CYCLING IN SWITZERLAND
The 8,300 km of cycle routes make Switzerland a bike paradise. We will pass through dramatic scenery filled with gorgeous mountains and cascading waterfalls past stunning castles. The friendly people who speak several languages and quaint villages and towns will leave you wanting more. You will experience breathtaking vistas and push your pedals past glacial lakes and streams. Lush green mountains dotted with wildflowers and bright blue skies will fill your days as we travel with our local guides. Opportunities and routes have been charted for casual to advanced cyclists. We will be traveling in the following regions.
All rides are subject to change based on weather, or the guide's advice.
Day 1 - Depart San Diego to Geneva via plane.
Day 2 – Arrive Geneva
The first thing we'll do after checking into the hotel is bike fitting for rental bikes and assembly for private bikes. The mechanic from our bike guide/rental company, Bike Switzerland, will be able to assist in finishing touches of assembly. If our flight arrives before 1 p.m., a warm-up ride of 1-2 hours will be done on the lake front on Lac Leman and Swiss National Bike Route 1. This will be an easy ride for both the Casual Riders and Advanced group and will help you adjust to jet lag.
(D)
Day 3 – Geneva
Casual Riders.
9 a.m.-noon, easy ride.
After a short ride on our private bus to escape city traffic, Casual Riders can enjoy a bike ride along lightly traveled roads that wind through sunflower fields, apple orchards and visit small villages between Geneva and the French border.
Advanced.
9 a.m. –noon, moderate ride.
The advanced riders will explore the same countryside as the Casual Riders, at a faster pace, covering more territory.
Both Casual Riders and Advanced Riders will ride to lunch in Parc de la La Grange.
Travel with the art students by bus to the Bodmer Museum, where we have hired special docents to reveal this extraordinary collection on the shores of Lake Geneva. In a museum built by the legendary architect Mario Botta you will enter vaults that hold some of the most beautiful and important human endeavors.
(B)
Day 4 – Geneva to Gruyeres.
Casual Riders.
Morning. Moderate, longer, 30-35 miles from Geneva to St. Prex or Morges.
Today you get a tour of the Lakefront of Lac Leman and the country estates, farms, vineyards and villages on the north shore. We'll be on roads and National Bike Route #1, which has little traffic. This route is relatively flat with a few rolling hills. The Casual Riders will be joining the art students to explore the wine making culture of this region. Travel by motorcoach to Chillon Castle, where you will see examples of old castle furnishings. You'll be ready to relax after the ride. The motorcoach will then transport you up into the pre-Alp, storybook castle village of Gruyeres.
Advanced.
Morning. Long and Difficult- 82 miles
Ride from Geneva to Gruyeres via Vevey on the Lakefront of Lac Leman by the country estates, farms, vineyards and villages on the north shore. We'll be on roads and National Bike Route #1, which has little traffic. We'll stop the lunch (on your own) in Lausanne (at 42 miles) at the Olympic Museum.You will be able to tour this amazing facility devoted to cycling and other Olympic sports. We continue this relatively flat portion of the ride with a few rolling hills to Vevey (at 54 miles) and start heading uphill into the pre Alps. The next 28 miles will have some challenging uphill sections. The first section serpentines up through grape vineyards on the hillsides above the lake. After that, you'll cycle past farms, those famous Swiss cows, and small villages…very peaceful. You'll gratefully arrive at the storybook castle village of Gruyeres. When I did this ride this summer, I feasted on nutella crepes at an outdoor café afterwards.
(B, D)
Day 5 – Gruyeres to Meiringen
(1st night Meiringen)
Both Casual Riders and Advanced.
Everyone will be visiting Gruyeres Castle in the morning. The enchanting castle is a well-maintained medieval castle and village where you will enjoy art exhibits from different centuries, castle furnishings and an amazing castle garden. The art students may be visiting the Cheese Making Museum as well.
Casual Riders
In the late morning, ride National Bike Route 9 through rolling hillsides and past charming chalet-style villages in the country to Gstaad, where the rich and famous have homes. Have lunch on your own in Gstaad. Be picked up by the motorcoach for a scenic drive past Thuner Lake to Interlaken for shopping and a walk through the town between two lakes. Watch for hang-gliders, who often land in the town's main park after they soar down from the mountains. The bus will then transport you to Meiringen, where we'll spend the night in the town where legendary fictional detective Sherlock Holmes was pushed over a waterfall to his death by his arch enemy Moriarty.
Advanced.
Late morning. 68 miles.
Ride National Bike Route 9 from Gruyeres through rolling hillsides and past chalet-style villages in the country to Gstaad, where the rich and famous have homes. Continue on along Thuner Lake to Interlaken, where we will take a motorcoach along with the casual riders to Meiringen.
(B)
Day 6 – Meiringen
(2nd night Meiringen)
Casual Riders. Morning. Short and easy. 20 miles.
Ride in valley to and along Lake Brienz, possibly as far as Interlaken. The group may stop for coffee and a Swiss pastry at a lakeside village and take a swim in the lake! Lunch in Interlaken on your own and ride the bus to back to Meiringen. The balance of the day is free for independent activity. Suggestions: Visit the Ballenberg Museum, Sherlock Holmes Museum, and the famous waterfall of Sherlock Holmes' demise. Dinner on your own.
