Switzerland (all)

Joris en Stella fietsen vanaf augustus 2005 van Nederland richting China. Na een uitstapje door het middenoosten wordt nu de weg naar het oosten voor gezet.

Web site for our bike trip from Geneva to Milan. The three of us, Mike, Steve and Dave left from Boston and Denver on July 29th and rode about 275 miles over the next 8 days - with one day off for rain. For the most part, the route was relatively flat, except for two days in the Alps. We crossed the Simplon Pass from Switzerland into Italy - made famous when Napoleon decided it was a good route to invade southern Europe.

We did this as a self-guided trip without escort or SAG. We pre-booked hotels for about half the nights and stayed flexible on routes and destinations for the rest.

Web site for our bike trip from Geneva to Milan. The three of us, Mike, Steve and Dave left from Boston and Denver on July 29th and rode about 275 miles over the next 8 days - with one day off for rain. For the most part, the route was relatively flat, except for two days in the Alps. We crossed the Simplon Pass from Switzerland into Italy - made famous when Napoleon decided it was a good route to invade southern Europe.

We did this as a self-guided trip without escort or SAG. We pre-booked hotels for about half the nights and stayed flexible on routes and destinations for the rest.

A quick tour of Western Europe including the Rhine and Mosel Rivers. The trip report is in travel log format with pictures. Cycling statistics included for those intersted in cycling in this region.

This webpage is intended to provide information for cycle tourists who may be considering tours in the countries I've visited. For more information, journals and pictures leave a message in my guestbook or send me an email.

`` Yes, it's hot. But we've seen worse haven't we my friend. There was that day east of Warnambol when the chip seal melted and the chips stuck to the tires. A few revolutions later we had flats front and rear. So we pushed for a mile seeking shade to repair the punctures. And the flies Ah! And there was that time in Zamorah. Ah! But not now.''

Although the tour that I had on the legendary climbs of the Tour de France in 2004 tempt me back to indulge in nostalgia, this year (2005) I decided to bicycle on the cols of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de Suisse, and beside it to take part in the hard Fausto Coppi bicyclemarathon / gran fondo, which is a real challenge with its 187 km and has 4400m height difference.

Before the fantastic marathon, I bicycled to France to climb the Col de la Moutiere, and when I were there it was logical to climb also the 2802m Cime de la Bonette. Both cols are unforgettable.

Next to Briancon I enjoyed the nice Col du Granon (2413 m) which was not only steep but very beautiful. In 2005 at the Colle Finestre (Italia) there was a hard fight between profi Giro d'Italia racers; on my tour I had the most remarkable experience after a light rain, when the Sun could shine between the clouds.

In Switzerland I had cold weather for days, but I could climb nice cols. I loved Grimselm because I enjoyed very much the feeling of a triathlon race, and I loved Gotthard because its ``old'' feeling - thanks to the cobblestoned road.

In the last 3 days - through sunny weather - I went up to the legendary Passo Gavia, Passo Rombo / Timmelsjoch and last day the 2829m high Gletscherstrasse. The highest point on the last day!

It began as a crazy idea whilst on holiday in France back in 2003 and within a couple of weeks had turned into a serious plan. Now after two years preparation and a couple of false starts we're finally off.

The plan is to ride from our home in Chesham to the south coast city of Portsmouth where we can catch a boat to Bilbao on the north coast of Spain. Then we'll cross France to the Black Forest in Germany where we can pick up the famous Danube cycle path which we plan to follow to east to Vienna. After that we want to spend a couple of months in the Alps before heading south for a lap of Italy. The final leg of the tour will see us cross France again to the Pyrenees before we head south to Spain where we plan to follow the coast round to Portugal and back into Northern Spain where we can catch the boat back to England.

22 full days of cycling (I cycled a little the first day upon arriving at Nice and cycled 81 km on a travel day). I visited around 115 mountain passes. A total of 3532 km for 22 days (161 km/day). I climbed ca. 73078 m (3322 m/day). Maximum inclination/steepness: walking: 33% up Col de Traversette in snow; 42% down Grand col de Ferret. Steepest cycling was perhaps up Monte Zoncolan with 6 km at around 15% on average. Most difficult was probably Koralpenstrasse with an average gradient of 11,2% for the final 14,4 km, which make it into one of the hardest climbs in the Alps that could be cycled with a normal racer cycle. From snow to blazing sun around Nice. From Nice to Lavamünd and back again.

