On 23rd June, eleven of us, set off to Switzerland, for a cycle tour from Luzern to Schaffhausen. For the first half of the tour from Luzern to Chur we rode together before splitting into two groups for the remainder of the tour. One group comprising, Brian, Graham, Lin, Ray, Rod and Sue, then took an easier route following the River Rhine downstream, from Chur to Schaffhausen. The other group comprising Alistair, David, Gary, Mark and Vanessa headed south from Chur to Bellinzona over the San Bernardino Pass before taking the train to Schaffhausen where both groups met up.
Monday 23rd June
We all met up at Gatwick North Terminal in plenty time for the 08:10 Easyjet flight to Basel and arrived on time. With only hand luggage, we were all carrying panniers, we were soon through border control and on the airport bus to Basel SBB station where we arrived early enough to catch an earlier train to Luzern than planned – we had arranged group tickets for this leg that were valid all day. As there was now some time before our scheduled tickets on the SBahn to Littau, we put our panniers in the left luggage stores on Platform15 then after checking out the Rentabike hire location we headed into Luzern Altstadt for some sightseeing.
Back at the station we caught the train to Littau then Malters and then a shortish walk to the Hotel Kreuz with our heavy panniers. Unfortunately, the hotel restaurant was closed that day, so we decamped to the bar and restaurant on the opposite side of the street where we enjoyed a beer [or two] there whilst some went for a stroll around the small town in the still strong sunshine before joining the others there for dinner.
Tuesday 24th June – Luzern to Gurtnellen - 48 miles and 740m ascent
In the morning, we caught the train back to Luzern SBB station and all trooped up to the ticket office on the 1st floor where we paid for our hire bikes in cash. It was then down to the Velostation across the road to hand over the ticket and collect our hire bikes. All of us had opted for trekking ebikes except [younger and fitter] Gary, who was riding a conventional trekking bike.
It took some time to adjust the bikes and fit the panniers, so we were well behind the obviously optimistic schedule when we left to ride through Luzern and onto the cycle route around the edge of Lake Lucerne. I had installed an update to my Garmin just before leaving and unfortunately the maps had been corrupted, so no maps for navigation for me, although everyone else’s Garmins were not affected.
It was hot and sunny as we rode around the lake edge with wonderful views over the lake and surrounding mountains. After Hergiswil there was a section of dedicated cycle track cantilevered out over the lake. At the end of this section, we took a wrong turn before crossing the lake on a bridge at Stanstaad that delayed us. In the town centre of Stans we were split up due to heavy traffic and then found the route was closed off so we were delayed even further with our diversion through a field to pick up the route again after the closure.We arrived at the Beckenried ferry about two hours later than originally planned but with enough time to enjoy refreshments in the smart Seerausch restaurant whilst waiting. The original plan after leaving the ferry was to cycle to Brunnen for lunch before taking the pre-booked hourly bike shuttle at 13:10 through the closed section of the Axmanstrasse. As the ferry did not dock in Gersau until 13:00, three of us would ride on ahead as fast as we could to Brunnen to see if the shuttle could be delayed until we all got there. So, it was Gary, Vanessa and Alistair who rode on ahead and arrived at the pickup point, some 9 miles on, 30 minutes later, where it turned out that an extra bike shuttle bus had been laid on just for us and the driver was waiting on us to turn up. It took a while for the rest of the crew to arrive and to get the bikes loaded just as the next regular hourly bike shuttle turned up.
So, it was just after 14:00 when we set off again from Sisikon after the bikes were unloaded. We rode along the bike path on the spectacular old Axmanstrasse that is carved into the steep cliffs that run down to the lake. After leaving the lakeside at Fluelen, as we were running late, we took the main road to Altdorf where we spotted an Aldi on the outskirts, so stopped to buy sandwiches, drinks and ice creams and ate these in the shade of a tree in the car park – reminiscent of doing the same on other tours. We continued into Altdorf and stopped at the statue of William Tell for a photo opportunity before continuing.
The route had been largely flat to this point, but at Amsteg it then took to the main road and climbed steadily. We stopped at a viewpoint for a suspension bridge over the River Reuss below about a mile from our destination. Four of us climbed down the steps into the ravine to the bridge for a closer look – I have a thing for wobbly suspension bridges over rivers. It was then a short distance to the Hotel Sternen in Gurtnellen for our overnight stop. After putting the bikes away and a refreshing beer, we ate in the hotel restaurant that evening.
