I'll be moving to Zurich later this year from New Orleans and am not looking forward to those winter sessions on the trainer!
I noticed a couple of posts from cyclists who seem to be going out pretty regularly while the weather is still warm. I'd love to hook up with you when the riding starts up in the spring. The countryside looks beautiful.

Can anyone provide info on competitive cycling in the area? I've been racing for a couple of years and want to keep it up when I get to Switzerland. Also, any info on training rides and clubs that sponsor teams would be helpful.

Hope to see you on the road!

Hey velo, glad to have you aboard.

Yeah, the country side is great, this place is one of the bike-friendliest in the world, especially road bikes. As for winter, you will get plenty of time on the indoor trainer whilst looking out the window at the snow. All depends on your temperature tolerances. I generally don't like using an indoor bike trainer, so I either jog or use my Concept 2-D indoor rower when the mercury drops down low. But when spring arrives we know some great routes. All depends on how much you like hill-climbing!

I haven't had to the chance to try racing yet, but maybe when you get here get in touch with this bunch:

http://www.rcseebach.ch/

They might fill you in.

Thanks, litespeed. I checked the site you recommended and will be sure and get in touch with them after I get settled in. Looking forward to checking out the roads when spring arrives!

Hi Velo, welcome to the forum. Are you hosting an event? If not, your post should probably go in help and tips, not the event area.

Luckily, litespeed (who is also a moderator here) would have noticed this and moved the thread for you - isn't that right litespeed?

litespeed or anyone-

At what point roughly will it start snowing and the road will start becoming all iced up?
Should I assume that I can bike for the whole of September and October? I have really caught the biking bug. Obviously not a pro or semi-pro cyclist like you guys. I wish I had had started cycling in July!

Yes, absolutely!

By the way velo, what ride/setup are you bringing with you?

Velo - always looking for more cycling buddies.

I can't believe I didn't go for a cycle on Saturday (thanks Yokine for the invite!) - got slightly drenched today.

And as for snow-covered roads, I am led to believe from Litespeed that the Swiss are so efficient in cleaning the roads that it is still ok to cycle; I can't wait to be cycling all gortex'd up with snow covered scenery

Umm, that depends. I would still be very hesitant venturing out on a road bike when there is snow around. Not to mention, the salt isn't going to do an expensive roadbike much good. I would be more inclined to rig up an "expendable" MTB or commuter; something that won't bring you to tears if you do hit that ice patch.

Litespeed - I'm bringing my road bike, a Bianchi, and my time trial bike, which is a Quintana Roo. I'm staying away from snow and ice. Here in Louisiana, we don't see much of that (or much cold, for that matter, which is going to take some getting used to).

By the way, I am going to be working from home and can live anywhere in the canton. If you had to choose, where would you pick for easy access to the countryside and good roads? I don't mind hills. I'd prefer a village-type atmosphere as long as it has convenient grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. I'm using a relocation service and they are open to suggestions.

Also, I'm planning to be in Zurich for a few days, including the weekend of Sept. 9-10. Any suggestions on where to rent a good road bike? Although my German isn't too hot, it looks like from the site you sent me that there may be a race that weekend. I would love to jump in it if possible. I'm curious as to how they categorize racers there. I'm 51 but race with guys a lot younger here. I wouldn't mind an age-category race for a change.

If that doesn't work out, maybe you guys will be on the road that weekend?

Thanks!

I actually posed this question at the end of another thread but was a little late getting to it and it was most likely missed as the thread worked its way down the lineup.

As mentioned earlier, I'm moving from New Orleans to Zurich later this year. Here's my question for litespeed, mark and any others who care to weigh in:

I'll be working from home and can live anywhere within the canton. I'd prefer to be on the outskirts of the city with quick access to country roads so that I can easily get out on the bicycle for long rides. If you could pick an area that would be a prime biking locale, where would it be? Hills are ok. Considerations would be an infrastructure of grocery stores, pharmacy, etc. and relatively easy access into the city.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Velo, please don't post multiple threads for the same thing - the result in the end is that it makes a mess. If you have to bump an old thread with a new post then please do this instead. I note that your previous post was only 3 days old...

I'm merging this back into the original thread.

One of the best things about Zurich is that it is quick and easy to get out of

For cycling start points I would recommend central Zurich and then south along either side of the lake. Each side of the lake (440m altitude) is housing, then a hill ridge between (600-800m). The ridges are usually forrested and have sealed crossing points. Then on the other side is either less dense housing or farmland. This allows you to get out of the city quite quickly and into some nice riding territory. I would probably choose the west and south (Wadenswil, Pfaffikon...) sides of the lake if you want to be out of the city. These have better cycling landscapes and roads. North of Zurich is quite flat and not so roadbike friendly. Though an 85km loop crossing into Germany and back is fun for those of us who still find crossing national borders a novelty.

This link is to a really cool tool designed for distance runners using google earth. You can play around with to get an idea of the urban build up and altitudes.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=401931

This is one I did for a 31km training ride I do:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=32796

Yokine,

What an awesome web site! I couldn't resist I had to map a course I did with Litespeed once that is a 35km road-cycling route on the other side of Zurich that I repeated last weekend; surely we cold use this for organising another ride.