The Axenstrasse is noted for its rugged cliffs that drop steeply to the dark green lake. The Gotthard railway lies below the road near the water, mostly in tunnels, while the road wound its way through short tunnels on the way to Flüelen in the Reuss valley. The Axenstrasse can best be appreciated from a bicycle with its view of towering snow capped peaks above the lake.

Quest'anno mi sono spostato un po' più ad est, visitando il piccolo Liechtenstein e la parte occidentale dell'Austria, sino a Salisburgo, con un ulteriore sconfinamento nella Baviera meridionale. Sempre con la mia fida Cannondale F600, e con lo stesso bagaglio dello scorso anno.

In the summer of 1999 I cycled a little over 7000km across Europe, from Nordkapp, at the northern end of Norway, to Calabria, the southernmost region of Italy. It was the best bicycle ride and adventure of my life so far. This is my attempt to share what I saw and felt.

In this page you can find some links to my bicycle tour in Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, from year 2000. From 2004 there are some photos available.

A tour of the French Alps, from Geneva to Nice, returning via the Piemont plains of Italy, followed by a visit to various climbs in Switzerland.

Eine anspruchsvolle Radtour in 5 Tagesetappen über insgesamt 491 km, Tagesetappen zwischen 61 und 151 Kilometer.

Nachdem ich schon mit Heidrun eine kleine Alpentour gemacht hatte, waren nun auch meine Söhne Bernhard und Ulrich damit an der Reihe. Weil Bernhard mit seinem eigenen Fahrrad fahren würde, suchten wir uns eine Route aus, die schöne Aussichten auf die Alpen bietet, aber doch nicht die großen Pässe enthält. Merkwürdigerweise gibt es zwischen Zürich und dem Rheintal bei Sargans ein Tal, das über gar keine Paßhöhe zu verlaufen scheint, sondern zwischen den Bergen hindurch auf fast konstanter Höhe bleibt. Vom Zug aus sah dieses Tal nun auch noch immer recht schön aus und da bot es sich an, von Chur aus in dieser Richtung zu fahren. Der Ursprung dieses Tals war wohl einmal ein Gletscherverlauf im Rheintal, der sich während der Eiszeit bei Sargans teilte. Natürlich waren auch Überlegungen im Raum, vielleicht auch den einen oder anderen Paß zu überqueren, aber letztlich entschieden wir uns doch für eine einfache Strecke.

So eine diffuse Idee war also schon geboren, irgendwie von Chur über den Oberalppaß und den Gotthardpaß nach Airolo oder so zu fahren. Der spannende Teil war nun, wie man das Tandem hinbekommt. Natürlich nehmen in der Schweiz fast alle Züge Fahrräder mit, aber es gibt oft dafür solche Haken im Eingangsbereich der Wagen, die sich für Tandems weniger eignen als für normale Fahrräder. Aber man kann es ja versuchen, notfalls hätten wir kurzfristig umdisponiert.

My big impression is that this is the first tour where I feel like the scenery/riding is better than what I got at home here in the San Francisco Bay Area. After returning to the Bay Area, I went out for a 50 mile ride near my house, a ride that compares favorably with New Zealand, Scotland, Southern France (in the Pyrenees). In comparison with Switzerland, though - the road surface is not as good, the mountains aren't as high, the drivers rude, and the grass is indeed greener in Switzerland (here in California the grass is brown in the summer), and I missed the cowbells ringing in the hills. To make up for that we don't get nearly so much rain, and our passes are open all winter. Our mountain descents are also more challenging, mostly because the road surface is POOR compared to Switzerland' big passes, and also because the road engineering isn't anywhere up to par with Switzerland's. Switzerland's. hairpins turns, for instance, are almost nearly level, while around here the steepest parts of a climb are on the hairpins. As you can imagine, this makes cornering, climbing, and braking much easier in Switzerland. As a matter of fact, if you can handle San Francisco Bay Area climbs and descents, you are ready for anything you will encounter in Switzerland.

I cycled for 16 days and climbed 58624 m (which is 3664 m on average per day). It was 2381 km (which is 148.8 km on average per day). These figures are a bit lower than for the previous year, mainly because I visited more unpaved mountain roads (otherwise they would likely had been higher). It was between 10 (first day at the race it was much cooler in the morning) and 41° Celsius. The maximum speed was down the Kühtai pass at 91 km/h (new record for me). Steepest road I cycled was Ischgl-Viderjoch with several kilometres above 20%. Steepest road I did not cycle was down to Switzerland from Viderjoch, with ramps at 45% on average. I had thunderstorms, I had three punctures (one on asphalt and two on gravel), and a car incident in Schwaz, Austria (early on day 17 out of 21 planned days of cycling) where I got a fracture in the back and was hospitalized. (Fortunately, I fully recovered after 3-4 months.) I visited around 119 passes (106 new passes, with perhaps 100 officially recognized ones).

