The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Eastern Swiss Lakes

September 14th to September 28th

Ride Director: Randy Glover
Ride Co-Director: Lucy Glover
Ride Driver: Josh Shade
Report by: Kathleen Learned

Our sturdy group of 23 convened in Dusseldorf, near Zurich. One bike failed to show up and didn’t arrive until two days later.  The short ride into Zurich familiarized us with the Swiss bike route signs, which are well placed and come in multiple sizes, numbers, and colors. There are many routes, local, canton and countrywide, but once you know the one you want it is easy to navigate. Of course there was the occasional glitch and back-up GPS was very helpful. The trip had 4 two-night hotel stays, which made for some pleasant side trips and opportunities to leisurely savor the lovely Swiss towns. Although mostly in Switzerland we spent one night in Lichtenstein, and a few each in Germany and Austria.

            This trip was “easy” for Switzerland – no big mountains to scale but lovely rolling hills and flat valleys as we went along the Rhine River including a stop at the impressive Rhine Falls. In general the route wound its way around multiple lakes, through wonderfully green pastures and fields, forests, and small villages with the mandatory church steeple or castle on the hill. Often tall mountains flanked the valleys we rode in. Much of the trip was on bike paths, a few gravel pathways, sometimes on a dike next to the Rhine or on back roads. There was one scary moment in the middle of Zurich when it appeared that the bike lane went right through the center of an intersection and cars were coming from all sides, and then one other on a steep, winding descent with traffic roaring by. But all survived and generally the trip felt very safe and  well planned.

            At Lake Constance we were treated to a 5 star hotel with a terrace on the lake and excellent food, including an impressive breakfast. In fact all the Swiss hotel breakfasts were an orgy of food with smoked salmon, prosciutto and other meats, eggs of all varieties, multiple cheeses, an embarrassment of baked goods, cereals hot and cold (including fresh Swiss muesli,), fruits and even tomatoes and other vegetables; truly the best meal of the day. A short trip from Constance led to Mainau, a world class arboretum/garden on an island, with a large butterfly house, huge trees from all over the world, a palace, restaurants by the lake, many flower displays and a dahlia garden with about 130 species of dahlias spreading as far as the eye could see. Other riders went to the interesting Zeppelin museum across the lake and some just enjoyed the hotel terrace.

            There were heritage site villages with cobble stone streets, ancient houses and of course wonderful bakeries. In some towns the 3 story buildings were decorated with elaborate old murals like an outdoor art gallery. Both Lucerne and Zurich had interesting museums, which snared a few art lovers. The village of Lindau on the shores of Lake Constance (Bodensee in German) was another worthwhile stop with outdoor cafes, lovely old buildings, and walking-only streets.

            One rainy day sent many folks to experience the wonders of train travel in Switzerland: clean, fast, on time, frequent and to almost anywhere. A gleaming new super ferry took us across Lake Lucerne to our little town at the foot of the famous 5,900 foot Mount Rigi, the top of which is gained by cog railway high above the lake, which a group went up to picnic and look across to the alpine peaks.

            Thanks to Randy and Lucy Glover for meticulous planning for this great trip and to our faithful driver Josh.