Cycling Switzerland

In planning 17 years of summer vacations on two wheels, Switzerland had never made it to the top of our list. Yes, it was scenically top-notch. But in our view it was lacking in other must-have attractions, such as the world-class cuisine we'd found in our repeated visits to Italy and France and other European, Canadian, and U.S. destinations. There was also, of course, the hill factor.

But since summer is the only time we can vacation and we needed some respite from the sweltering heat we had encountered in the last couple of years, the snowcapped mountains of Switzerland beckoned. Our expectations were low (except for the scenery); the reality was quite the opposite. And the cost was budget traveler's heaven, between $100 and $125 per day, including hotels, meals, and bicycle rental. If humbler accommodations are acceptable, you can do it for even less.

The pluses

Cycling in Switzerland exceeded our expectations. Our only regret was that we didn't spend more time there. For example, we should have planned some extra time in the Interlaken area. One or two days of hiking would have enriched our experience.

In addition, we were surprised by the quality of the bicycle paths. The trail markers were excellent and ever-present-bright-red road signs with a pale-blue square that displayed the route number in white. Rarely were we on a road with automobiles. It was extremely difficult to get lost, although we did manage to do so once or twice. The maps in our guidebook included locations of bike repair shops and "i" locations (information centers), so help was never far away.

A major decision is whether or not to bring your bicycles. This was easy for us because the Swiss Federal Railways rent excellent bicycles for about $20 a day. They are 24-speed hybrids, and the entire fleet is sold and replaced each year so they are in near-mint condition. And they can be picked up at your train station of choice, then dropped off at any other station.

Our rental bikes were trouble-free, but if we had had problems, we could have exchanged them for different bikes at the next railroad station.

Picking a route

First we had to solve the "problem" that we are not mountain bikers, and we were going to the Alps. Our solution: to follow a river downstream, which, of course, means predominantly downhill.

We turned to the Internet for help and found cycling-in-switzerland.ch, an invaluable resource. We were astonished to find that there are nine Swiss bike-path routes, covering 3,300 kilometers. We chose route number 8, the Aare River in the Bernese Alps. The Aare flows from its glacier lake source on the Grimsel Pass to its confluence with the Rhine at Koblenz, and we planned to start at the high end. This did not eliminate some serious climbs, but the overall direction was down. We also liked the idea of taking the train from ZYrich and letting it do the climbing to our starting point, Meiringen.

A day in ZYrich at either end with six 40-mile days on bikes seemed about right for our eight days in Europe.

Finding accommodations The Cycling in Switzerland Web site suggests some places to stay. Click on "Eating/Sleeping" and then "Partner List." Select your route number and choose a category ranging from "Hotels" or "Bed-and-Breakfasts" to "Sleeping in Straw." You also may select a price range. (The current exchange is US72> to 1 Swiss franc.)