Transformative Swiss Alps Cycling Challenge: 10 Days

Sometimes you do get what you pay for. The two tours by Bike Switzerland, the Challenge (in 2023), and the Alpine (in 2024) were expensive but as a site seeing adventure bicycling orientated vacation they were awesome. The hotels, food, roads, mountains, lakes and history, top marks in all categories. Switzerland is not the USA, kind of the whole point of traveling to another country. With four official languages, German, French, Italian, and Romansh: We were worried about communications. Most people spoke some English in the hotels so we could communicate with each other, it was just amazing. The breakfasts were included in the hotel and they were as far away from the coffee and a donuts at our Super 8’s as we are from the moon. The fresh breads, meats, cheeses, fruits and juices were enough only to need a snack along the days ride and the dinners at the hotel again were never a disappointment. One hotel greeted us with a glass of wine we enjoyed sitting out on the balcony watching sun set. We did splurge a bit on the wine, the wines that are bottled in the local area are highly recommended. The roads were in general quiet and well paved. Some gravel, some bike paths, some two lane roads that I would call bike path in the USA but all were not boring….. The most crowded road was the first day along Lake Geneva. With crowded roads comes opportunities, we stop for ice cream, Harley Davidson coins for a brother in law and a couple last minute bike needs at a bike shop. Definitely the rich suburbs area of Geneva. Any trip is what you make of it and the places one stops. The rest of the trip was very peaceful. Through fields and along rivers, a trip mainly looking up at the mountains. Everything is so green and manicured. The day along the Rhine there are still WW II bunkers and then we a beer under a Palm tree next to a lake. Incredible. The biggest Mountain we went up was by train to Wengen, a most defiantly do not skip day. Really two train and a tram to the top and then we walked down to the hotel, pure 1800’s charm and class, with modern wifi. We used a 50/34 11/28 gear combination with 32mm Continental tires. We are 67 and my wife 65 and bike about 3,000 to 4,000 miles a season. I think the proper approach for a “longer, harder” day attitude is “No hurries, No worries”. So what if we took all day to get to where we were going. It was wonderful to be outside just riding our bikes. If we saw something we liked we stopped. We would buy “a lunch” in a grocery store but eat it along a lake. One day we were only 4 miles into the day but found cappuccino/bakery with a beautiful view. So what if our daily average speed was down to 10mph. Lets face it, the joy in most trips comes down to weather. We had only one really miserable rainy day, a few short showers but only one cold drenching rain on the 2023 trip. The really cool thing is, in Switzerland they have trains, clean, fast and take bikes that go to most everywhere we were going. So we called it quits at lunch, hopped a train to our next hotel and enjoyed looking out the window at the country side, dry and warm. So if the mountain is too tall or the weather is too rotten or a partner that is too tired they can take a day off and train to the next stop. People can make the trip special, we were alone on the challenge tour and met many nice people along the way. The second trip we went with another couple and I feel we made new life long friends. It is nice to have something in common and to share the days adventure with someone new. Say yes to potentially new friends if offered. Self guided vs guided. We went self guided. Mainly cost, we also brought our own bikes, again cost. It was more work and maybe we didn’t hit all the local hot spots or historical places. It is a personal and financial choice. It will be more of an adventure than following a tour guide, but it will be more work. One thing I think is important if self guided. Learn RIDEWITHGPS and how to download the GPX files to a Wahoo element. 99% of the time it is a piece of cake to follow the map and if it rainy or the Wahoo element is hard to see, Wahoo element will talk to you through Shokz bone conduction headphone. We were never off route more than 100 feet before it gave us corrections. HOWEVER, bring your phone, with the RIDEWITHGPS app because sometimes a bridge is out (once) or a road is closed (once) and a map will save the day. As well as asking the locals were the best detour is. One detour was a boat ride down the lake around the road that was closed so bring a credit card and cash just in case. One very small village we stopped for a snack did not take credit cards. One part of the trip we left Switzerland used Euros and the rest was Swiss Francs (ch). One bag means one bag. Two small bags is not the same as one big bag. You will be charged extra. Try and bring as little as possible. Its ok to wear the same jersey, or same shirt to dinner, your in a different hotel, no one will notice. Plus you have room for cool stuff to bring home. Say a new Swiss bike jersey, a very souvenir. The rooms are smaller and some did not have elevators so large luggage bag lugging is a pain. We always had a safe place to store our bikes. We did bring electric adapters for European Voltages but some rooms did not have many extra plugs. A multiple cable voltage adapters is handy. Even better with a built in night light. Sometimes a new room every night can get confusing. Another little thing that really added to the trip were the walking talking tours we bought and downloaded to our phones. If we got to a town early or had a rest day we would share a set of AirPods, walk you around while being told the history of the town and getting good recommendations on where eat or what to see along the way. Too many sights to write about. Lots of history in Switzerland, like anywhere in Europe. George and Trish

My husband and I could not have been happier with the preparation, Ride with GPS, written instructions and all advance communication. The orientation upon arrival was thorough and our bikes were fitted exactly as we wanted (mirror and panniers). Bike Switzerland was so responsive when we had any questions while biking, and we found them to be so helpful. The hotels were all great, all very different, clean and great breakfasts. The routes were mostly quiet and safe. This was unmistakably the most scenic, safe, and majestic of any bike trip we have enjoyed. My husband rode a gravel bike, and I rode an electric bike, and it was ideal for both of us. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ADVENTURE. You will definitely not be disappointed!!!!

We had a great time on the Challenge Tour Bike Switzerland as just a couple. John was easy to work with in modifying the tour to add a couple of days to shorten the bigger mileage legs. The route was well marked, the GPS maps were excellent, the hotels were great, and scenery was spectacular. We've bike toured in many countries and this trip was one of best.

I had an amazing solo ride from Geneva to Rapperswil with a train to Zurich after. I cut my trip shorter than ten days to accomodate other plans, but it was still a very complete experience. Switzerland is enchanting. Bike Switzerland staff were amazing. I never felt worried, scared or anxious and loved every day. I highly recommend Bike Switzerland.

We will never forget this experience! For my husband and me, this trip was a dream twelve years in the making, and it lived up to all our expectations! The hotels were quaint and comfortable, the navigation system and the bikes worked perfectly, the views were stunning, the route was pleasant and easy to follow, the luggage transfer was seamless, the food was delicious, and the tour managers were responsive and helpful. Every moment in Switzerland looks like something on a postcard—we could hardly believe it was real! I highly recommend you take a few extra days in Wengen to enjoy the hiking and definitely don't miss Trümmelbach Falls! That's another thing ... the ability to customize your tour is priceless. We unequivocally recommend the Bike Switzerland Challenge tour!

This is the third trip I’ve done with this company. Experience on all three tours was excellent. This year was the challenge tour, which I did solo. Staff were super helpful, bikes in excellent condition. Hotels, food exceeded expectations. Luggage transfers flawless, beat me to the hotel most days. Great routes with lots of riding on small roads and dedicated paths, navigation wourked great. Amazing views and countryside every day, it is Switzerland after all. Highly recommended.