Route recommendation: From Bern to Lake Constance
Have you ever ridden a touring bike from Bern through Central Switzerland to Lake Constance? This blog article is a personal travelogue by me, Alexander Frey, and also a first route recommendation for your adventure with Pedalmondo in Switzerland. Our bikes are ready, are you?
Bern to Märstetten: 334km and about 3’600 meters altitude difference
My girlfriend Katja and I have completed this route a few years ago, then as beginners in the touring bike area, but still quite trained by our other polysportive activities. We took 5 days for it, and thus rode an average of about 66km per day. It was April, and yes, the weather does what it wants. It was quite cold just at the beginning, but the weather improved during the tour. In my opinion, a beautiful and varied bike tour that combines many aspects of Switzerland. Below I tell you more about our individual stages, for you perhaps as inspiration should you choose this route.
Stage #1: Bern to Huttwil, 66km and about 610 meters altitude difference
The stage from Bern to Huttwil is part of route 94 of “Cycling in Switzerland”, the so called "L'Areuse - Emme - Sihl", you can find more about it at SwitzerlandMobilityEarly in the morning we set off in the direction of Rubigen. In the beginning it took some getting used to with all those bags and the rather heavy bike. In Mirchel near Konolfingen we made a short stop at my sister's farm, from where my father accompanied us with his bike. From then on, the breeze blew quite hard against us, it was a fight until Sumiswald and we were all glad that we could take turns with slipstream riding. Arrived in Huttwil we spent the night in a very homey and cozy Bed & Breakfast verbracht.
Stage #2: Huttwil to Zug - 73km and about 500 meters altitude difference
Honestly, the first few meters were a bit hard and we had to get used to the rhythm again and especially to sitting on the saddle for a long time. Soon we arrived at the idyllic Sempachersee lake in the canton of Lucerne and the exertions of the previous day were already long forgotten.
Via Hochdorf and Sins we reached the city of Zug in the course of the afternoon. The beautiful lake promenade there invites us to stroll and enjoy. We spent the night in a cozy and quite centrally located Youth Hostel.
Stage #3: Zug to Jona - 65km and about 1200 meters altitude difference
The third day of our adventure was in my opinion the most exciting, purely scenic, but also athletic and mental. From Zug we continued along the Lakes Route in the direction of Einsiedeln. The ascent in the early morning along the Lorze in the so-called "Lorzentobel" was spectacular and at the same time fabulous. Until today I can't really explain how I managed to get lost in Unterägeri. Instead of the route 9 along the Ägerisee Lake we turned off on the route 99. What followed was basically times a detour as well as a steep climb to the Gubel on 983 m above sea level. Our mood was no longer so good, but at the top again pretty okay. We were rewarded with a super view of the Ägerisee Lake. Once we arrived in Einsiedeln, we took a look at the baroque monastery complex from the 18th century, but then quickly got back on the saddle, because it was already the middle of the afternoon and quite cold, and we were still far from our destination. Along the north shore of Lake Sihl we headed towards Lake Zurich, but one last test was still ahead of us. The Etzelpass at 950 m above sea level with an average gradient of 12% was a short but fierce experience. Katja just said, "Promise me this is the last mountain today..." So it was, and only down we went across Lake Zurich to Bollingen near Jona, where we then made ourselves comfortable in the "Bed & Breakfast Oasee" directly on the lake. The ordered pizza that evening we had more than earned.
Stage #4: Jona to Wil - 60km and about 900 meters altitude difference
After a super breakfast with a view of Lake Zurich, our journey continued in the canton of St. Gallen. For Katja as well as me this region was very unknown so far and we were very curious what would expect us scenically. The beginning was a combination of routes 53, 86 and 99 and led through the Goldinger valley over the Ricken pass to Wattwil, a village in Toggenburg. Along the Thur, a tributary of the Rhine, we were presented with a wonderful river and riverbank landscape until we finally reached our stage destination of Wil in the late afternoon.
Stage #5: Wil to Märstetten - 70km and about 400 meters altitude difference
By now we have really found our footing and rhythm. Up to this point, touring cycling has been more fun for us every day. The adventurous feeling of traveling through Switzerland, discovering new places and landscapes, the feeling of freedom to determine where we actually want to ride through and to share all this together as a couple was unique. So we were a bit sad when we started the last stage of our first bike tour together. The last route was not strenuous from a purely sportive point of view, as there were many descents and flat terrain. From Wil we went to Romanshorn, from there along Lake Constance to Kreuzlingen. The weather was splendid and warm, we made a few stops on the shore to enjoy the view.
An interesting takeaway from this route was also how fast you can go on a bike when there's not a lot of elevation gain. Normally, we rode our previous day's stages at about 15 km/h. On this last day, our average was about 20 km/h, which meant we made very fast progress, and we reached our final destination Märstetten, after only a few hours. In the nearby Wellnesshotel Golf Panorama in Lipperswil we finished our first bike tour together and were visibly proud. We treated ourselves to two days of relaxation and delicious food and from that day on we were enthusiastic about touring cycling, it should not have been the last tour...
Tour profile
