February Newsletter

Flights to Geneva for $50.

Buying a direct flight ticket to Geneva may be expensive and unnecessary. Why not fly into London, Rome, Amsterdam or Barcelona and use the savings to extend your vacation. Geneva is home to Easyjet, the low-cost airline that makes you pay for the beer and peanuts, but otherwise saves you money.

So, if you live in Minneapolis consider flying into Amsterdam. If you live in Caracas, consider flying into Barcelona. Get the cheapest flight you can find to Europe, Easy Jet flies into Geneva from over 30 different European cities, so chances are you’ll find a cheap connecting flight if you act this month. As seats are sold, the price of remaining seats increases. But now is the perfect time: the summer itineraries have just came out and flights are dirt cheap: I just bought a round trip to Amsterdam for around $80. The catch ? No meal service on the plane and only one bag in the cargo hold. Travel light and bring a can of Pringles and you’ll be alright. www.easyjet.com

New Bike Switzerland “Alpine Morning” Jacket

Last year we had 100 jerseys printed off and sold all but a few odd sizes. It was such a success, that we’ve decided to create a matching jacket. We’re working with our same designer and Louis Garneau to create this light jacket to be delivered in late May. You can find details on the design and sizing at this link:Our jacket . Otherwise, if you’re interested in more technical specifications, take a look at this link which will take you to Louis Garneau.

We’ll also be ordering more jerseys and you can find sizing information at the following link: Our Bike Switzerland Jersey. As before, the jersey will sell for $65 and the jacket for $80. However, you can buy the pair for $135…feel free to mix sizes (you already have a jersey and want jacket, but want to buy your spouse the jersey). That price includes tax and postage…but no “retro-discounts” for past purchases. The jerseys do look great. Here they are in “real life”. Click the picture for a close-up.

If you’d like one of these items, you’ll need to pre-order. This is easy: just write me a short email before March 1st to let me know 1) What you would like 2) your name, email and address. Write me at John@bikeswitzerland.com

Or, if you have a GOOGLE account, go to this link and place your order on the spreadsheet yourself.

America: Look at the Bright Side

Enough talk about the economy. Jeez-louise. Granted, I have every reason to encourage your travelling, but really it could be worse. Last year was worse. In April of 2008, one US dollar was worth one Swiss Franc and I was panicked. Then there was the gas ! The price last April for a gallon of gas was $3.39 !

Today things are markedly better: the dollar is at 1.16 and has been gaining steadily since the recession hit Europe in December. Gas prices are back to a more reasonable $1.85 on average which means airline tickets are about 40% cheaper. And whether or not you voted for him, Barack Obama is immensely popular here in Switzerland…no more wincing as you take out your passport at the border. If your financial condition hasn’t changed much since last year, then you have every reason to celebrate with some biking here in Switzerland. Things are definately better for you.

Single Rider

We have a woman looking for a roommate for our July 16th-July 27th Lite Tour and a gentleman looking for a roommate for the August 27-September 7th Lite Tour. So, if you’re thinking about a tour and want to avoid the single supplement, then consider one of these dates.

Updated Reviews:

We have new faces on the “Reviews Page”. If you were on a ride last year, check it out: you might be there. We’re especially proud of the review that Peter Verbrugge gave us. Peter organizes the international tours for American’s largest bicycle club (Cascade out of Seattle) with over 6,500 members. Bike Switzerland hosted a group of their riders last year.

Bike Switzerland in Grand Canary

Our 2010 Grand Canary trip is being tentatively set for Saturday, February 20th to Sunday, February 28th. This will be confirmed along with prices in the next newsletter. We plan to have a seperate site dedicated to this trip at some time by April or May.

My best,

JOHN