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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
Hello,
I am contemplating a 5 day trip to Switzerland next week. I have never biked in Switzerland before, and hence thought I would stick with the national bike routes--in paricular, bike route #4. See: http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/navp...onalRoute.html After browsing this NG and talking to some friends, I think I would like to skip one of the daily segments--the Thun-Fluelen one--and instead take the train from Thun to Lauterbrunnen, and bike from there to Grindelwald, climb Grosse Scheidegg and then end up in Meiringen. I would then take a train to rejoin route #4. I've read Jobst Brandt's reports, which seem to indicate that there is a paved road accessible to road bikes from Grindelwald over Scheidegg and into Rosenlaui. I wanted to double check with the group to make sure I was interpreting this correctly, as my Swiss map (Michelin 551) indicates what appears to be an unpaved track, not a real road. I would hate to get to Grindelwald and find out that's it's all gravel or closed or whatever! Also, any general comments from anyone who has familiarity with route #4, or the Swiss regions it cuts through, would be greatly appreciated. I am doing "credit card touring" on my road bike, and will be staying in B&B's along the way. Will I need to worry about trains being too full to accept more bikes? Advice on roads to avoid, sights not to be missed, things to pack, etc.? Thanks! Vincent. |
#3
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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
Thanks for the info about Gross Scheidegg -- I've been thinking of wanting
to ride that. Roberto Divia wrote Do not take the bike paths: they make very long, unnecessary detours and are often unpaved. I was very surprised when I included a bike path in a route last year in the Engadin. At first it was smoothly paved and gentle. Then suddenly the pavement ended and there were lots of steep ups and downs on dirt -- and the dirt section was much much longer than the paved section. I was very glad when I reached the end and I got back to riding on the main road. Before that I had wondered why I was seeing so many people in Switzerland riding on mountain bikes. Vincent wrote: Advice on ... sights not to be missed? Not to be missed are the "sights" you make up for yourself. Leave time to ride to some villages not in the guidebook that you never heard of before. Ken |
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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
One area I found nice for making up my own route thru "unknown" villages was
in the river valley a bit south from St Margarethen -- looks like that's near the start of that official national route #4. Pleasant farm country, lots of _choices_ among little roads. For that day, I decided to stay on gentle terrain, but I could have gone up into the hills if I'd wanted. Usually I just use 1:200000 road maps for my exploring, which for that region means there are lots of little roads which are not shown on the map. There's also a very detailed 1:60000 bicycling map for the St Gallen - Appenzell region from Kummerly + Frey which shows lots of those little roads. But sometimes in Europe I find it more interesting not to know the details of the roads in advance. You have to decide what level of exploration + navigation + risk you're ready to take on. That would be my "not to be missed" experience between St Margarethen + Appenzell: wandering off the official route onto roads I chose myself. Ken |
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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
Ken Roberts thought the world would like to know that...
cut I was very surprised when I included a bike path in a route last year in the Engadin. At first it was smoothly paved and gentle. Then suddenly the pavement ended and there were lots of steep ups and downs on dirt -- and the dirt section was much much longer than the paved section. I was very glad when I reached the end and I got back to riding on the main road. Before that I had wondered why I was seeing so many people in Switzerland riding on mountain bikes. Was this the cycling route between Sankt Moritz and Zernez. Got that experience overthere. At the end we took of the "route" crossed a small river and caught the main road again. Martin Netherlands -- Posted by news://news.nb.nu |
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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
Roberto Divia wrote
I would recommend to do the Simmenthal ... either Mosses pass or Pillon pass. Does it add much interesting to climb over Col de la Croix go thru Villars-sur-Ollon in addition to Col du Pillon? Or is that mostly just more work? Ken |
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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
Le Fri, 28 Jul 2006 23:00:56 +0000, Ken Roberts a écrit :
Roberto Divia wrote I would recommend to do the Simmenthal ... either Mosses pass or Pillon pass. Does it add much interesting to climb over Col de la Croix go thru Villars-sur-Ollon in addition to Col du Pillon? Or is that mostly just more work? Ken It _is_ definitely more work ! |
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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
Ken Roberts wrote:
Roberto Divia wrote I would recommend to do the Simmenthal ... either Mosses pass or Pillon pass. Does it add much interesting to climb over Col de la Croix go thru Villars-sur-Ollon in addition to Col du Pillon? It is an interesting climb with a nice view on the Rhone river valley and (partially) the Lake Leman during the descent. It makes an extra col, with fewer cars/motorbikes than for the Mosses. Doing it from Les Diableret is not such a tough climb. It is very tough coming up from the other side (Bex/Villars). Just bring plenty of water, there are no water sources of easy access, particularly in the 10 Kms around the col. I always did it coming up from Bex and as first of my tours in that region, so I have no direct experience on doing it the other way around. You can always go to Les Diableret via Pillon, then choose if to go directly down to Aigle via the main road (mostly downhill) or going via Col de la Croix. Interesting hot spots for Col de la Croix: - golf course at the top - Villars (nice town) - train-on-road during the descent - salt mines in Bex (with guided visits, very interesting) Ciao, -- Roberto Divia` Love at first sight is one of the greatest Dep:PH Bat:53 Mailbox:C02110 labour-saving devices the world has ever seen Route de Meyrin 385 --------------------------------------------- Case Postale Phone: +41-22-767-4994 CH-1211 Geneve 23 CERN Fax: +41-22-767-9585 Switzerland E-Mail: |
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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
That makes me think I'll try to fit Col de la Croix along with Pillon, if I
have enough hours on some day when I might be lucky to be there (perhaps this year?). Thanks for sharing your experiences. Roberto Divia wrote [Col de la Croix] is an interesting climb with a nice view on the Rhone river valley and (partially) the Lake Leman during the descent. Another idea that's drawing my attention is Col du Grand Ferret between Courmayeur IT and Orsieres CH (which I could do in a loop with Col Grand St Bernard). And Sergio suggested I take look at Jobst Brandt's reports on Col de la Seigne (between Val des Glaciers FR and Val Veny IT). I like the idea of seeing the steep southeast side of the Mont Blanc massif. I understand there is a lot of serious hiking with rolling (? sometimes carrying ?) my bicycle over both Ferret and Seigne. I'm thinking maybe of making a big loop starting at Orsieres, first south over Grand St Bernard to Aosta, then Petit St Bernard (on paved roads) -- then return over Seigne and Ferret to Orsieres. Much more than I can ride in one day. Ken |
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grosse scheidegg/swiss bike route #4 questions
Ken Roberts ha scritto: Another idea that's drawing my attention is Col du Grand Ferret between Courmayeur IT and Orsieres CH (which I could do in a loop with Col Grand St Bernard). Much more than I can ride in one day. Be aware that there is a tighter loop. to be done on a Mtb, called The Tour of Mont Blanc. It is presented as a four stage affair, although a friend of mine from Roma has done it in only two days. For anyone interested in it, there is a detailed report (in Italian) of that achievement. Sergio Pisa |
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