Hi,

I had not-so-healthy lifestyle back in Malaysia, and I am now here in Basel trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I bought a mountain bike recently and wish to cycling around the place. I do not have any activity partners at the moment (making friends are really hard here), and I do it alone. I feel uncomfortable to go for long distance, that, just in case anything happen, I don't know what to do.

Do you think cycling alone here is safe? I really love to cycle outside Basel one day.

James

Hi, James
I go biking almost every Sunday, depending on the weather. I go on the nine national biking routes (details at Wandern & Velofahren - Schweiz Tourismus - Schweiz ), which are extremely well organized, safe and very busy, at least in the German speaking part of the country. If anything should ever happen (flat tyre, etc.), there will always be someone coming by to help. This may be a little different in the French speaking part, where my impression was that the routes were not quite as busy. You can find the routes easily. In fact, I did the stretch from Basel to Aarau, recently, and the signs were near perfect. There are three National Routes starting in Basel. Just go to the main station and follow the red signs with or without the numbers. If you wat to play it safe, get the little booklets that explain the different routes, called Veloland Schweiz. There are also several threads on this issue, already.

Go for it
Idgie

Hi,
Cycling is safe in switzerland, i'm just north of Zurich and there are many Cycle paths, i receive a map each year with all the walking/cycling paths marked in my area so gives me plenty of options to explore, however if you are looking to cycle in the forests / off road then suggest you should have a companion incase of accidents...

Storm

Thanks for the tips. I have bought myself a Map from Basel to Aarau. I am still worry if accident happen or flat tyres. I haven't been riding for past decades and this long distance biking thing is really new to me.

I am only here for 3 months and completely new to this place, and people here. And I don't speak German adding more to my concern.

hers some god routes, ranging from the mild to the maniac ... take your pick

50 Mountainbike Touren Schweiz *Trail.ch* Tessin Zentralschweiz Graubünden Gotthard Alpen Bikeguide

damn...

Remember I was just talking about flat tired... 3 hours later, my tired punctured and I had to take it on the train. Thank god that it happened near Ikea, there is a train station there.

So you ran into IKEA and bought one of their SPLATD inner tubes for 4.99CHF which comes with fifteen different valves sections including some pieces of dowel a huge amount of cardboard packaging and some self-tapping screws that seem to serve no function ?

dave

The Ikea's closed today...

Flat tires are certainly the most likely mechanical problem you might face. Therefore, most cyclists always carry a spare tube, tire levers and a pump so that they can fix the problem and keep riding if this happens. Obviously, you don't want to have to replace a tube for the first time ever when you're on the side of the road. Therefore, I suggest practicing at home a few times first and then you'll feel comfortable doing it when the need arises and you won't have to be so worried about it happening.

As for tips on how to change a tube successfully, just use Google to search for something like "fixing a flat bicycle tire" or "changing a bicycle tube" and you'll find lots of info.

Other problems that you might have are much rarer and much more varied, so I wouldn't worry about them for now. You can wait until another rider comes along and ask him/her for help, or head to the nearest train station like you did. I always make sure when I go out that I have enough money to get me and my bike back home on the train from however far I might get during that ride. If you're on a road in Switzerland then it is pretty rare that you get more than 5km away from the nearest train station, which is just a one hour walk if you have to do it.

I wouldn't worry too much about Swiss drivers, I find that they are generally pretty good when it comes to cyclists. To reduce your fears of them, I find it helps to have a rear-view mirror on the bike. If you have a mountain bike, you can get one designed to fit into the end of your handlebars that works quite well.

I hope you enjoy lots more stress-free riding in this beautiful country.

I consider riding alone safer than riding in a pack. Packs do unpredictable things.

I have found that it is easier to get a ride if you have a broken bike than it is without. So far I have tried it in France, Sweden and the US. I think it is even easier on a broken sports bike and if you are wearing a colour-coordinated set of bike shirt and spandex bike shorts.

As plan B bring a cell-phone and enough money to get home. Public transit is usually not very far away and if you are on a moutain bike you probably have shoes that are ok to walk in.

If you do not know how to fix a flat, dont worry. It will just take you a bit longer to get home than if you know how to do it, and you will not get the hours on the bike you had planned. Just as is the case with the more infrequent mechanical troubles (I have been haunted by broken spokes the last 2 years).

I recommend Armadillo tires from Specialized Bicycles-
Review- Flatproof Bicycle Tires - Popular Mechanics

Like the armadillos, many decent tyres now include kevlar to reduce the probability of flatting. They seem to work pretty well, although they are understandably a little heavier than those without the kevlar. Although the armadillos may have been one of the pioneers of this technology, I'm not sure that they are much different from the competition these days.

One of the leading causes of flats, no matter what tyre you are using, is low tyre pressure. Most novices rarely check their tyre pressure and don't own a pump that can measure it, and subsequently often end up riding tyres at less than half the recommended pressure. This results in taking more effort to pedal the bike and a MUCH greater likelihood of getting a flat (although it does give a cushier ride). Upon checking your tyre pressure for the first time, you'll probably be surprised by how hard your tyres should be.

Therefore, my tip of the day to avoid flats is to buy a floor pump to keep at home that has a pressure gauge on it, and regularly (maybe once per month or two months) check that the tyre pressure is in the range recommended on the sidewall of your tyre.

I've not had a single flat in the seven or eight years (and umpteen thousand kilometres) that I've been using Schwalbe Marathon tyres. One excellent investment.

Thanks dudjom,

but my bike was stolen and i am waiting for replacement now. no bike for whole month

Cycling alone is pretty safe in pretty much all of Europe (so long as you don't go around doing stupid things---cycling at night, getting on the autobahns, etc.). The biggest danger is cars but you should be able to avoid them if you stick to dedicated bike paths.

In terms of long distance cycling, Europe in general is particularly convenient/friendly because there are always towns/villages at most 10 kms apart. If you break down in-between you can always walk to the next town over! (which is not what you can say about other countries, like the US, latin-america, etc). Additionally there are excellent maps available for all over as others in the board have already mentioned (Esterbauer http://www.esterbauer.com/, for instance publishes terrific maps for long-distance tour planning, including hotel recommendations, sights, bike repair shops, for many countries in Europe with an emphasis on Germany and popular routes like the Danube, etc.). As for gearing up some inspiration, a woman I know biked solo through Europe from Lisbon to Istanbul last summer, you can read her blog here: http://elisabiketrip.blogspot.com. If she could do it, surely you can too!

Happy cycling!

Does anyone have a good source for cheap bike gear? Specifically I'd like some Armadillo's for my MTB.

Is there a good on-line source where I can save some cash over the bike shops in Zurich?

www.bike-import.ch is the cheapest bike parts here plus free postage.
Cheers

Not sure if they have them in der Schweiz, but in Germany they have spare inner tube vending machines. I would suggest getting a small bag to hang on the back of your bike with innertubes and get yourself a pump or go with technology and the compressed air cyclinder, fast and works great.

I rode here regularly for about 1 year and never had a flat tire until now, by doing just this.

Totally agree, but I find on my Citybike - especially in winter - that I lose about 15-25% of the pressure in a few weeks. So, I fill-em-up more-often than that. Maybe it's different on mountain bikes. And my wife always has tires with no pressure in them and always gets flats - maybe that's the reason! Thanks for the tip. BTW - I am in Baselland and looking for a used Mountain bike (175cm tall) and I prefer a relatively large frame. --Ken.