And as for areas to live; most of Switzerland is made up of tiny 'dorfs' (little villages) which have all the amenities you have described; but even in Switzerland's biggest city of Zurich it only takes 5 minutes cycling to be out of the city so I to would put in a vote for living here - although maybe around Geneva there are steeper cycling routes?

Of course most trains in Switzerland also have bicycle carriages ... so really there is infinite flexibility / choice in terms of cycling

Great info, guys. I agree, that web site will be a great tool for plotting rides.
It's nice to have so many options. The choice will be whether to live near the city and ride out, which sounds pretty easy, or live further out and depend on public transportation when I need to come to the city. I'll be in Zurich to meet with the relocation service next week and I think I'll have them show me around the southern end of the lake and out to Pfaffikon (a colleague in London who lived in Zurich for a year also mentioned Pfaffikon).
I'm looking forward to what sounds like very interesting terrain. Certainly different than the New Orleans flatlands.
Thanks for the suggestions!

A general cycling question:

I will be vacationing in Switzerland soon and am comtemplating bringing a bike. I have read that the Swiss require a license for the bike, fenders, mudguards, reflectors, etc. I can see the license, but I don't want to adorn my road bike with the other items. Is there allowance made for tourists?

I will be staying in Interlaken, Chur, and Zurich? Any route suggestions for day trips? I have always wanted to ride from Interlaken to Lucern over the Brunig pass, but have heard horror stories about the truck traffic.

Thanks for the help.

Hi biker
As far as I know, you don't need to buy the licence (vignette) for the bike if you are just on vacation here, and even many people who live here don't keep theirs up to date; you need to buy a new one each year, but I see many bikes with only ones from a couple of years ago.

As for what equipment the bike officially needs, fenders/mudguards are definitely not required. I had assumed that reflectors were required, but recently saw a police bike that didn't have them (or fenders), and so I asked the cop about the reflectors - he said that it is only the law to have them if you are riding at night (this was in Canton Vaud). However, when bike touring I always go with full fenders, reflectors, and a set of lights. The latter two are not only necessary at night, but are essential on Swiss roads because you can often unexpectedly come upon a tunnel, even in the non-mountainous regions. If you plan to follow any of the Swiss national bike routes then a bell is pretty essential as you may find yourself on some pedestrians & cyclists shared paths, which can be pretty full of pedestrians at times, and so a bell is very handy.

As for cycling over the Brunig pass, my wife and I did that this summer on a weekend trip from Lausanne to Luzern, and we posted photos here. To avoid going through the tunnel on the south side of the pass (which is about 500m long, I think), go through the town of Brienzwiler - there should be signs directing cyclists to take that direction. Your info regarding the road condition is correct - it is quite narrow and has a large volume of traffic on it. However, on the way up none of the large vehicles are going too fast, and on the way down you should be able to do a similar speed as the vehicles. In addition, Swiss drivers are generally reasonably courteous to cyclists and in a few thousand kms of riding here on all types of roads I've never had someone not give me the room that I needed. Even so, the Brunig Pass was not nearly as enjoyable as other passes that we've done because of having to pay attention to the constant stream of traffic. For half of the climb, a couple of mountain bikers rode up with us, and that was good because it made us feel a bit safer by being in a larger group. Quite a lot of cyclists do the route, so you may be able to wait on the pass for other cyclists to come by that you can go with (particularly if you do it during a weekend). Anyway, have fun!

Hello all,

I'm moving to Zuerich tomorrow.

I thought this was the most appropriate thread for this question...

I'd like to enter the Zueri Triathlon (not the Ironman, just the Olympic distance one on the 24th July). The bike leg is three laps of the bank with Landiwiese and Kilchberg. I live in Waldgarten (8057, just above the tram stop).

Would I be able to ride my bike through town from Waldgarten to Kilchberg or so? It goes right through Kreis 1 etc., the route looks like this: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3857693

By "would I be able to" I mean is it a. legal b. safe to do so with a wetsuit, running shoes etc. attached on my back, both going there and coming back?

If not, do you know an alternative way to get to the transition zone which I think is in Landiwiese with a road bike + kit?

The race starts at 8am, so I'm not too worried about traffic on the way there, just on the way back :P

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to Zürich!

That's great you're participating in an event so soon after you arrive - Good for you for jumping right in to things here.

I don't know about that route in particular, but in general it is fine to just bike to and from the race, and just carry your swim and run gear in a backpack. Or you can take the train, just be sure to also purchase a ticket for your bike.

Maybe we'll see ya racing since we'll be around there getting set up for the IM the next day. Good luck!!

And I sure will be there watching some of the IM, work allowing...

One quick question, though: is it allowed to cycle on the tram road? Or do we have to stick to the car roads? I didn't spot any particularly fast traffic, and obviously the tram tracks are not the best thing for a road wheel, but at the same time they are so smooth and there is nobody on them...