Spring is here, so a lot of people are probably getting back out on their bikes again. Last summer, my wife and I had a lot of fun participating in a mass bike-ride around Lake Geneva, in which over 1,500 people took part. Unfortunately, we'll have to miss the event this year due to a wedding that we're going to that weekend. However, I'm wondering what other events there are like this in Switzerland, so please post a reply if you know of any others.

Here is a list of the ones that I am aware of:

Cyclotour du Leman: Bike tour of Lake Geneva. May 27th, 2007. Distances of 60km, 110km, 180km (start in Geneva, Evian, and Lausanne, respectively, all finish in Lausanne), all extremely flat, but new for this year is a 120km course that takes you up and down the Jura mountains twice (Geneva - Lausanne). All the routes stay on paved roads, but you can use a mountain bike if you wish.

Journée Lausannois du Velo: Lausanne Bike Day. June 23rd, 2007. Mountain bike routes of 10km, 20km, or 30km; road routes of 50km, 100km, or 160km. All routes start and finish at Chalet-à-Gobet, the top of the hill above Lausanne. The road routes head north towards Lakes Neuchatel and Murten, and loop back sooner or later depending on the distance.

Slow-Up: A series of local events in which the roads in the region are closed to all motorized traffic, often making a loop of 20km - 30km. More geared towards families than to serious riders, no specific distance is necessary, and I believe any form of non-motorized transport is allowed (rollerblades, bikes, scooters, etc). There are 14 events all over the country from April 29th (Lake Murten/Morat) to September 23rd (Lake Zurich).

I hope other forum members will be able to add events to this list and we can all have a great season of riding!