Hello,

I am a Melbourne cyclist moving to Zurich in the summer, for those who know Melbourne we have lots of organised fast paced group rides which commence in a suburb near the beach most mornings.

I am curious to know if there is a particular area in Zurich that is more cycling orientated which host these rides ?

From memory Thalwil has a couple group rides which occur during the week not sure if this is still the case...

Any info from the die hard roadies is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Cross

With the risk of stating the obvious, it might be worth having a look here:

Cycling and MTB Threads

rvzuerich.ch and rsc-regensdorf.ch seem to be the most active clubs and I've heard their rides are a decent pace. Tempo sport in Thalwil also has summer group rides.
I think most of Zurich is pretty easy to get out of, especially if you live towards the lake its max 20mins from city centre to quiet hilly roads

I havent made it out with any of the clubs yet as have only been here a couple of months and it seems most people have put their bikes away from winter! pm me if you want a training partner when u arrive - i'm a mountain biker but do lots of training on the road and always need fast people to go with

I will check out those clubs out , looks positive

I was in Zurich 2 years ago in the summer I love the riding around there, so I am pretty familiar with the routes...

I guess I just not sure which side of the Lake I should live on, I really do not want to be commuting from the wrong side... I was thinking of trying to find a place south west of the city...

Do most ppl train in the am or pm ? Most of my riding occurs at 5am in the morning before work but in Suisse I think its the other way around..

I will ping you a PM later on definitely keen to get some riding buddies when I come across.

Is there much club racing that you know of ?

Thanks

Cross

probably the south side of the lake is better, easier to get to a bigger variety of hilly rides and direction of the Alps. I'm in Wipkingen in the centre - best of both as you can get out either side.

I'd say most rides would be after work since work tends to start early here!

I'm hoping to find out about club racing also, I've heard there are some mid-week summer club leagues but not sure on details yet...

Ahhh I see, different culture in Switzerland.

We do all our training rides before work and start @ 8:30 - 9am which means early start.

How is the winter are you able to train at all or is it all in doors ?...

Melbourne gets pretty wet but you can still get a few hundred k's in if you pick your days wisely.

Wow living next to alps what a great thought that is........

Check out the http://www.strava.com/clubs/z%C3%BCrich-rides-892 (Zürich Rides) group on Strava.com for some local riders and their rides. You will have to register to see details though. Ignore those rides in foreign and on turbos, and you will find some good training routes.

If you want to ride track then there's an Tuesday evening track league starting around May time 'til end of September. It's at Zürich-Oerlikon.

I'm biased, but I reckon the so-called left side of the the Zürichsee is better if your a roadie - you don't have to cross the city to get to the hills (and taxes tend to be lower).

Edit: replaced "South-East" by "left side of the the Zürichsee"

Thanks Bazza,

Very useful information, judging from your forum name you are also Australian ?

Cross

When you land in Zurich send me a PM as I'm always looking to get out on my road bike. Working hard on my fitness at the moment as 'Swiss Hills' were an eye opener for a big lad from the UK who thought he was an OK cyclist!

Hello.... who nicked that Züri Rides logo I was involved in designing about 18 months ago? Was supposed to be a jersey that never happened.

Anyways, wait for spring and road riding stuff will start appearing on EF. Road riding is so much nicer in Zurich than Perth. No need to get up at dawn to avoid cars, hardly anyone rides in team kit unless they are in the team, no peletons of 30+ wannabes, evening rides and weekend afternoon rides that end with beers rather than coffee. Yep I miss that. And then the routes and scenery.......

Line me up, in in! Missed out on all this last year as my bikes were pinched a month after arrving in Zurich Always happy to end a ride with a cold beer on a sunny evening

I thought I had heard the name Zurirides before. I spotted that link when lurking yesterday. Turns out a mate of mine may have been involved with it a while back. I was asking him about it last night and he had never heard of the Strava group. He didn't seem too impressed that people seem to be taking over the name without (as far as he knew) mentioning anything to the original people who started the expat cycling group.

Nope, it's just an alternative to my real first name. But my parents did threaten me with being sent there once, it would have only cost them a fiver.

Dunno, I didn't even notice until now that the logo doesn't match the group's name. The group was formed on Strava in the middle of May last year, I joined at the beginning of August.

Cheers Guys,

I have joined Strava and joined the Zurich Rides Group

Here is my profile if anyone wishes to connect with me.

http://app.strava.com/athletes/27620

I must admit I do like the sounds of not waking up at 4:50am any more and beers after ride. Will take some time to get use to though.. I do remember 2 years ago how much more considerate Suisse drivers are compared to Australian Drivers.

I been looking around apartments around Langstrasse or District 9 I think that should keep me happy...

I would be keen however to get a nice training group going when I arrive so we see how we go with that...

If anyone is keen let me know we can try to prep it up...

I been keeping an eye out on the winter weather, do many people get out at this time of the year or is it so bad you can not ?

Cheers
Chris

I would be keen however to get a nice training group going when I arrive so we see how we go with that...

If anyone is keen let me know we can try to prep it up...

I been keeping an eye out on the winter weather, do many people get out at this time of the year or is it so bad you can not ?

Hi Chris,

Tempo Sport in Thawil arrange rides in the summer and I think they have different level groups from enthusiast through to hardcore so worth checking in with them once you arrive (dont take your wallet to the shop as its bike porn in there)

I go to spinning kino in Seefeld on a Monday & Thursday in the Winter which is pretty good. You can find info at http://www.spinningkino.ch/Willkommen.html
The website is in German but the guys that run it speak very good English so not an issue. They regulalry have either a current pro or similar to run classes on the Thursday and the Monday is just for pedalling away to watch a film. Sessions are about 90mins each and about 20chf but you can prepay for blocks and get a small discount.

The other winter option is monutain biking as you have the Uetliberg overlooking the city and there is some pretty good trails up there and its less weather dependent (I really dont like riding my road bike in the rain).

Hope this helps.

BGB29

I was pretty worried about winter but hasn't been anywhere near as bad as I expected (so far!) - good clothes and you can ride outside nearly all the time. I have been caught a couple of times in freezing rain which isn't pleasant but its fine in the dry. A turbo for emergencies is probably a good idea if you want to guarantee being able to train
mtb is a good option, bit icy this morning but all rideable

Does anyone know about rides go out of Zurich in the other direction? I live in Dietikon and would rather ride from here or near here, possibly with a group. I used to ride a lot, train and race, but now I'm old(er) and fat(ter) I just want to ride for fun and fitness. I haven't ridden consistently for a couple of years so I'd be better off with a casual ride for beginners or enthusiasts. I'm mainly a road cyclist but in the last 3 years have started mountain biking. So far I've done 1 ride down the Limmat to Baden on my MTB. So...anyone one up for an easy-ish ride into Aargau? Or anywhere else around here.

I am delighted to hear that the winter is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I been following a few Zurich riders on Strava and it appears they are still getting out at this time of the year which is very encouraging. I do however think I will get my self a MTB though that looks like a good option in the winter... The cycling movie nights are a good option too for those really average days. Been really useful thread so far.

I live in Dietikon as well. Some good possibilities for both road and mountain biking, but you can't be afraid of a few small hills if you want to get off the Limmat (boring). PM me for more info if you want.