Advanced.
Morning.
Epic Swiss Alpine bike riding day. Ride up to Grosse Scheidegg, Grindelwald, Interlaken, to Meiringen. Very hard, long.
Option one - 49 miles.
Ride up the Grosse Sheidegg pass, which overlooks glaciers and the ski /mountain climbing mecca of Grindelwald. Start in Meiringen on Route 6/1 + National Bike Route 1 thru steep forest bike trials, that in 2 or 3 places become gravel. We'll meander uphill past Zwirig, Rosenavi, Schwarzwoldape. This tough 11 mile climb will test anyone, but the views along the way and at the top will make every drop of sweat worth it. We'll pass through woods, alpine meadows, with grazing cows, and up to the mountain top. Then, it will be down to Grindelwald via Route 6/1 (5.5 miles –like a sled ride), which is a farm road-stop for the Post Bus, which always has the right of way. Lunch is on your own in Grindelwald. I can show you a café where you can sit and stare at a glacier and the valley below! For a less expensive treat, stop at the super market and picnic. It's downhill to Interlaken for 12.5 miles and then 22 miles to Meiringen (north side of Brienzersee). This includes a section in the woods with some gravel and two hills. We must walk the bikes through one tough portion at the posh Grand Hotel Giessbach (you'll be glad to walk). The last 10 miles or so is a flat ride (thankfully) in the valley past farms. Dinner on your own.
Option 2 – Road to top of Grosse Scheidegg and follow the above. This route eliminates gravel and part of the wilderness scenery, but it's easier for road bikes.
(B)
Day 7 – Meiringen to Grindelwald.
(1st night Grindelwald)
Hiking day. Day off bike.
Casual Riders and Advanced bike rider will depart in the morning by motorcoach to Grindelwald. This bus ride is a little over an hour.
It's your day to test your hiking legs and explore glacier areas. Take mountain train ride to Maennlicher or hike up from Mannlicher, walk/hike or take mountain train in amazing, outstanding, awesome glacial alpine paradise. Or, take the mountain train, on your own, to the Jungfrau Joch and then return to Grindelwald. At the Jungfrau, there are a host of activities to enjoy on the glacier. The Jungfrau is one of the world's natural wonders that is slowly receding. Catch it before it is gone.
Art and cycling students will enjoy a "grill party" tonight.
(B, D)
Day 8 – Grindlewald to Rapperswil and Zurich
(1st night in Zurich)
The entire group will travel by motorcoach from Grindelwald to Lake Zurich arriving in Rapperswil in the late morning. In Rapperswil we will have a picnic lunch near the castle and the lake.
Casual Riders.
Afternoon. Easy 20 miles.
Casual riders will have time to explore the area. The main sights of Rapperswil are its roses, castle, the reconstructed wooden bridge as well as a Capuchin monastery. There are 600 different kinds of roses that can be viewed between June and October.
You will have a choice between taking the steamer ride across the lake with the art students or riding your bike along the north shore of Lake Zurich to Zurich. Meet the motorcoach at an appropriate spot to be driven to our Zurich hotel so you can avoid riding your bike through the city of Zurich.
Advanced
Afternoon. 30-40 miles Moderate /Hard.
Ride uphill from Rapperswil to a ski resort in the mountains. This ride on alpine back country routes is the genuine Swiss mountain road ride, past hillside farms and cows. Then we'll ride the south side of Lake Zurich back. This section is flat/rolling hills. Great lake vistas. We will meet the motorcoach at an appropriate spot so we do not have to ride on Zurich city streets. Dinner on your own.
(B, L)
Day 9 - Zurich
(2nd night in Zurich)
Ride to Rhine Falls
Casual Riders and art students
Morning.
Visit to Zurich and its museum, including the Museum fuer Gestaltung.
Afternoon. East to moderate. Approximately 20 miles.
Take a short train ride, with your bike, toward the Rhine Falls area. Cycle to the Rhine Falls, where in late afternoon you will meet up with Advanced riders.
Advanced.
Morning. Moderate.
Motorcoach takes you toward the Rhine Falls area. Ride to Rhine Falls, along the Rhine Valley to Lake Constance, across the border into Germany, to island of Mainau and return toward Zurich. Meet the motorcoach and the Casual Riders in the late afternoon at an appropriate spot and drive to the Zurich hotel.
Dinner on your own.
(B)
Day 10 – Zurich
(3rd night in Zurich)
Casual Riders and Advanced
We'll all take motorcoach to Lake Lucerne area. Morning ride, moderate for both groups around and near beautiful Lake Lucerne. There may be a chance to visit the scenic town of Lucerne. Return by motorcoach to Zurich in the late afternoon for our farewell dinner.
(B, D)
Day 11– Zurich to USA or continue on Italian extension
Those returning to USA, transfer to airport and fly back to San Diego.
ITALY EXTENSION
Everyone
Transfer to train station, take train through Alps via Milan (change trains) to Florence. Participants who bring along their own bikes may be on a different train than those without bikes. However, this evening in Florence, everyone will re-join.
(B)
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