Swiss Alpine Bike Tour 2012 - Photo Gallery

[veloepic]

Hello all,

Inspired by a short article in the Adventure Cycling Magazine last year, my girlfriend and I set out to ride the Swiss Alpine Bike Route just recently. This is a Mountain Bike route that traverses the Swiss Alps, starting in Scuol at the far east of the country, ending in Aigle near Lake Geneva. As we were travelling with loaded bikes, we ajusted the route in order to avoid a few high mountain passes and/or very technical sections that would have been either too hard or treatureous on loaded bikes. We extended the ride to finish in Geneva, from where we flew back to Montreal.

Route stats:
- 675 km (420 miles)
- 55 000+ feet climbing
- 16 days of riding; 2 days off/break

We had everything from very hot to very cold weather, fog, rain, and even snow. For lodging, we stayed in Youth Hostels, pensions (B&B) and small hotels along the route.

For those it may inspire to travel that absolutely beautiful area of our planet, here is a gallery of our best pictures:

http://s90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/DanVero/Swiss_2012/?albumview=slideshow

Enjoy!

Dan

------------------------------
Daniel Fortin, PREZ
www.clubveloepic.org
Montreal (QC) Canada

[indyfabz]

"Absolutely beautiful" is an understatement. I love it when you can get close to domesticated animals.

And what a great facility the route is. Maybe you could post your deviations for those who might want to follow in your tire tracks.

[veloepic]

Thanks! For those who may be interested, I have the entire GPS track.
Dan

[nlsteve]

Thanks for the link.
Beautiful photos!

Steve

[chrisch]

I'd love to see the GPX track!

I live in Switzerland and sometimes forget what's all around me.  Thanks for sharing this beautiful part of this amazing country.  You've given me an idea for my next tour!

[Elsa]

Great photos!! Thank you for sharing.

Do you think you needed your mountain bikes, or could you have done your route with touring bikes?

E.

[veloepic]

Elsa,
Thanks!
the route definetely requires a mountain bike for at least half of the itineray... And although the paved or gravel sections would be rideable on a touring bike, the extra gearing a mountain drivetrain provides is a must on many climbs.
Dan

[Elsa]

Dan,

Would you mind posting the GPS points for your trip?  is that possible? or just describe the route generally?

Thank you

[veloepic]

Here are the links to the GPX files:

Planned route: www.clubveloepic.org/temp/SwissAlpineBikeRoute.gpx (right-click + save)
Actual route: www.clubveloepic.org/temp/SwissAlpineBike2012.gpx (right-click + save)

The short section that is missing between Grindelwald and Interlaken was done by train because of extreme bad weather (pouring rain in the valley and a snow storm up in the mountains).

Additionnal information can be found here: http://bikeland.myswitzerland.com/en/routen_detail.cfm?route=route1

Dan

[pptouring]

Looks like you two had an awesome adventure!! Absolutely beautiful photos and thank you for sharing. What were you wearing for rain gear and how do you like it?

Would you mind if I shared your link on FB?

[veloepic]

What were you wearing for rain gear and how do you like it?

I have a GORE ALP-X jacket - Very lightweight, highly breathable and waterproof. Also have GORE gloves and socks for very cold/wet days.

Would you mind if I shared your link on FB?

Nope, go ahead!

Dan

[Elsa]

thank you.

[pptouring]

I have a GORE ALP-X jacket - Very lightweight, highly breathable and waterproof. Also have GORE gloves and socks for very cold/wet days.

I was hoping you were going to say this. How do you like the jacket, socks, and gloves? Are they worth the cost?

Nope, go ahead!

Dan

Thank you! I've added the link. 

[veloepic]

How do you like the jacket, socks, and gloves? Are they worth the cost?

The jacket is great, although a little expensive (280$). But it definetly does the job against wind and rain. You just need to wear appropriate base and second layers under it, depending on how cold it is.

Gloves: GORE-TEX Windstopper (60$)
Socks: GORE-TEX Universal Windstopper Socks (50$)
For the exceptionnal job they do, I consider these to be very cheap.

Dan

[ritsch]

The photos are absolutely phantastic. I'm Swiss and I have all these mountains around me. We have an appartment near Adelboden where you rode through. Other people's photos always remember me in what a beautiful area we live. Swiss mountains are really a paradise...

Two weeks ago I did a one-day-three-passes-road-bike-tour. If you are interested in a short journal and some photos look at www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/ritsch

Thank you for your pictures and I now know what route I can choose when the kids are grown up 

Daniel from Switzerland