From Vienna to Switzerland's Rhine Falls via some of Europe's most extravagent castles, walled medieval towns and Bavarian villages filled with painted houses. Packed with how-to-do-it hints and tips.

We descended to Selva di Cadore (1336m) and headed east to Passo Staulanza (1773m) along the Torrente Fiorentina all the while heading straight for Monte Pelmo (3168m). The Staulanza is an easy pass and comes as a surprise because there is no apparent gap past Monte Pelmo. After a hairpin turn just before the mountain, the pass shows up unexpectedly.

Typical of the Dolomites, this route is a scenic wonder. We rode to Longarone (472m), notorious for the dam disaster at 22:42 on 09 October 1963 when the town was destroyed by a ``tidal wave'', that a landslide from Monte Toc (1921m) had forced over a dam and through a narrow gulch across from the town, to claim 1909 lives. Our hotel as, most in that area, had many before and after pictures on its walls.

[The following day] we started out under blue skies that gradually turned cloudy as the day passed. We crossed the valley and rode up the granite wall through tunnels as we headed to the gap of death for Longarone. Below, carved into the vertical wall, we saw the old road notched and tunneled into the gorge as we passed tunnel openings in our road. Then we saw the hollow arch of the dam, still intact, with only a bit of the rim cracked of on the far side. It is less than 50m across but at least three times that high, narrowing to almost nothing at its bottom.

After the last tunnel we emerged just above the dam that still has a bit of water between it and the mountain that slid into the former lake. A memorial chapel by Corbusier stands vigil over this disaster.

Cycling Switzerland's National Bike Routes, from the high Alps to mountain lakes, rivers and medieval towns with painted houses.

It was months since my knee surgery but when I mentioned bike touring in Switzerland to my orthopedist, he immediately said, ``No pedaling up long hills.''
Switzerland Without Hills? It scarcely seemed possible to bike through this mountainous land without long uphill climbs. Yet Switzerland offers several unique strategies that help to make it possible.
To begin with, I simply cycled around Switzerland on four connecting long-distance bike paths that were largely flat and level. Mostly car-free and 80 percent paved, these were four of Switzerlands nine National Bike Routes.
For example, I rode half way around the country on Route 9, the Lakes Route, which runs beside a series of lakes and rivers on a mostly level route through spectacular mountain ranges. Then I switched to Route 5, the Mittelland Bike Path, that bordered more lakes and the beautiful Aare River. In between, short stints on Routes 2 and 8 were also flat and easy.
True, there was an occasional long climb. But I never had to pedal far uphill. Nearly every long upgrade can be by-passed by putting your bike on a train or Post bus and letting it take you up hill.

From Carsten's Cycling Web. While it's still high summer I begin three weeks of mountain bike holidays together with a couple of friends. Ten days later we ride through a snow-covered scenery on our way across Bielerhöhe. Forced by the cold weather we change our plans to avoid the highest summits. Even the cattle have had enough and return from the green summer pastures to the warm cow houses. Nevertheless, we have some nice days off-road. One of the attractions is Val d'Uina with a just 1.5 m wide hiking track blasted into the rock wall over a of 600 m distance. As a prelude to the tour we participate in Ötztaler Radmarathon.

I rode along the Vermenagna River below the Tenda rail line, famous for being either in a tunnel or on a bridge most of the 80km from Borgo San Dalmazzo to Ventimiglia and Nice. The river and its tributaries had ripped out bridges and carried away parts of the road in recent floods. While the railway gained altitude in looping tunnels and bridges and vanished in the mountain for long stretches, I cruised up the 4% grade to Limone (990m), where the climb to the highway tunnel begins and the 8090m-long Tenda Railway Tunnel, completed in 1913, bores through the mountain to Vievola. [...]

My wife and I recently returned from our cycling trip through the UK, France, a bit of Germany, Switzerland and Italy, roughly 4,500kms. It would be of special interest to any Jewish readers, as we observed all the Kosher and Sabbath ``constraints'' while cycling.

