The Kuhlman's Blog

DAY 2
Points of Interest:
POI Rolle: (GPS 28) Beautiful promenade in Rolle POI Prex: (GPS 46) Interesting medieval village with lovely port. POI Morges: (GPS 50) Great pedestrian street. POI Lausanne: (GPS between 59 & 60) Exciting lakefront, ice cream, terrasses POI Maison des Vignerons (GPS “wine stop” after Waypoint 68):
Our first 16 or 17 kilometers will take us out on the lake road. This first part of the route is straight with no turns until kilometer 16 or 17. You may find this rather boring, but it will allow you to stretch your legs after a long plane ride. We’ll then turn north into the countryside and things will become much more pastoral and interesting.
We’ll be having lunch in Rolle. Once in Rolle, you should find the fountain on the main street. Across from the fountain, you will see an arched path leading through to the lake. If you follow the lake (away from the chateau) you should find David with the van. You will also find a café with a large terrace...enjoy their bathrooms.
It’s a 300 meter climb to Chexbres. The ride is beautiful and a bit of a challenge. If you choose not to do the challenge, you could continue to Vevey and take the train to Chexbres. This won’t save you any mileage, but you’ll get out of climbing. It would, however, be a shame to miss the vineyards.
At some point shortly after the town of Lutry you will see a Honda garage on your left. We will take a left just before the garage to begin the climb.
During the climb, we will pass through the town of “Epesses” and stop at the “Maison du Vigneron” for a glass of wine. It doesn’t open until 4 or 5 pm, so no reason to go to fast. Their cave is quite impressive.
We will have to pass through the town of Chexbres to get to the hotel. Look for small yellow signs pointing the direction to various hotels Your hotel is the XXX and it is on the “Route de Chardonne”. Careful once you get on the Route de Chardonne...you will be going downhill and might miss the hotel. It is on your left.
Bikes go downstairs in the parking garage. Take advantage of the sauna and whirlpool downstairs. We’ll meet downstairs for drinks at 7:15 and plan on eating at 8pm.
You should always look at your telephone between the time you arrive at the hotel and the time scheduled for supper. If any changes are made to the schedule, you’ll receive an sms.

Day 3
Let’s do what we need to do to be on the road by 9am.
We take the road that we came in on (Route de Chardonne) and continue on this road all the way to Chatel St. Denis, , but for a challenge and better views, some may choose to turn off on the RED route at 2.2. This “detour” is in fact Route #9. Either way, you end up in Chatel St. Denis. Note that today you will also encounter “Route 4” signs...no worries, the Route 4 and Route 9 run together at certain points.
Once in Chatel St. Denis, keep your eyes open for Route #9. Make a habit of checking at each intersection. The paths are well marked, but if you’re not looking you can miss them.
The next town of note is “Bulle” and then it’s onwards to Gruyère where we will stop for lunch. David will be setting up outside the cheese museum. You’ve probably heard of Gruyère: the town itself is a small medieval village perched on a hill above the museum. The village is definitely worth visiting, and so we’ll take an hour or so after lunch to visit.
The route from Gruyères to Mont Bovon is well marked. You’ll be on a busy road once out of Mont Bovon. You’ll follow this road for 1 or 2 kilometers before meeting a Route 9 sign on your right. This is easy to miss. No worries if you do miss it...just follow the main road into Chateau d’Oex .
Our hotel is in Saanen (right before Gstaad). There is a long climb, but it’s worth it: the hotel has a full spa, in- door swimming pool and great piano bar with a magnificent view.
If the weather is nice, we’ll have drinks outside behind the swimming pool around 7:15 and then go to supper. If weather is otherwise, we’ll meet at the bar.

