IC-Trail continuation still has to wait - Switzerland crisscross

Corona still has Europe firmly in its grip. It is impossible to continue our bike tour on EuroVelo 13 along the Iron Curtain. However, it is still feasible to do a tour in Switzerland this year as accommodations and restaurants are open. Freshly vaccinated, we set off on a cross-country tour through Switzerland, not yet knowing how exhausting the whole thing will be.

Saturday, May 29: Waldshut -Winterthur -Wil - Kirchberg 120 km

We take the train to Waldshut, where we quickly join the Rhine Route, which we follow along the Rhein, passing through Bad Zurzach and Kaiserstuhl until the Töss River flows into the Rhein. A short visit to Kaiserstuhl, the medieval bridge town, is worthwhile. We continue with a slight ascent through the Tösstal to Winterthur. We have to pedal hard to reach the Oskar Reinhart collection at Römerholz, but it proves to be rewarding. In an old villa, the art connoisseur Reinhart has assembled his collection over many years, focusing on French art of the 19th century. His preference was for painters such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, and Paul Cézanne. In addition, there were the immediate precursors of Impressionism and some works by older masters. We were very lucky to be the only visitors, so we could enjoy the wonderful works in peace. We continue on the Mittelland Route with a slightly uphill stretch to Wil. A final steep climb and we have reached our accommodation in Kirchberg.

Sunday, May 30: Kirchberg - Hulftegg - Gibswil - Kaltbrunn - Pfäffikon - Schindeleggi 95 km

It is still chilly in the morning, but the sun soon warms us up. The first kilometers are demanding as we head up to Hulftegg at an altitude of 950 m. The mountain pass road has connected Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen with the Tösstal in the canton of Zürich since 1867. We continue steadily downhill until Steg. In Gibswil, we switch to the Herz Route 99, known for its many climbs. This section of the route lives up to its reputation: uphill to Chrinnen at 930 m, followed by a longer descent and then a 150 m climb to Hintergoldingen, later a 200 m climb to Oberricken. The climbs are particularly tough due to the strong headwind. But the hardest part is yet to come in the late afternoon, after we have cycled along Lake Zürich from Pfäffikon following a long descent. 300 challenging meters of ascent over Feusisberg to Schindeleggi, making our thighs burn. The first part of the climb is steep and demands everything.

Monday, May 31: Einsiedeln-Goldau-Küssnacht-Luzern-Sarnen 110 km

The sun is shining again in the morning, and we start the climb towards Etzelpass, breaking a sweat. After descending to Lake Sihl, we enjoy the view over the lake to Hoch-Ybrig. It is a constant up and down as we pass through the largest remaining high and moorland in Switzerland near Rothenturm. Impressive! Thanks to a popular initiative almost 35 years ago, a planned military training ground in this beautiful landscape was prevented. From Sattel, we descend rapidly to Goldau and reach Lake Zug. We soon reach Immensee on the lakeside path and pass through the historic 'Hohle Gasse' to Küssnacht. Above Lake Lucerne, we cycle to Luzern and enjoy a wonderful view of Rigi, Stanser Horn, and Pilatus. Then it is another 30 km to Lake Sarner, where Gisela and Urs are waiting for us.

Tuesday, June 1: Stage over Glaubenbielen and Schallenberg to Thun 85 km

We roll to Giswil before climbing 1100 m in 12 km up to Glaubenbielen. We are challenged and occasionally enjoy the view of Lake Sarnen, but we have to concentrate on constantly pedaling past freshly mowed meadows and dense forests. Satisfied, we take a pass photo on the crossing to Sörenberg and into the Entlebuch UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Before Sörenberg, we have a nice view of the still snow-covered Brienzer Rothorn. We descend to Schüpfheim before facing a light uphill stretch with a headwind to Escholzmatt. The ascent continues to Schangnau, the hometown of ski star Beat Feuz. Now we face the final climb to Schallenberg, which is particularly tough after the many meters of ascent. We are rewarded with a beautiful descent to Lake Thun and a cozy end in the old town of Thun.