Wednesday – Gurtnellen to Disentis - 29 miles and 1348m ascent 874m descent
After breakfast, we set off at 9:00 on the main road and it climbed steadily through Wassen to Goschenen where we diverted off the route to Kantine Breiti for morning coffee. This is the works canteen for those constructing a new road tunnel under the Alps - it is open to everyone.
Applying yet more sunscreen, we set off again for the stiff climb up to Andermatt. The route runs on the busy main road, at first on a marked cycle path, before joining a separate path through the Schollenen Gorge that climbs up to the Devils Bridge where we stopped to admire the bridges and tunnels for the roads and rail line that crisscross the steep side gorge at this point. From there it was a short ride into Andermatt where we split into two groups after a bit of sightseeing.
David, Gary, Mark, Vanessa, Brian and Alistair set off again on the steady climb up to the top of the Oberalppass, stopping occasionally for a drink or to top up the sunscreen. The 7 mile climb took just over an hour. Meanwhile the rest of the group stopped for a beer [or two] and lunch in Andermatt before taking the train up to the top of the pass and arrived at the same time as those that rode up. After the obligatory photos were taken and the lighthouse at the end of the lake admired, we enjoyed a beer/coffee/tea and cake at the café there.
There then followed the 12 mile descent from the top of the pass. The steeper first section included 10 hairpin bends before the gradient eased, but overall, it took only about 30 minutes for the whole descent to our overnight stop at the Catrina Lodge in Disentis. After putting the bikes away and getting cleaned up we retired to the bar before our dinner in the restaurant. After dinner some of us went for a pleasant walk to see the new suspension bridge over the river in the valley below the hotel.
Thursday – Disentis to Chur - 44 miles and 734m ascent, 1379m descent
After a good breakfast, we were again on the road by 9am and set off through Disentis then down the steep valley sides around some hairpin bends to river level where we picked up the route track that followed a minor road but initially climbed steeply to the village of Cavardiras where we could hear the thunder and it started to rain, so jackets on. From there the route was generally downhill on mainly gravel tracks, though there was the occasional very steep rough section that caused a few fallers.
At one point we sheltered in a barn when the rain was heavier, but it soon passed and we were on our way again. At Trun we stopped at a campsite café for refreshments in the sunshine again. Shortly after the cycle route was closed so we had to divert around and on to a longer section of gravel track beside the river. When we got to Ilanz, we stopped at a café for lunch. As we could hear and see the thunderstorms coming closer, Rod, Sue and Lin opted to take the train onto Chur whilst the rest of us continued as the route started climbing again up to the village of Versam.
Rain showers continued to pass through and at one point we sheltered in a fire station doorway to let the worst of it pass through. The roads were wet as we descended down through the hairpin bends of the Versam Gorge, stopping to admire the view from the old bridge over the ravine. After this we rode on the minor road along the edge of the spectacular Ruinalta Gorge [called the Swiss Grand Canyon] where it was cut into the steep cliffs that rise from the river far below. Just after a tunnel, we stopped at a viewpoint and could see the rail line far below.
The rain increased and it got colder as we descended to Bonaduz where we stopped to put on extra layers. The route followed a minor road to cross over the river and then climbed up again through the cobbled streets of Tamins. The cycle path continued beside the river and crossed it again at Felsberg and onto the outskirts of Chur.
It was rush hour chaos as we headed through the town to the Hotel Stern in the Aldstat where we met up with the others who had taken the train. After sorting the bikes out and cleaning up we met in the bar before going around the corner to an Italian Restaurant that Rod and Sue had found where we had a very good meal before returning to the hotel.
Friday – Chur to Medels im Rheinwald – Ticino Group - 35 miles and 1142m ascent
After another good breakfast we all assembled in the garage to load the panniers on our bikes. This was the point where we split into two groups with Rod, Graham, Brian, Ray, Sue and Lin following the Rhine downstream to Schaffhausen whilst Gary, David, Mark, Alistair and Vanessa headed south towards Bellinzona.