DAY 4
Make sure you have a big breakfast and pack some treats because we have a lot of biking before lunch today.
There is a difficult climb out of Gstaad, but the views are the big pay off. If you’re not with your guide, keep your eyes on the GPS because after Waypoint 3.5 there is an « Easy to Miss » waypoint. This will take you down a very steep gravel descent. If you are shaky you should simply keep follow- ing the main road to Zweisimmen. If you are unsure, you can always take this more “adventurous” route, but walk your bike down the scary parts. We’ll all reconnoiter at the train station in the town of Zweissemmen.
Afterwards we’ll be riding on nice gravel next to rivers and through pastures until we arrive at our lunch spot which David is setting up in the “middle-of-nowhere”.
Once in Interlaken, we will need to proceed through town until “Interlaken Ost” train station. David should be waiting here and he will point out the “Hotel Carlton” which 100 meters from the station. We will bring our bicycles downstairs and store them here for the two nights that we’ll be in Wengen.
We’ll wait for the group to catch up and all take the train to Wengen at 05 or 35 past. There are private cars allowed in Wengen, so the train is the only way up ! This means that David will need to hand off the luggage to everyone before boarding the train. The ride is very scenic . We change trains in Lauter- brunnen before arriving in Wengen. The whole trip takes 40 minutes or so. From Wengen the hotel is a short walk.
We will be staying at the XXX. It is a charming hotel with unique character, in the Art Nouveau style, built in 1912. Towering over the valley, it has the best position in Wengen.
Tonight we’ll be eating a raclette dinner at the XXX which is a 10 minute walk from the XXX.


DAY 5
Wengen Hike
Beverly who works at the XXX will be leading you on the hike that covers the area outlined on the following page. She will meet you in the lobby of the hotel at 9:30.
You’ll be packing a sack lunch and everything that you need will be laid out after breakfast at a special “Bike Switzerland” table. Make sure to pack what you will need.
Also, the weather can change suddenly in the mountains. Make sure that you ask for the weather forecast and dress appropriately and prepare for rain if there is a chance in the fore- cast. Finally, make sure that you bring sun block. The mountain rays are much stronger than at lower altitudes.
You’ll probably be back from the hike sometime around 4pm, so enjoy the rest of your after- noon. Hopefully we’ll meet on the Terrasse for a beer or glass of wine, otherwise we’ll plan on eating together at 7:30 pm this evening at the hotel. They will have a buffet supper for us.

DAY 6
You can bike the whole itinerary, but there are some difficult climbs and you will run into 3-4 kilo- meters of nasty gravel at some point. There are a few beautiful views, but you’ll be in the trees for much of the time.
Instead, I suggest avoiding the gravel and the climbing with a boat cruise from Bonigen to the town of Brienz. If you’re hardcore, you can do the gravel. Those who want a nice relaxing morning should follow me to the boat: we pay for it !
There is only one morning boat at 9:10. This means that we must catch the 7:37 train from Wen- gen to Interlaken. We will arrive at the Interlaken station at 8:24 and this will us plenty of time to pick up our bikes and walk to the dock.
The cruise is great fun, but toughest climb of the trip is yet to come: the Brunig pass. It’s very steep and the first bit is on gravel. Again, there are stunning views, but you may be cursing yourself as you climb that first gravel part.
There are trains that go up the Brunig pass every hour at 46 past in the town of Meringen. If you want to avoid the climb up the Brunig, we’ll pay for your ticket up and over and get out at our lunch stop in Lungern.
If you do climb the Brunig, there is a long coast down to Lungern. Once in Lungern, be attentive to the Route 9 signs. You’ll be coming into Lungern downhill at a high speed. There is a very small church to your left with a Route 9 sign. Watch for it. Many people coast into Lungern and then have to turn back.
In order to find the lunch spot, you’ll have to turn left towards the lake and head south towards the campgrounds.
We have a lot of biking to do after lunch, but no more climbing. We might stop off at Sarnen for a look around town, otherwise just enjoy the scenery.
Once in Lucerne you should go to the train station so that you can situate yourself . You should see the “Hotel Palace” across the lake. Our hotel is directly behind the Palace Hotel on a steep cobblestone street. There is a bike room at the foot of the hotel. Tonight is a “free night”, so you can explore
Lucerne, but we’re happy to make a suggestion : We like the “Rathaus” brewery on the river and the “bath house” on the lake.