Wednesday, June 2: Wimmis - Reidenbach - Jaunpass - Broc - Montbovon 90 km

Since we were in the Freiburger Land at the beginning of May on the weekend, we decide to tackle the Jaunpass via the Simmental today. A good choice, even though the climb from Reidenbach to the pass involves 600 meters of altitude gain. But even from Thun via Wimmis to Reidenbach, we constantly climb to secluded farms above the Simmental. Fortunately, there is not much traffic on the pass road during the week, so we can climb the steep sections almost undisturbed. From the pass, we descend 21 km to Broc via Jaun and Charmey. On the journey through the Greyerzerland, we naturally encounter the Gruyère, the most famous cheese in Switzerland. In Pringy near Gruyères, there is a cheese dairy, but unfortunately, we are too late today. After some climbs, we finally reach Montbovon in Haut-Gruyère in the evening, satisfied and "saturated" with landscapes, next to the Montreux-Oberland-Bahn. We spend the night at the Hotel de Gare.

Thursday, June 3: Montbovon - La Lecherette - Col des Mosses - Aigle - Montreux - Morges - Buchillon 120 km

From Montbovon, we constantly climb through the gorges of Vallée d'Hongrin. At 1200 m, there is the crystal-clear Lac de l’Hongrin, fed by dozens of small mountain streams. From La Lecherette, the military restricted area begins, which can only be accessed by cyclists on weekends in June. Therefore, we gain some extra altitude before reaching the Col des Mosses, from where we descend quickly over 21 km to Aigle in the Rhone Valley. From there, it is not far to Lake Geneva and the sophisticated places like Montreux and Vevey. From Vevey, the cycle path leads into the vineyards with steep ramps, so we switch back to the main road after some climbs, making it faster to reach Lausanne. After that, the cycle path continues away from traffic and partly directly along the lake. In the beautiful village of Buchillon, we find a nice accommodation.

Friday, June 4: Buchillon - Aubonne - Arzier - St. Cergue - Les Rousses (F) - Lac de Joux 90 km

From the lake, we can already see where we are headed today. The Jura Mountains rise high, and we want to cross over to the French part. This means, as almost every day, a constant uphill climb. It is already 300 meters of elevation gain to Aubonne, which allows us a beautiful view of the lake and the mountains, unfortunately shrouded in clouds. Before Arzier, we lose some altitude, but then a steady climb with little traffic takes us to St. Cergue. We are rewarded with coffee and cake in sunny weather before we conquer the final meters of elevation to Col de Givrine and cross over to the French side of the Jura. The French Jura seems even less populated than the Swiss side, and we enjoy the tranquility and the beautiful views. Since the hotels in France are still closed due to Corona, we switch to the Swiss side at Lac de Joux. We have been here before on our first joint bike tour 16 years ago and fondly remember it with a beer at Hotel Bellevue. Just in time before the rain, we reach our accommodation in Le Pont.

Saturday, June 5: Le Pont - Mourthe - Pontarlier - Le Gras - La Brévine - Le Locle 85 km

It has been raining heavily almost all night. Even in the morning, thick rain clouds hang over the lake. We want to return to the French Jura and, in drizzling rain at temperatures below 10 degrees, we pedal up to Col de Landoz-Neuve at 1260 m. A long descent takes us to Mourthe, where the Doubs River originates. We ride steadily downhill along the still small river to Pontarlier. From there, we take a small side road to Les Gras and then climb over a small pass back into Switzerland to La Brévine. Now it is not far to Le Locle, which, together with La Chaux-de-Fonds, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009 due to the successful combination of urban planning and watchmaking industry. We find excellent accommodation at Maison Dubois, one of the oldest houses in watchmaking.

Sunday, June 6: Le Locle - La Chaux-de-Fonds - Tramelan - Bellelay - Delemont 85 km

We cross a hill above Le Locle and arrive at the right-angled La Chaux-de-Fonds. From there, we climb up to the Franches Montagnes, a magnificent landscape with expansive meadows, huge spruces, and secluded farms. We climb up and down constantly, passing Mont Soleil with its wind generators and solar panels on our way to Tramelan. After a few more meters of ascent, we reach the Bellelay Abbey, where the famous Tête de Moine cheese is produced. Now it's only downhill through the Gorges de Pichoux to Undervilier and finally to Delemont, where we take the S-Bahn to Basel.