The route initially followed the inbound one to Felsberg then continued on the south side of the river to Domat to pick up the Polenweg through the woods. As we neared the top of the climb, the motor on Alistair’s ebike developed a fault and kept cutting out. We tried the usual procedure of taking out the battery and reinserting and rebooting the controller but to no avail. A quick check on the diagnostics showed an error code that required dealer attention. Fortunately, there was a good mobile signal and got in touch with Rentabike, who suggested removing and reinserting the cable between the controller and the motor, but the fault persisted. Whilst they were sorting out a Bosch dealer to look at it, we continued on, fortunately, downhill. The Polenweg is cut into the cliffs that run down to the Hinterrhein and the track offered spectacular views over the valley below. The route descended to Rothenbrunnen where when I rang Rentabike she said I should take it to Imholz in Chur where they should be able to fix it in about an hour.
The other four continued on the route and stopped for lunch in Thusis before starting the climb up through the Viamala Gorge via the old road [Viamalaweg] avoiding the long tunnels on the road to Rongellen. The road goes through the narrow steep side gorge in galleries and over bridges at the Viamalaschlucht where they stopped to admire the view and take some photographs at this scenic tourist hotspot.
The road keeps climbing, though more gently through Zillis to Andeer for the steeper section at the Roffaschluct where the valley again narrows and the road climbs up a series of hairpin bends and keeps climbing to the Sufersee where they took the gravel track around the lake and back on road through Splugen to the Walserhof hotel at Medels im Rheinwald.
So, whilst the rest of the group continued, I rode to the nearby station and took the train back to Chur, arriving to find the bike workshop closed for lunch. As I had over an hour to kill, I rode to a nearby shopping centre and bought food for lunch. When I returned to the bike shop, Laura, the manager plugged the bike into the diagnostics computer, but could not get it to communicate with the bike, so installed a new cable. This enabled the diagnostics to run, and found it to be OK and then updated the bike software. The workshop was very impressive, 8 workstations with powered bike stands and at the time, 5 mechanics working on different bikes.
Setting off again, I got about 200m before the same fault appeared, so it was back to the workshop. They put in a new battery and a mechanic took it for a test ride saying it was now OK. Whilst both I and the manager tried to contact Rentabike to approve a new battery, I noticed that whilst the bike was sitting there, it started to show the same fault on the display, indicating it was not a battery fault and more serious, so I contacted Rentabike and asked for a replacement bike. Eventually, they arranged a cross hire with Imholz for one of their hire/display ebikes.
I rode to the station and took a train to Thusis, as far as it goes along our route, where it was after 4pm before I could start the 18-mile ride to the hotel. To save time I opted to ride on the main road through the three Rongellen toad tunnels and only stopped briefly at the Viamalaschlucht before continuing on the climb. Whilst we had been riding the ebikes in Eco mode all the time, to make up time, I used Tour mode for the climb and reached the hotel at about 5:45pm. When I went to put the battery on charge, the charger supplied had different sockets. I was lucky to that Laura at Imholz was still there. She apologised and offered to drive out to our hotel with the correct charger – which she duly did, arriving about 90 minutes later – exceptional service. After the dramas of the day, we enjoyed our dinner in the hotel.
Friday - Chur to Feldkirch – Rhine Group [report courtesy of Rod] - 44 miles and 353m ascent
We set out from Chur, riding through the relative cool of the shaded paths by the river, crossing into the valley with wonderful views of the adjacent mountains and coming across a large school group of young children making their way to a recreation ground along our route.
We stopped at Malans for a coffee break – at the village Town hall, a very interesting building with a lot of history. The heat was building and the ride along the industrialised Rhine path encouraged us along. After Maienfeld, we crossed over the Rhine to Bad Ragaz, an attractive town, but too early for lunch, so continued on alongside the river on the western bank. Further on, we crossed the river on a covered timber bridge into Liechtenstein. There was surprisingly heavy traffic, and quite a few exotic cars, as we made our way to the centre of Vaduz for a lunch stop and a look around before heading back across the wooden bridge. After Buchs we crossed the river again and then over the border into Austria, with a short stop for ice creams, before arriving at the rear of the Central Lowen hotel in Feldkirch, our overnight stop. There was a large number of steps, so went to the front of the hotel where there were less steps to negotiate to the admin room where we were to store the bikes. In the evening, we walked through the town to find an outdoor bar where we had a very enjoyable evening and meal.
