and became a coarse gravel and grey powdery road that, with a little rain, was pretty solid. I discovered that standing up easily caused wheel spin, so I pulled my straps tight and worked on a smooth stroke to keep traction.

Farther up the Braulio canyon the road went through several tunnels for avalanche and rockfall protection. These stone arch tunnels wind along the wall with ventilation holes near the floor that give a little light, and because they are not straight, I could only see where I was going from reflections from the wet floor. Everything was dripping and water rushed in drains under the walls. The amazing part is that these are one lane tunnels in which uphill traffic has the right of way, as is common here. Therefore, downhill drivers had to assess when to enter by watching what went in from below, something that is possible from the lay of the land.

I was discovering why Pirelli named their top racing car tire the Stelvio. This has a special meaning to people who know this road. At the end of the Braulio canyon the road goes up a wall in a series of traverses with tight hairpins to reach the upper Braulio Valley at Bocca di Braulio, that ends at a ridge over which the Umbrail pass from Switzerland joins the Stelvio, about three kilometers below the summit.

Alpencross Bericht einer Mountainbike-Extremtour von Oberstdorf zum Gardasee, 7 Tage (davon 4 Regentage)/440km/14000 Höhenmeter.

Photos and reports of transalp mountain bike tours from Bavaria to Italy. Alpine traverses between Oberstdorf and Lake Como and Tegernsee and Lake Garda.

We flew from Stockholm to Geneva. Then we biked along the southern shore of Lac Leman, crossed Pass des Morgines, headed up the Rhone valley, and made a side trip to Zermatt. Then, we continued to Brigg, Davos, St Moritz, Livigno, Canazei, and Cortina. From Cortina we headed south to Lago di Garda. Reaching the Plains of Po approaching Milan we spontaneously decided to take a train to San Reno, and continue from there to Monaco, Nice and up through the mountains to Chamonix, ultimately heading back to Geneva for our return flight to Sweden. There are plenty of excellent reports on cycling along these roads [...] and we feel we have little to contribute. Instead these pages are focused on the possibilities of single track riding.

Includes trail descriptions in Switzerland, Italy and France.

We flew from Stockholm to Geneva. Then we biked along the southern shore of Lac Leman, crossed Pass des Morgines, headed up the Rhone valley, and made a side trip to Zermatt. Then, we continued to Brigg, Davos, St Moritz, Livigno, Canazei, and Cortina. From Cortina we headed south to Lago di Garda. Reaching the Plains of Po approaching Milan we spontaneously decided to take a train to San Reno, and continue from there to Monaco, Nice and up through the mountains to Chamonix, ultimately heading back to Geneva for our return flight to Sweden. There are plenty of excellent reports on cycling along these roads [...] and we feel we have little to contribute. Instead these pages are focused on the possibilities of single track riding.

We flew from Stockholm to Geneva. Then we biked along the southern shore of Lac Leman, crossed Pass des Morgines, headed up the Rhone valley, and made a side trip to Zermatt. Then, we continued to Brigg, Davos, St Moritz, Livigno, Canazei, and Cortina. From Cortina we headed south to Lago di Garda. Reaching the Plains of Po approaching Milan we spontaneously decided to take a train to San Reno, and continue from there to Monaco, Nice and up through the mountains to Chamonix, ultimately heading back to Geneva for our return flight to Sweden. There are plenty of excellent reports on cycling along these roads [...] and we feel we have little to contribute. Instead these pages are focused on the possibilities of single track riding.

This is a tour over the spectacular Passo San Giacomo, between Italy and Switzerland.

From Carsten's Cycling Web, the Web site of Carsten Gregersen. This trip is dedicated off-road cycling. We go by car to the Alps and stay at different campsites and arrange one-day rides without pack. In the peaceful Vanoise national park we are at the home ground of the marmot. The western Susa valley offers some very relentless climbs on old military roads and an unforgettable tour along the Asietta ridge. We end the trip in Grindelwald at the feet of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau - three magnificent, Swiss giants.

Inspired by the epic Alpine stages of the TdF and GdI that I see each year on SBS TV and by the personal accounts of Jobst Brandt, Mark Chung and others on the net, I made a plan for a two-week cycle around the Alps.

Mit dem Mountainbike zweimal über die Alpen. From the MTB page of Florian Michahelles. The great story of a five-weeks trip from Mittenwald (Germany) over to Alps to Bozen/Bolzano and then to Liguria, Corse (France) and back through Lombardia and Switzerland. Individual sections are linked to under the various countries.

Alpenuberquerung mit dem MTB bei zwei Wochen Regen. Nach einem Fruhstuck aus Wasser, Milupa-Milchpulver (ab dem 1. Monat) und Musli brechen wir auf. 340km, 11.000 Hohenmeter warten auf uns. This beautiful tour will take Florian and his buddies over Switzerland and Italy.

An absolutely super site, with 100 trail descriptions in the Oberwallis region. Descriptions include a map, an altimetry profile and all relevant data.

Von Arona nach Airolo auf Schleichwegen. This is a tour over the spectacular Passo San Giacomo, between Italy and Switzerland.

A massive travel site, this guy has been everywhere.

Hier finden sich einige deutschsprachige Reiseberichte von Fahrradtouren, die hoffentlich unterhaltsam und informativ sind, aber auch vielleicht die eine oder andere Anregung für Leute geben, die selber einmal so etwas machen wollen. Für englischsprachige Radtourenberichte habe ich hier auch einen Anfang gemacht, ebenso für schwedischsprachige Radtourenberichte, wobei noch ein bißchen auf norwegisch und dänisch dabei ist, aber diese drei skaninavischen Sprachen sind so ähnlich, daß man entweder alle drei ein bißchen lesen kann oder eben keine davon.

An enormous collection of bicycle tours all over the world.
Eine enorme Sammlung von Fahrradtouren in der ganzen Welt.