Cycling - Aarau - November
Taking advantage of Luis' lads night plus a good weather forecast for the whole weekend, I cycled over to Aarau on Saturday and then back on Sunday morning to make it a two-day round trip.
I chose a less-direct route favouring a mixture of national and regional cycle routes and quieter streets. I was quite pleased with the choice - a nice gentle meander across cantons Zürich and Aargau via Bremgarten and Lenzburg, and pretty stress-free. The weather was very kind to me - bright and sunny both days, cool but easily manageable with a jacket.
The trees were particularly pretty around the military base at Birmensdorf - birches changing to their autumn reds and browns.On the way back on Sunday I was treated to lovely views of the Alps from the top of the climb out of Bremgarten, as well as pausing to allow a herd of cows being moved through a village on the outskirts of Aarau.
Overall it was about 60 km with a slightly-more-tha-expected 630 m of ascent each way, and took me about 3 hours - slightly longer on the way back the morning after the lads night!
Cycling Winterthur to Stein am Rhein - September
For a bit of a change from walking, and with a lovely day forecast, Jules and I headed to Winterthur to cycle to Stein am Rhein, following route #11 from the Veloland Zürich book: Durch die Winzerdörfer
The route jiggled a bit leaving Winterthur, but we were soon into the lovely rolling hills and farmlands to the north of the city. This was another good route from the book - mostly traffic free or very quiet roads, even from the get-go. It was a gentle route, so we took our time and had a nice and relaxing day out.
It was a bright sunny day and quite good for wildlife. We saw kites and buzzards and even a hedgehog - which was so much of a porker that it had trouble squeezing through the wire fence.
Getting closer at Stein am Rhein there was a demonstration from a steam engine, and we joined the onlookers as it pulled into Etzwilen. The town itself was well frequented in the glorious weather, but we found a café with a seat outside where Jules had a rather good salad followed by an enormous slice of cake, and I had a coffee and a slightly more restrained ice-cream.
Overall it was a lovely gentle and relaxing day out in great weather. Overall we managed the 34.4 km with 370 m of ascent and about 400 m of descent which took us about 2 hours and 10 minutes peddling. The gpx plot of our route is here.
Cycling Rafz to Winterthur - July
Keen to get out and get a bit of fresh air, Jules and I headed over to Rafz to do a variation on route #10 from the Veloland Zürich book "Die Thur-Tour".
We were expecting some challenges with all the recent rain, and we started out with a detour owing to the chain ferry at Ellikon am Rhein being closed due to flooding. However, we made fairly good progress and were quickly back on track and this was the only real disruption to the suggested route. It was a good choice to take my touring bike, as quite a few sections are unpaved but the advantage is that it's almost all traffic free, or very quiet roads.
Both the Rhein and the Thur were very full of water, but no longer in any danger of breaking their banks. We proceeded onto Frauenfeld and stopped for a rather good lunch at Molino - very friendly service in addition to good food. We also popped into the brewery to pick up some sampler cans (which needed a little time to settle down after being in a pannier for the remainder of the ride), before heading off to make our own way to Winterthur. The extra section was perfectly pleasant and contained the only notable hill of the day. Jules was feeling a bit handicapped by a large burrata and plenty of bread on the ascent, but made it to the top.
We arrived in Winterthur with clouds starting to form but still dry to finish. Overall the route was 58.2 km with 425 m of ascent / descent and took us 3 hours 30 not including the stop for lunch. I was very pleased with my new Garmin 530, which has some significant advantages over my old 520 - in particular not having to load new maps for every ride, a much better battery life, turn indicators, and generally much quicker and more responsive. The gpx plot of the route is here, courtesy of the new Garmin.
Cycling Effretikon to Eglisau - June
Trying to pick a sunny spell between the forecast thunderstorms, Jules and I headed to Effretikon to try route 7 from the Veloland Zürich book.
It was lovely weather when we arrived in Effretikon - warm but not too hot - and we headed out over the rolling hills heading roughly north before turning more easterly at about the one-third point. The route winds through quiet countryside and very traditional villages. Once again it was a mostly traffic free route (this book seems good for those), with just occasional utility stretches, so it was very pleasant cycling.
