I've never been good at following cue sheets or maps but you might find these websites helpful - I came across them while looking for routes:
http://www.bikely.com/listpaths/country/234

http://www.mapmyride.com/search?txtP...CH+%3E#RESULTS

Dakman i would agree with you about the scenery there,Appenzellerland and the Toggenberg area is picture perfect. A ride i've done starting from here at Matzingen then Wil-Oberbüren-Gossau-Herisau-Appenzell-Urnäsch-Bächli-Hemberg-Wattwil-Bazenheid-Kirchberg-Fischingen-Bichelsee-Aadorf-Matzingen.Done on a hardtail mtb with rohloff and 1.6" slicks,absolutely shagged at the end but well worth it.
Cheers

Thanks to Dakman for posting of this very detailed route description- it is almost like he was writing while biking.

I have ridden the Sattellegg climb on dozens of occasions and generally believe it to be relatively traffic free- I have had a few occasions of riding the whole climb without being passed by a car. However weekends can be less enjoyable with our motor powered 2 wheeled firends buzzing by.

I would add that after completing the descent from the pass, a more enjoyable route back to Zurich/ Pfaffikon is to ride on the road around the Sihlsee. This option has less traffic and very smooth roads. To do this, take a right at the big white church in Willerzell and then take another right, which allows you the option of skipping the bridge over the sihlsee that Dakman mentioned. You end up in the same place, having added 5-10 minutes to your ride in total- on the way to Biberbrugg and the Sihlsee.

Mblume, I had the same impression as you about traffic until I rode it this Saturday,, I have ridden mid summer last year (august) on a Sunday and was virtually no traffic. So maybe, hopefully, just an early season thing with all the big passes still being closed.

I had a VW Van nearly hit me (about 2-3inches clearance) while a motorbike overtook it on a corner on Sattelegg last Sunday. The thing scared the be jaysus out of me, I was very tempted to call the cops to see if they would start to set up speed checks there. All in- I had 4 scary moments on the climb of Sattelegg, 3 directly related to motorbikes and 1 due to a wanna be Sebastian Loeb.


On another note, can I suggest that you ask a mod to delete all of this noise we are creating from this thread and put it in its own discussion thread so that if you visit this thread you just get information on the rides. If the thread takes off it will be ultimately easier to find a ride then having to wade through all the posts of people like me complaining about bikers on Sattelegg.

We did it with the MTB tours thread, which I think needs some resurrection around now. But essentially just by looking at the first post you can see if there is something in the area you want, and just click on the link for that, or scroll through all of the tours listed. I feel it makes life a little easier and the important information is easier to find.

This thread is for discussion of the Road Cycling Routes thread.

If you have any comments, suggestions or want to ask any questions about the routes then post here.

Hi,
We're touring Switzerland by bike for a couple of weeks starting Friday 20th June from Zurich to Meggen. We're arriving overnight so will be setting out from Zurich Hbf by 9.00 a.m.
Could anyone suggest a road route (though we can tolerate small amounts of well-surfaced off-road) for this journey?

Thanks
Nicola and Keith

Hi,
Continuing from previous post, re Zurich-Meggen, our route will be by lake steamer and train to Andermatt (any comments on this also welcome), then along the Rhine cycle route over the Oberalp to Bonaduz.
Here we're turning south to head for Samedan.


Taking the route from Bonaduz in three parts, could anyone offer advice on...
(1) Bonaduz to Thusis, which from the map looks ok on 'route 13' (sorry, don't know how Swiss road numbers are quoted).
(2) Thusis to Tiefencastle. Should we take the train over this stretch since I can only see one main road, with several tunnels?
(3) Tiefencastle to Samedan via Bergun. We are planning to take the train for part of the journey (almost certainly through the Albula tunnel). How much of the rest of this valley is good cycling country?
We are planning to do a day trip, without our luggage, back from Samedan to ride the Albula pass. Any comments on riding the pass, probably from Preda to Samedan?