Saturday – Medels in Rheinwald to Bellinzona -Ticino Group - 51 miles and 901m ascent and 2193m descent
As it was 25C when we started at 8:30 and took the signed route on the gravel track beside the river to Nufenen then climbed up the valley on the quiet minor road and through the village of Hinterrhein where we could see the entrance portal for the autoroute tunnel that runs below the Alps. This was the start of the 5 mile climb up to the San Bernardino Pass on the old road that snakes up the hillside in a series of 26 hairpin bends. It was a hard climb in the hot weather even with the ebikes in Eco mode, though much harder for Gary with no electrical assistance.
We stopped at the top for the obligatory photos and refreshments at the café whilst watching the exotic sports cars and motor bikes drive past. It was now downhill for the next 40 miles!! The first section was on lovely smooth tarmac around 23 hairpin bends to the town of San Bernardino. We were riding at different speeds and whilst I waited for the others, Mark carried on. We continued on the main road downhill to Pian San Como where the route turned off onto minor roads. We waited at the junction for a time as we tried to locate Mark but assumed he must have missed the turning and carried on down the main road.
The narrow minor road snaked down the hillside on a series of hairpin bends to Mesocco when we could see from location tracking that Mark was on the main road on the other side of the river. We continued on the route with the gradient slackening at Soazza. After crossing over the river at Grono, we could see that Mark was coming down the main road towards us and so we were able to meet up. Continuing on the cycle path to Roveredo, we were able to get supplies for lunch from a supermarket there that we consumed under the shade of some trees in the car park of a sports centre. Continuing on route 6, at Lumino we crossed the river again onto a rough track that ran through some woods then coming out in the larger town of Arbedo.
The route profile was now flat as we rode into the centre of Bellinzona and found a fountain in a square there to cool off. The route to our hotel passed through the suburbs on a series of back roads to arrive at La Perla Hotel in Saint Antonino. After locking the bikes in the underground garage, we relaxed in the air-conditioned comfort. We had a good meal in the hotel in the evening.
Saturday – Feldkirch to Friedrichshafen - Rhine Group - 51 miles and 269m ascent
We had a bit of a panic in the morning when Graham couldn’t find the bike key, but after much searching, found it was in the battery compartment. After carrying the bikes down the steps, it was already getting hot as we set off along the canal towpath to pick up the cycle route beside the Rhine.
As we approached the Bodensee it was clear that it was a busy tourist hot spot with holiday makers making the most of the weather, lake and sunbathing facilities, so a coffee stop was called for so that we could make the most of the holiday atmosphere.
The bike tracks were busy, and made a brief detour into Bregenz but didn’t stop as time was getting on and we wanted to visit Lindau that was still a long way to go, and was getting much hotter.
We took a slow ride around the island of Lindau, that had plenty of character, looking for a suitable lunch stop. We ended up at a waterfront Beer Garden that turned out not to be the best choice, as it was very busy and a poor selection of food on offer - so onwards to the Hotel.
By then it was getting very hot, 33 deg in the shade which was in short supply and while there wasn’t much in the way of climbs, it felt quite a slog as we weaved through holiday park complexes before arriving at the Hotel Maier around 6.00 pm – and glad to get there It was quite an up-market hotel with air conditioning. In the evening, we had dinner outside on their patio area and just relaxed after the long ride in the hot weather.
Sunday – Bellinzona to Schaffhausen - Ticino Group - 24 miles and 1010m ascent
Gary, with his conventional trekking bike, decided to go straight to Schaffhausen by train as the HC category climb up the Gotthard Pass was a different order of difficulty than the other passes, 7.25% average for 8.3 miles, max 11.3%. We decided on an early start, so, after another fine breakfast we set off for the station at Giubiasco about 3 miles away only to find the normal entrance with its ticket machines closed for repairs and upgrading, so we had to ride around to the entrance on the other side of the tracks. With no ticket machine we had to use the SBB app to buy the tickets as the train approached. Mobile signal difficulties did not allow Gary to complete his purchase and he had to buy his ticket from the ticket inspector whilst Mark had barely completed his purchase before asked to show his ticket to the inspector.