We stopped at the Sternen restaurant in Nussbaumen ostensibly fir a coffee but were tempted by the Kemmeriboden meringue with cream and ice cream. We reckoned that this would be a great place to come for a cycling lunch - the food looked good, and it was clearly a popular destination. Suitably sugared up we continued on to the Rhein where we went for a quick swim at Tössegg to cool down.
From there it was just a short leg to Eglisau to finish off a lovely ride. Overall it was a fairly gentle 37.6 km with 400 m ascent / 500 m descent which took us 2 hours 10 (pedaling) The gpx plot of our route is here.
Cycling Säntis Classic - June
With a glorious day forecast and keen to do a decent cycle ride, I headed off to have a crack at the Säntis classic route.
With hindsight, I haven’t done as much cycling this year as normal, and this became apparent en-route. I started out fairly steadily from Weinfelden, following the “official” route from https://www.saentis-classic.ch and made decent progress in the glorious sunshine. I was fairly lucky to have a tailwind for most of the first half of the ride, which certainly made a difference as I headed south.
I took a slight detour into the very pretty centre of Wil, and stopped in Wattwil to buy some sunscreen (not a moment too soon), before continuing along the Thur valley to Neu St. Johann. From there the route leaves the Thur and climbs up to Schwägalp passhöhe - which I found to be a fairly long drag. However, there’s a cracking descent on the other side, and from there it’s just the rolling hills of Appenzell between you and Weinfelden. I picked up the Thur again near Uzwil and followed that back to the finish.
Overall the 125 km with 1675 m ascent/descent was a bit harder than I expected and took me 6 hours 15 of peddling. I finished quite tired and was grateful to hit the sofa once I got home. It's a lovely route - I just need to be in better cycling condition to enjoy it. The gpx plot of my route is here.
Buchenegg & Albispass - May
With not-particularly-inspiring weather forecast, including the threat of rain showers Shep and I declined a longer ride and instead headed off to do a loop of the Buchenegg and Albis passes - the classic duo.
We met up a little way down the Sihl near the Fork & Bottle and headed off on the route. We decided to do the Buchenegg pass first, expecting there to be less traffic, and then back over the Albispass.
It was my first time over the Buchenegg (not sure how I've avoided it for so long), but it wasn't too bad. We took it fairly easy, the roads were quiet, and the route seems well sheltered from sun and wind as it winds up through the trees. From there we descended into the Aeugstertal valley and looped around behind the Aeugsterberg where we fortunately saw both the Rigi and Pilatus (Shep tells me you have to do the loop again if you can't see them), before heading to the foot of the Albispass.
It's a much shorter climb over the Albispass from the far side. Once over the hill we headed back to town via Laetten with a quick view over the Zurichsee. We finished up in Rio bar for a well-earned refreshment, although we didn't hang around for long as it was a bit chilly once we stopped moving.
It's a lovely route, and I can see why it's a classic. It's good value for money, a bit of climbing without having to travel too far, with pretty countryside and quiet roads. The 43.2 km with 720 m of ascent/descent took us 2 hours 5 minutes and a fairly gentle pace. The gpx plot of our route is here.
Cycling Bachtel - May
Taking advantage of a break in the bad weather, I decided to head off and do a variation on cycle route #15 - Bachtel from Veloland Zürich.
Still trying to avoid public transport where possible I decided to extend the route by cycling to & from town. It was nice to warm up down the side of the lake before turning north and heading up the hill to Hinwil, and from there the climbing continued up towards the Bachtel. I declined the final ascent up to the radio mast, but the route climbs nearly as high above Wald, past Büel and Chli Bäretswil getting up to almost 1,000 m.
From there it was a very nice descent into Neuthal before heading on to Bäretswil and Kempten. I was feeling a bit rubbish (not entirely sure why) as I past through the town, but it was a useful experience and practice reducing my effort a little but to cycle on through. I continued on past Mönchaltorf and very slowly over the Pfännensteil, but I was feeling much better by the top. From there it was the usual cracking descent back into town to finish off a good day out.