With the experiences of 5 tours to the High-Tatras and two cycletours in Austria and Slovenia, in the year 2001 with joining to the holiday of my parents I tried to cross the swiss Alps. The startpoint was a small village Champoussin, situated 1575m high not too far from the Lake Leman. [...] On my first cycletour I biked to France through the not too high, but steep Col de la Forclaz. This pass are usually compared to the famous climb, Alpe d.Huez, because of their comparable steepness and long. Before that time I hadn.t seen the Mont Blanc, so I found amazing the huge mass of snow. [...] (1st training-tour: 171 km + 3741 m height-diff.) On my second cycletour . thanks for the warmer weather . I took sight at the 2469m high Col du Grand Saint Bernard, at the border between Switzerland and Italy. [...] On the last 7-8 km I met with a guy from Netherlands who cycled up with a bike with about 30 kg pack. [...] The tour ended with an almost 2 hour long climb that I got used to two days before. My parents were waiting for me with a warm soup and a delicious supper. (2nd training tour: 173 km + 3371m height-diff.)

My wife and I recently returned from our cycling trip through the UK, France, a bit of Germany, Switzerland and Italy, roughly 4,500kms. It would be of special interest to any Jewish readers, as we observed all the Kosher and Sabbath ``constraints'' while cycling.

My wife and I recently returned from our cycling trip through the UK, France, a bit of Germany, Switzerland and Italy, roughly 4,500kms. It would be of special interest to any Jewish readers, as we observed all the Kosher and Sabbath ``constraints'' while cycling.

My wife and I recently returned from our cycling trip through the UK, France, a bit of Germany, Switzerland and Italy, roughly 4,500kms. It would be of special interest to any Jewish readers, as we observed all the Kosher and Sabbath ``constraints'' while cycling.

From the Vercors of France through Switzerland's Bernese Oberland to the Austrian Tyrol. The itinerary traverses a series of world class bike rides including Gorge de La Bourne, Les Grands Goulets, and Combe Laval in the Vercors; the North Face of the Eiger, Lauterbrunnen Valley, and Grosse Scheideg in the Bernese Oberland; then via the Furka and Oberalp Passes and down the Rhine to Chur and Lichtenstein and by the Tauern Radweg to Zell am See.

I also give full advice and information sources for anyone wishing to cycle this same route or to go elsewhere by Switzerland's National Bike Routes or by Austria's 30 Official Bike Routes. This trip was done in May and June 2001. Will add photos soon.

Elba hat eine wechselvolle Geschichte hinter sich: Griechen, Etrusker, Römer, Spanier, Engländer ständig wechselten die Herrscher. Mediterrane Flora und blau schimmernde Buchten erwarten uns. Aber auch für unsere Begriffe viel zu viel motorisierter Verkehr. Bei Aquaviva treffe ich meine Schwester, die hier ihren Urlaub verbringt und schon sind wir Tagesgespräch im Hotel. Wir nehmen unser erstes und letztes Bad im Meer und uns wird langsam bewußt, daß wir am Endpunkt unserer Reise angekommen sind. Wir wollen noch einmal die Ruhe und Stille genießen und fahren deshalb hoch in die Berge.

Eine erlebnisreiche Reise und 1750 Km mit dem Rad liegen hinter uns. Interessant auch die Tatsache, daß wir uns trotz des Altersunterschiedes (40 62) gut zusammen arrangiert haben. Ein gemeinsames Ziel verbindet eben und schweißt zusammen. Etwas, was in unserer heutigen Zeit zunehmend verloren zu gehen scheint.

[...] We crossed the to the north side of the Lenta and climbed above the clouds into a brilliantly clear blue sky as we broke out of this box canyon through cliffs and bare rock tunnels, above the high waterfall into the Gorge de la Lenta. Here we entered a wintry scene with empty chair lifts running in anticipation of skiers from Val d'Isere on the other side of the pass. In one more zigzag, similar to the lower climb, brought us to the summit. Although we were in summer clothing, our leather gloves came in handy.

At the summit we took pictures sitting on the large concrete and stone Col del l'Iseran (2770m) sign, something I first did in 1960. We found a photographer, a guy from Colorado, who had slept in his car at the summit that he had reached in the heightof the snow storm late at night. Without chains, he thought the next day would be safer, and it was.

[This is] the web site for our 25-day cycling tour in Europe. We flew from Cleveland, Ohio, and Madison, Wisconsin, to Munich, Germany, taking our bikes and panniers. Our bike trip was a 600-mile (930 kilometers) loop from Bavaria to Switzerland, south to the Italian border, and returning to Munich by way of Austria. The following photo journal displays some of the highlights of our self-designed tour.