The four of us got off the train at Airolo and it was immediately into the climb through the town and back road to the start of the Airolo hairpins. We were soon off the tarmac and onto the cobbles as the road snaked up the hillside through the 11 hairpin bends up to the Tremola with its 24 hairpin bends. Whilst Mark and David rode up at ahead in Auto mode, Vanessa determinedly stuck in Eco for the whole climb at a slower pace. I stayed with Vanessa at her pace but used Tour mode. The climb was largely consistent and I found it needed an average input of about 140W in Eco to maintain 5mph on these heavy bikes [circa 40kg] and about 95W in Tour. For comparison, according to the Connect leaderboard it needs an average of about 220W on a lightweight road bike [say 9kg] to climb at 6.8 mph although we did stop at intervals to admire the scenery and take photos, so not directly comparable to riding the whole climb in one hit. On the way up we were passed by lots of expensive and exotic sports cars and motorbikes that filled the available car spaces around the lake.
We enjoyed a Radler from the café before setting off down towards Andermatt. There was a headwind buffeting us we rode down that combined with the cobbles caused the bikes to shimmy. The cobbled section stopped when we joined the main road and continued down the hill through Hospental and Andermatt to Gioschenen. Whereas the climb up to Andermatt at the start of the tour was on separate bike lanes or off-road cycle paths, the run downhill was on the main road with the traffic through the galleries and tunnels. At Goschenen, we stopped once more at Kantine Brieti, this time for lunch and as we were still early for our train rode part way up the Goschenenalp road to get a better view of the snow topped peaks above.
We boarded the train on time but whilst changing trains at Zurich, David and Vanessa were just able to catch a train to Schaffhausen, it had just left by the time Mark and I got onto the platform because of delays getting the lifts between levels. The next train was an hour later, so we waited on the platform but about 8 minutes before it was due to leave, I noticed that station sign changed from our train to a different one. So it was a mad dash to find out which platform our train was to be leaving from and we ran around with the bikes and just got on in time.
We managed to drop our panniers off at the hotel and return our hire bikes then meet up with all the others who had been relaxing with a beer or two. We had dinner at the hotel in the evening. Some of the early arrivals had already done some sightseeing and some took the opportunity after dinner.
Sunday – Friedrichshafen to Schaffhausen - Rhine Group - 44miles and 444m ascent
We planned to get away earlier to avoid the worst of the heat and, catch an early ferry and arrive in Schaffhausen in good time. It nearly worked, but Lin’s wayward pannier needed a bit of a fix, delaying us. However after setting a reasonable pace through very attractive lakeside paths and properties we arrived in Meersburg, which looked an interesting place, but did not stop and carried on to the ferry which was just about to leave as we rode on.
On arriving on the other side of the lake, we made our way to Konstanz where many of the roads were closed with numerous street markets. We went in search of the old town, but never really found it, though the fountain and horse looked as though we should be close. As coffee was calling, we stopped in a side street just as a Turkish bar was opening. Rather than searching further we followed the route out of town around more markets conscious that the heat was building and we still had a long way to go.
Lunch stops were not looking that apparent until a local cyclist pointed us to Stein am Rhine as our next target. A very busy and attractive spot so we made our way to the river front to a shaded but still very warm café for beer and nourishment. We were in good time so didn’t rush but was getting very hot again. The remaining route to Schaffhausen followed the Rhine for most of the remaining journey, where almost anything that floated was carrying someone down with the current. We arrived at the Hotel Kronenhof in good time to meet Gary who was relaxing outside with a beer. After dropping off the panniers we made our way to drop off the bikes which was a very informal process .. think we could have dropped anything off and back to the hotel to wait for the other group to arrive.
Monday – Schaffhausen to Basel and home - both groups together again
In the morning after breakfast, some of us opted to walk to visit the famous Rheinfall about 2.5 miles from the hotel – Gary had visited it the previous day. After a good look around, we took the bus back to the station and returned to the hotel to check out and go back to the station to catch the DB train to Basel Bad Hbf.
Whilst the Swiss trains were immaculate and had run exactly to time, the German train was a bit scruffy and arrived in Basel late. We had intended to take the tram to Basel SBB station, but there was a bus replacement service that followed a convoluted route and took at least twice as long. We put our panniers in the left luggage lockers and set off for some sightseeing in the Aldstadt, arriving back in time for the bus to the airport for the flight home.
David has compiled a video of the tour and it will be shown to the tour group at a dinner he and Sue are hosting on 19th August.