WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA, USA
Sometime in the winter when I knew that Ride the Rockies would not work out for this year I decided to ride across Switzerland. across the Alps.
I did not want to “bikepack,” which is to carry all my clothes with me on my bike. I found and had been following the tours at BikeSwitzerland.com. They looked (and look) great but was a little more time and money than I wanted to spend.
I asked my friend, Ben Z., if he knew how I could do this self-supported and he found Eurotrek, a company based in Zürich. He sent me their contact information.
Both companies offered a self-guided tour over the Alps via Panoramic bicycle Route 4. The cost differences were significant. BikeSwitzerland offered additional days and a little extra riding from Geneva to the start in Aigle. Plus a return to Geneva.
Cost was a factor but so were logistics. BikeSwitzerland started in Geneva whereas Eurotrek started near Zürich. My base of operations would be in Zürich.
Both companies offered rental bikes. I never considered renting instead I flew with my own bike. I do not know what Eurotrek charged. But BikeSwitzerland offered my Trek Domane with Di2 shifting for 600 CHF.
I booked my trip with EuroTrek. They made all hotel arrangements and transported my luggage daily from one hotel to the next, otherwise it was self-supported.
I flew to Zürich. From Washington, D.C., American Airlines charged me $200 for taking the bike. Returning, the same airline charged me 84 CHF ($87.50). I have no idea why the price difference. I liked the price coming back.
Day 1 was from St. Margrethen to Wattwill (Lichtensteig). The course was lumpy, even mountainous. Actually it had the most climbing of the seven days although it lacked an iconic mountain pass. I did not pre-load my map to GPS and could not always follow the Rte 4 signs. I also developed saddle sores (which I never get) and feared the worse.
Day 2 was from Wattwill (Lichtensteig) to Linthal. This was the shortest day. It started with a climb (once I could find it) and ended with 30 km of flat farm roads or trails. It was the perfect remedy for saddle sores.
Day 3 was from Linthal to Beckenreid via a ferry at Gersau. It was the best day of the trip. It featured a hard climb out of the box over Klausenpass. But the rest of the day was super easy. A great descent of Klausenpass followed by the nice trail along a lake I seen before and then a ferry crossing of Lake Lucerne.
Day 4 was also nice but had the opposite profile of Day 3. This one had the lake riding first and ended with a climb up the Glaubenielen Pass down into Sörenberg.
Day 5 was from Sörenberg to Thun. I began the day by riding back up the mountain to the Sörenberg tram to the mountain overlooking Interlaken. Then, given a choice of adding an extra 12 km to Thun, I took the long way. I beat my luggage arriving at the hotel then went swimming in the River Aare.
Day 6 was Thun to Gruyères. It felt more like a slog. I got lost in Fribourg. It was hot. Beautiful scenery but nothing breathtaking like Day 3.
Day 7 was Gruyères to Montreux. Somewhere I must have missed a Route 4 turn and just took the main road over the mountain to Aigle. That was fine.
And that was it. After I returned home I found out that Eurotrek had GPX files I could have downloaded to my bike computer but I did not know to ask.
Only after the trip did I realize that perhaps a solo trip across the Alps was a bit risky. I mitigated some of the risks by carrying a hand pump with a gauge and an extra tube (two, total). But a broken spoke or chain or worse, an accident, would have done me in.
As I updated my trip on Facebook I started adding Cycling Tips for Switzerland. The “numbers” were random, of course but here they are:
(This would end in Zürich on my last day when a woman pulled an impromptu U-turn in front of me causing me to take evasive action. I did not use a finger.)
There’s not much I would do differently. I was glad to have my own bike and starting two days after I arrived was perfect although I could have got my bike ready in one day. Well, there is one thing. I would not start on a Thursday or Friday because those days mean that Day 3, Klausenpass would be on a weekend day and I now know that is a popular “driving road” for sports cars and motorcycles.
It was a great trip which I highly recommend. And see Tip #29.