DAY 7
POI Einsiedeln Abbey : (GPS: 5.50) See map book for details
We’ll be need to be careful of the traffic in the center of town as we leave Lucerne, but we’ll be on dedicated bike paths within 10 minutes.
It’s a short morning: 30 rather flat kilometers to lunch on the lake in Zug.
There are steep climbs out of Zug and another steep climb before reaching Rapperswil. Each climb offers stunning views.
You might take some time to visit the large abbey in Einsiedeln (a major catholic pilgrimage site) and taste the Einsiedeln beer. If you want the extra kilometers, you might consider rid- ing around the Sihlsee (lake at Einsiedeln) before getting on the Route 9 path to Rapperswil.
There is some tough climbing between Einsiedeln and Rapperswil: make sure you pack water and a banana or two. There is also a scary gravel descents at the summit...so no shame in walking your bike at this point.
Rapperswil is lovely and it’s worth spending some time walking its streets. Your hotel is the “Jakob Hotel” in the city center. There is a bike garage on the side street next to the hotel. We’ll be eating on the hotel terrace, weather permitting.



DAY 8
We’ll stop in the campgrounds on the Walensee lake in the town of Murg. You might consider brining your swimsuit if the weather is nice because the water is crystal clear.
The towns on your route are nice and small, but there’s nothing of note. You’ll be on a very long and flat bicycle route once on the Rhine, just after Sargans. From here, you’ll also be going by Liechten- stein and it’s capital Vaduz. This city and ride are boring, however. I suggest simply cranking out the kilometers here. You have two possible routes here: on the GPS a flat RED route which goes through the countryside, or an even flatter BLUE route which follows the Rhine bike path. If it is raining and windy, best to take the RED route, as it offers more protection.
You’ll follow Route 9 through the town of Buchs and stay on the route until you see a bike sign for SAX.
Your hotel is the big XXX in Sax. There is a cave below the hotel where you can put your bikes.
Diana and Peter are both from the area and run the hotel and restaurant. Most of the guests are local people from the region (Switzerland, Germany and Liechtenstein) who come for the weekend, but it’s also a popular place for wedding receptions and parties. The restaurant is rated by Gault-Milau and has received a rare 16 point rating ! Enjoy !

Day 9
Another easy day. Or not...you have two choices. We take the main road outside of the hotel in Sax to the town of Frumsen to catch Route 9.
The center of Alstatten has interesting shops and cobbled streets and we’ll stop here for a coffee and bathroom break. The real reason being to give David enough time to set up lunch.
Afterwards you’ll be crossing into Austria and through the town of Fussach. The bike signs might look a little different at this point (and things might get messy), but just keep the lake to your right and you can’t get lost. There are two routes on the GPS: a more scenic BLUE route and a GREEN shortcut.
For those of us doing the “standard itinerary”, we will be following Lake Constance to Arbon.
If you want to make the last day challenging and have some wonderful views and adventures in the famous “Appenzell” region, we recommend the following detours. However, keep in mind that these detours are demanding. They are not as steep as the Brunig and no gravel, but they are long climbs.
More Difficult: From Alstatten, take the BLACK GPS route. If you look at page 52 of the map book, this corresponds to the pink road that leads to “Gais” and then “Route 42” to Hei- den. The route is around 33 km, the grade is around 12% at its steepest and an elevation gain of around 800 meters.
Difficult: Take the RED GPS route between 7.34 and 7.35. This will take you to “Berneck” (page 54 of map book) and then to Heiden. The route is around 22 km, the grade is 12% and the elevation gain .
Once at the Rorschach train station, you won’t be seeing your bicycles again. Take off all of your bags and GPS if you were given one. Also, if you’re using your own pedals/seat, we’ll need to take them off before going to the hotel.
The cogwheel train leaves the Rorschach station every hour 34 past the hour. Get off at “Wartensee” and walk 5 minutes to the hotel in distance. You’ll need to get a ticket from John. If the weather is good, we have a great BBQ planned. Wear your t-shirt.


DAY 10
Say goodbye to your trusty 27-speed steed; after a late breakfast it's all-aboard ! We'll interrupt our five-hour train trip back to Geneva with a stop-over in the Swiss capital of Berne. Your last evening in Switzerland will be spent back where it all started: on the shores of lake Geneva. You'll catch the long summer rays with a tall drink and good food at our banquet on the United Nations private beach.