Contents: Tours (49) Trails (3) Cycling info pages (4) Organizations and clubs (2)
Switzerland (local)
This page lists all reports that for Switzerland only that do not involve other countries.
Click here for a list of all reports involving Switzerland.
All descriptions are in English, unless otherwise noted.
Tours (continued)
| In High Gear in Heidi Country - A visit of the Gruyères region, just northeast of Lake Geneva
tour started 1998 Europe: Switzerland
Lessoc had beautiful houses, with painted facades picturing Alpine life. In the center of the village was a fountain with an onion dome, dating to 1796. We followed the signs from Lessoc to Grandvillard and then Estavannes. These were just typical villages of the Gruyères region, with nothing out of the ordinary but their charm. A short ride on the main road past Les Moulins led us to a sign showing a bicycle and pointing left. These red signs are common in Switzerland and will direct you to scenic roads less-travelled by cars. We spun down a well-kept rural road, heading rapidly downhill, past manicured farms, where the barns and farmhouses are built as a single unit, and the only sound was the wind and the gentle clanking of cowbells in the air. |
| A Tribute to the Alpine Passes of Switzerland
tour started March 1997 Europe: Switzerland
This short set of pictures can not exhaust all the passes in Switzerland because I've never been to some of them (Grosse Scheidegg, maybe in 1997 ?) or the camera went out of order at the moment of taking the picture (Susten Pass - July 1995) and also because of their number. Most of the passes are not so far each other and looking at a map is not so difficult to project a ``one day'' tour including the crossing of at least two passes. I think my personnel record is this tour including three crossings and a back and forward stretch to reach a fourth pass: that day. |
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| Tour of Switzerland
tour started 1997 Europe: Switzerland
Sion is start and finish for this mountain bike tour through the cantons Valais og Graubünden. Most of the riding is on tarmac, but occasionally I leave the pack behind and go off-road. This turn into a tour across some of the highest passes in Switzerland with detours to Stelvio in Italy and the Silvretta ski arena in Austria. Primarily I camp, but because it is raining a lot I sometimes stay in hotels to dry my clothes. |
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| Swiss Alps Tour
tour started June 1996 Europe: Switzerland
The adventure has been born in circumstances having a little in common with generally conceived tourism or ``communing with nature'' pattern; namely, in front of the computer screen in which I tried to find through the Internet links something which could have become a seed of future voyages. And I did - hundreds of pages of stories written by people for whom the Alps and bike were something more than just a holiday idea. [...] Such stories are extremely infectious, therefore it wasn't long before I have sketched on the map of Switzerland my route of dreams. The idea was even more encouraging for me, as the tour was supposed to run very close to numerous summits which I read about so many times - symbols of pioneer and contemporary alpinism. |
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| Central Switzerland
tour started November 1995 Europe: Switzerland
Goschenen - Andermatt - Furkapass - Gletsch - Grimselpass - Innertkirchen - Sustenpass - Wassen - Goschenen, Km 120. |
| Graubunden Tour
tour started October 1995 Europe: Switzerland
Thusis - Tiefencastel - Albulapass - La Punt - Zernez - Fluelapass - Davos - Klosters - Landquart - Chur - Thusis, Km 190. |
| Tour de Suisse
tour started 1994 Europe: Switzerland
When Richard Freytag and I started planning this year's recumbent tour, the somewhat obnoxious idea of touring Switzerland on the outside came up. We liked it, although it was soon clear that we would not manage the complete round in the time we had on our hands so we decided to go for a semi-circle and save the rest for later. After contacting Andreas Fuchs (from the HPV mailing list) in Bern for help with some practical details, it was decided that we would start in Bern and thus get a couple of days of riding in Switzerland before entering France. |
| The Swiss Alps
tour started 1993 Europe: Switzerland
We are two friends bringing our mountain bikes on the plane to Genève. From here we go for a ride through the cantons Bernese Oberland og Valais. We carry full pack, i.e. tent, sleeping bag cooker etc. Occasionally we leave the pack behind and ride on the small hiking tracks in the mountains. The highlight of the tour is Pas de Lona (2787 m) on the last part of the Grand Raid Cristalp mountain bike route. We also find time for a few trips with some of the fascinating Swiss narrow-gauge railways. |
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| A Cheater's cycling holiday in Switzerland
tour started July 1989 Europe: Switzerland
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! |
Trails
| In Search of Singletrack in the Alps
tour started 2000 Europe: Switzerland
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. |
| Biken in Oberwallis
Europe: Switzerland
language: de
An absolutely super site, with 100 trail descriptions in the Oberwallis region. Descriptions include a map, an altimetry profile and all relevant data. |
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| Durchs Hintertürchen in die Schweiz
Europe: Switzerland
language: de
Von Arona nach Airolo auf Schleichwegen. This is a tour over the spectacular Passo San Giacomo, between Italy and Switzerland. |
Cycling info pages
| Suisse a Vélo
Europe: Switzerland
language: fr
Has detailed info on the nine national marked cycling routes. |
| Bundesamt für Landestopographie - Federal Office of Topography
Europe: Switzerland
language: en, de, fr
A.k.a. Swisstopo, makes the official maps of Switzerland. French and German versions hide behind the top right F and D buttons. |
| Rec.Travel Library: Switzerland
Europe: Switzerland
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| Swiss Federal Railways
Europe: Switzerland
language: fr, it, en, de
Has timetables in German, French, Italian, and English. |
Organizations and clubs
| IG Velo
Europe: Switzerland
language: de, fr, en
IGVelo Schweiz - Interessengemeinschaft Velo Schweiz / The Swiss Bicycle Advocacy Association (in German, with some information in English), der Lobby der Velofahrer in Alltag und Freizeit. The Swiss Bicycle Advocacy Association is an independent non-profit organization with about 20,000 members. (Switzerland has about 7 million inhabitants with 4 million bicycles.) Our purpose is to advocate and promote vehicular cycling for commuting, shopping and recreation. The umbrella organization and our 30 regional/local groups represent the interests of cyclists at federal and local level, and offer a variety of services. |
| Fédération fribourgeoise de Mountain bike - Freiburger Mountain Bike Verband
Europe: Switzerland
language: fr, de
Union cycliste fribourgeoise. News, Tour du Canton, Mountainbike, Piste, Camps, Manifestations, Structures, CLM - Cugy. |