Overall it was 94 km with 1250 m of ascent/descent and took me 4 hrs 25 at an overall relaxed pace. I think I need to do a few more multi-hour warm-up rides before I attempt anything more challenging.
Cycling Schaffhausen - April
With a lovely day forecast, Shep and I headed up to Schaffhausen to do a gentle ride back to Zürich, taking in some sights of the Zürcher Unterländ.
We started a little later in the day so that it would be a little warmer, but unfortunately this also meant that there was a bit more wind than first thing in the morning. However, it was lovely and sunny and warming up nicely as we had a bite of lunch by the Rhein in Schaffhausen before setting off.
We broadly followed the planned route, heading first east, and then looping back past Eglisau and on to Kaiserstuhl. We then turned south and decided to head on up to the top of Regensburg before heading back to Zürich via Höngg.
The route was lovely - very well navigated and picked by Shep. The only three slight wrinkles were the near constant head-wind which seemed to peak for every climb (that's my excuse anyway), a puncture at about the 20 km mark (fixed fairly quickly), and a group of motorbikers who were very upset that we weren't cycling in line (on a minor back road). Overall though it was a lovely day out, and we were treated to great views of the Alps en-route as well as the rolling hills of the Unterländ.
Overall it was just shy of 80 km with 850 m of ascent/descent which took us 3 hours 45. We finished with a beer from Viadukt sat in the sun in Josefwiese park - a lovely end to the day.
Cycling Sternenberg - March
With another lovely spring day forecast, Shep and I decided to head out for a spin, Shep on his new (self-made) road bike.
The chosen route was from Zürich via Uster and the Greifensee then on to Pfäffikon and finally up Sternenberg. From there we looped back via Bauma and Mönchaltorf and over the Pfännensteil before dropping back down to town.
It was a great route (and excellently navigated by Shep). It was a lovely day out with great views over the Alps. We were able to see from Säntis to Pilatus and lots of the alps in between. We saw quite a lot of wildlife including kites and falcons, and even saw a farmer ploughing a field with horse-drawn plough.
We finished up by the lake in Zürich for a quick recuperatory drink, to finish the day overall at 88 km and 1,150 m of ascent/descent which took us a shade over 4 hours. Personally I found it a little hard work (I was a little out of practice cycling perhaps), but Shep looked completely fine, obviously.
Cycling Greifensee - March
For old times sake and with a lovely day forecast I headed out to do a lap of the Greifensee.
It was really great weather for an early spring ride - bright and sunny and around 11 °C. The Greifensee track was in good use by cyclists and skaters, and the footpath around the lake was also being well-used by walkers.
Although I was on my road-bike I did use the cycle-path and took it a gently on the way round. There was a bit of a headwind on the far side of the lake which was a good warm-up for the climb over Fällanden to get back to town.
Overall it was a good & gentle stretch of the legs at 44.5 km with 400 m ascent/descent and took me 1 hr 55 without particularly rushing.
Cycling Greifensee & Pfannensteil - February
For the first ride of 2021 I headed out to do a loop of the Greifensee, and then feeling quite good in the legs I continued up the Pfannensteil before looping back to town.
It was a bit of a shakedown ride for my Fratello, having replaced the chain during the winter. Unfortunately the gears were still jumping a bit, so I think that some more work will be needed to get the bike back into proper shape (next to replace the small cog at the front, I think). Overall though, it was a nice ride, even though it was slightly more overcast that originally forecast.
The route was as good as ever - the cycle paths along the Greifensee are always very pleasant and the slightly longer ascent of the Pfannensteil which I prefer had been improved by the extension of the cycle path all the way up to the Col, which was a very pleasant surprise.
I was lucky enough to see a young stoat playing in the grass just below the top of the hill - identified by the black tip to it's tail, but still mostly in its white winter coat. I stopped briefly to enjoy the views from Saentis to Pilatus before looping back to town.
It's always a good route, and this was no exception. This variation was 53.5 km with 530 m of climbing and took me 2hrs 20 pedalling.