May/June Newsletter

Swiss quality and design at a fair price.

Swiss Style

Yes, I’m planning to deck myself out with the full kit ! I’ve spent the last few days circling items with my red pen, choosing colors and wondering if I’m still a size “large”. I was going to post a list of American stores selling the new clothing line, but BMC has told me that their American distributor hasn’t yet put in an order, which means that these items will only be available for the European market… and primarily the Swiss market, at that. Too bad because their line-up is class : simple patterns, dark colors and classic fit. Definately something that a “retro-grouch” like myself can wear. Take a look yourself, I’ve put the catalog on-line here.

I’d be happy to put in an order for any present or past riders.

We’re in our new diggs.

New store front

Our mechanic (Roger) has set up his own workshop and Bike Switzerland is sharing around 1/2 the space to display bicycles, store our accessories and to give ourselves some room to maneuver when riders come in for bike fittings. Indeed, things are much easier now. Gone are the days when we would schlep truckloads of bikes back and forth from Carouge. The store is just a 5-minute walk from the train station. Click here for a map.

Bike Switzerland Bed and Breakfast.

2010

In spite of the economy, our “Budget Tours”  (overnights in youth hostels) have not been doing very well. I understand…as much as we enjoyed our youth, there are certain things we prefer to leave behind. Recently, a client asked me to organize an independent trip using local Bed and Breakfasts, and after doing a bit of research, I was surprised by the large number of BnBs dotting the Lite Route and Challenge Route. So, for 2010 we’re going to axe the “Budget Tours” and create a lower cost “BnB option”. Stay tuned.

Registrations are up.

This is why I wasn’t able to get out a proper May Newsletter. This year we’ve already signed up more riders than any year previously. Last year was a record and we’re ahead of those numbers by 12% at the moment. That said, our guided tours are about the same as last year, but we’ve had a double in the number of independent tours.

We’re at the gates.

Our first guided tour is June 28th. We’ll post pictures as they’re taken.

My best,

JOHN