Thanks
Keith and Nicola

Hi,
As part of our Swiss cycle tour in late June we (4 of us) are stopping 3 nights in Samedan to do a couple of days riding without luggage.
I'm thinking about doing Bernina - Livigno (I) - Zernez, possibly with some train assistance from/to Samedan.
Anyone know what that road is like? My map shows it 'under construction' at the northern end, from Lago del Gallo to Route 28 at Punt la Drossa.
What's route 28 like back to Zernez ?

We have two whole days at Samedan. This is a possibilty for one, and a ride over the Albula is possibility for the other. Anyone got any other suggestions?

Thanks
Keith & Nicola

I havn't been as far as Meggen, but for riding to Zürich I can recommend going via Birmensdorf. This does add about 8km to the route, and a bit of a killer hill up to Waldegg. But it is short and sharp, but I managed it ok on a singlespeed mountainbike. But it rewards you by dropping you into the next valley which is quite pretty with gently rolling terrain, small villages and light traffic.

The more direct route to Zug is on a very busy road by the Sihl river and is a gentle, but constant, featureless uphill grind for most of the way. I have only done that one in the downhill direction, so the climb may not be as bad as I imagined. But downhill it was enough of a descent that I only needed to pedal when I wanted to try to embarrass some lycra clad roadie, damn them and their tall gearing.

But some of the roadies that lurk on here may be able to give you better recommendations. I'll now go an clense myself of this roadie corruption by mountainbiking in France for the weekend.

There are absolutely endless possibilities for biking in that region. I don't know many of the on road routes but there are so many passes with stunning scenery that you can't go wrong. You can also just ride around the Engadine valley, checking out the lakes down towards Maloja pass, or head up towards Bernina pass and get a great view of Mortaratcsch (spelling!) Glacier.

If you are looking for off road routes there I can give you more specifics, there really is some of the best mountain biking I have ever discovered in that region.

I was planning on cycling Pragel pass tomorrow, however the Swiss TCS website (see link below) indicated this pass was closed earlier in the week. Have any of you ridden Pragel pass this year?

I find it hard to believe this pass is closed due to snow give surrounding passes, as well as higher passes are all open.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

http://www.tcs.ch/main/de/home/verke...e_tunnels.html

From what my colleagues at work tell me, the Pragel is basically a military road, and therefore normal vehicular traffic is not encouraged. It could be that cycles can get through, but maybe some local knowledge would be of more value.

What time were you thinking of going? Might be a big stretch for me, as I have a 12hr nightshift that evening :-(

Aggh, actually I was also considering trying it tomorrow. Wasn't sure which side.. was considering from the Nestal side and then adding Ibergegg if my legs were okay.

....but strange it would be closed unless they are doing construction.

Could this be something to do with the fact that Pragel has restricted access. As far as I remember you are only allowed to drive it on certain times of certain days. i.e. on weekends its only traffic that needs access to somewhere on the pass that is allowed.

Edit: I see others got there before me!

I have read a few internet sites saying it is closed to cars on weekends.

That doesn't stop the locals driving it, but it is much quieter then other passes.

I think the you should be fine on Pragel Pass on a bicycle. As far as I remember the restriction is more for motorised vehicles.

I've done the climb from the Klonthalsee side. The climb is actually quite nice especially when you get to the pretty much car free bit. The descent down towards Schwyz is pretty steep, narrow and twisty compared to alot of other passes. Also much of it has thick tree cover which can make the surface quite slippery in places. So my advice would be to take it easy!

Second that one for the Pragel! I did this a few years ago, locked my rear brake on the slippery stuff, fishtailed, released the brake and found myself heading straight for the edge. Have no recollection how I saved it, other than an instinctive "lean, lean, lean" reaction from motorcycling.

We were planning on doing Pragel Pass tomorrow too! I've only done it from the Schwyz side previously, and it was steep at first, but not for too long. Some beautiful scenery, and not many cars on the wknd (just locals). I am looking forward to experiencing it from "the other side".