Our group of five friends biked about 40 miles per day and stayed in quaint, small hotels and youth hostels like this nearly 500-year old chalet in Brugg, Switzerland. [The cyclists were] Bonnie Vargo, Pam Galka, Ed James, Bob Parry and Russ Marx.

These pages are a recollection of our 2000 summer tour. Ending a century, and even more a millenium, should be memorable. As you will read, it was, but not exactly for the best of reasons:-) This year destination was suggested by Martine: not directly and not consciously thought. Not even willingly:-) One day, she mentioned lakes as a good holiday destination. She was refering to Chambon, secretly hoping we could pitch the tent once and for all near a nice beach where she could find inspiration for excuses for letting me going alone on daily rides:-) Lakes? Yes, that's an idea! What about visiting some of the great Alpine lakes: Annecy, le Bourget, le Léman, Neuchatel, ..?

Wir folgen nun weitgehend den Spuren der Pilger, wobei wir mit unseren Rennrädern natürlich auf der Landstrasse bleiben. Das erste Pässchen - die Hulftegg - fordert etwas Schweiss und wir geniessen die Wärme in der Abfahrt. Das Tösstal ist am Montagvormittag von Autos entvölkert und schnell erreichen wir Schmerikon am Zürichsee. Hier gibt's Kalorien für die nächste Stufe. Die Sattelegg lässt uns reichlich schwitzen und bei leichtem Rückenwind beginnen wir langsam zu kochen. Die Passhöhe erläst uns und bis Einsiedeln sind wir schon wieder abgekühlt. Wir zünden in der Klosterkirche eine Kerze an, fällen die Bidons am grossen Brunnen und weiter geht's über den Sattel nach Schwyz, mit einem herrlichen Blick auf den Lauerzersee.

We stopped at the gazebo with two flavors of rusty, bubbly mineral water, that give strength to those who dare climb this hill, before heading up the Gavia. It starts as a smooth wide two lane road with center stripe and a collage of warning signs that might make the wary traveler wonder what's going on. Land slides, falling rock, dangerous narrow road, and a chain requirement from September to July, are not the usual fare for mountain roads. After a short climb, past the first hairpin, reality strikes as the road goes from highway to driveway width and the 16% sign of poster fame sets the tone.

I was impressed with the aesthetics of ANAS, the highway department. They seem to have grasped the beauty of the Gavia and stopped the march of man against nature, right there where it meets the mountain. The road has lost nothing through paving. It is exactly the same narrow one lane Gavia that it always was. I have never seen a road so thoughtfully restored without a gratuitous widening job, but here it is. I hope it never changes. We continued through the thinning larch forest, up the east side of the canyon, finally rising above tree line. Here only thick bushy grass and wildflowers cover slopes where going off the road assures a long tumble to the Frigidolfo, far below.

A tour through Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria by Bill Venners, from Autumn Leaf Cafe - an anthology of ideas and adventures.

From September 7th through October 8th, 1998, I rode my bicycle through the towns, forests, fields, hills and mountains of Europe. I was accompanied by my friend Matt, with whom I'd taken two previous bike trips.

This web site is a travelogue of my European bike tour. [...]

Table of Contents - Annotated links to all the pages; The Travelogue - Stories, data, and pictures from the trip; The Numbers - A table of bicycle and push-up data; The Not-Anal-Retentive Packing List - What to take (and where to put it).

The whole trip lasted for 918 kms which I covered with average speed of 17.7 km/h climbing 20,310 meters vertically. I used my touring steel bike with triple chain ring (52/42/30) and 7 speed rear block (12-23). I had two bags - one on the handlebars for maps, camera and some food and expandable Trek bag on the rear rack containing all my clothes, toiletry, and spares.

The 7-week adventure had consisted of a solo cycle tour, which started in Chamonix and finished in Lyon visiting the Alpine regions of Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France.

A long and wide bend on the left takes you into the last 10 kms. quite demanding both beacuse you already are on the climb from 17 km. and because during last 10 Km the average slope is > 7% and there are two flat stretches... After an harpin on the right you meet a tunnel (slope > 11%) that bicycles avoid on the right with a nice route (100 mt. are on pave') coasting some gorge that free climbers use for their training. You see the dam of first lake and you know you'll have to go up there: a set of bends help you on gaining altitude and finally you coast the lake at your right with its peculiar colour. Use the stretch along the lake to rest and don't be deceived by the the fact that you clearly see the [Grimsel]pass not so far.