Cycling in Zurich

[rgmerk]

I'm going to Zurich next week for work and will hire a road bike while I'm over there.

I've been looking for interesting day rides to do - if I had more time I'd go down to do the Stelvio Pass, but looks a little far away - I'd be spending 3-4 hours in a car one-way, ride it, then have to turn around again just to say that I'd done it.

So, looking nearer to Zurich, it seems like if I either ride (or more likely take the train down to) Schwyz, there's a number of possibilities, from the reasonably steady Klausenpass to a number of brutal-looking climbs judging by the profiles.

Any suggestions as to particularly good routes?

 

[dotcycling]

I'm going to Zurich next week for work and will hire a road bike while I'm over there.

I've been looking for interesting day rides to do - if I had more time I'd go down to do the Stelvio Pass, but looks a little far away - I'd be spending 3-4 hours in a car one-way, ride it, then have to turn around again just to say that I'd done it.

So, looking nearer to Zurich, it seems like if I either ride (or more likely take the train down to) Schwyz, there's a number of possibilities, from the reasonably steady Klausenpass to a number of brutal-looking climbs judging by the profiles.

Any suggestions as to particularly good routes?

Klausenpass isnt a bad option - its actually very tough as the climb goes on for 25km. The last 10-12 km are really hard as the gradient is over 9%. Klausenpass is also historic due to its role in the formation of the Swiss federation. Klausenpass was in the Tour de Suisse four years ago when Kreuziger won an ITT up there in less than an hour, winning the Tour de Suisse in the process!

The train down to Schwyz is a good start for that. From Schwyz ride to Brunnen and then Altdorf. You have about 15-20km in total to Altdorf (home of "William Tell") along the beautiful 4 Canton Lake (stunning scenery) before the start of the climb leaving Altdorf on the main road. Once at the summit you should continue down the other side... Towards the end there are smooth cobbled sections from the old road. Descend to Glaurus and take the train back to Zurich. Or if you are feeling particularly strong, at Glaurus you could climb back to Schwyz vis the Pragel pass... which is BRUTAL!

Remember, in Switzerland you ust pay for everything, including your bike on the train... Cost for the bike can be about CHF15 for a day pass!

One other option is to take train to Schwyz and road same road as for Klausenpass, but instead of turning off left for Klausen on leaving Altdorf, just continue straight the whole way and climb the Gottard pass from the North side... Traffic is very heavy though, and this isnt the classic side. Instead you could take the train from Zurich to the other side (Airolo) and ride up the famous cobble side (Tremola) of the Gotthard and then descend the whole way back to Schwyz (a little bit of up and down after Altdorf on way back). Train from Zurich to Airolo could be 1.5 hours or 2 hours (http://www.sbb.ch).

Good luck!

EDIT: I just realised this was posted weeks ago! oops

 

[rgmerk]

Thanks for replying anyway!

In any case, I did hire a bike (from Velo Elsener, who were very helpful), and was able to do several rides in the area.

The first was just a lap of Zurichsee, which is about 70km and pretty much dead flat. It's also extremely pretty. I should also add that it's an amazing ride if you're a car enthusiast - I've never seen quite so many Porsches, BMWs and AMG Mercedes! The second involved a gradual climb up to Einsiedeln and back along the lake; also pleasant enough but not particularly tough.

Anyway, on my last day I had available to ride I planned to do the Klausenpass, but managed to miss my connecting train in Zug so I wouldn't have had time to ride the pass and get back to Zurich at a reasonable hour, so I decided to try a closer option, the Ibergeregg, which starts very close to Schwyz. The ride from Zug to Schwyz along the lake is also very pleasant and the scenery just keeps getting better as you go.

I don't doubt the views on the Klausenpass are more spectacular, but the Ibergeregg Pass is quite pretty in its own right and it's quite steep (9.7km at 8.5% according to climbbybike, but I reckon they've chopped off about 200 metres and 20 vertical metres). It was a terrific day out.

The only thing that annoyed me was the weather; I thought my home city (Melbourne, Australia) had four seasons in one day, but Zurich and surrounds are worse.

 

[la.margna]

Yeah, the weather was quite ugly recently, indeed.

Are you still in Zurich? For how long?

Another nice ride out is Zurich, then either left or right side of the lake (depends what day and hour because of the traffic) to Siebnen and then Sattelegg, Raten, Zugerberg, Aeugst, Buchenegg, Zurich. A few nice views on the way.

Let me know if you are interested in a few other rides, let me know how much height meters to climb and length of the stage. The one below has 152.2km and 2777m of climbing. No train

GPX file: http://filesave.me/file/18597/Zrh-Sttlgg-Rtn-Zgbg-Bchngg-Zrh-gpx.html

Of course, if you prefer climbs with more than 800-1000m of climb and higher altitudes, renting a car or using the train is almost inevitable.

 

[rgmerk]

Unfortunately not. I would have loved to have more time there though, weather aside it is a beautiful city and a dream for cycling if you like to climb.