Grand Opening
04.29
You’re invited to the Grand Opening of Bike Switzerland’s new “Welcome Center”: a location dedicated to helping the anglophone community and tourists discover Switzerland by bike. We’re not you’re typical bikeshop. We’re a club of riders, a group of friends, trusted advisors !
Please come and visit us from Friday May 4th and Saturday May 5th. We’ll be open from 10am to 8pm on both days. Map to the shop
- Have a glass of wine and learn about:
– Free weekly bicycle rides, workshops, lectures and events
– Our bicycle tours across Switzerland
– The “Tour de Suisse” program
– Special prices on BMC bicycles and accessories for club members.
Tour de Suisse Details
04.13
Chris White and John Klemme go over each day of Bike Switzerland’s Tour de Suisse program and announce Bike Switzerland’s partcipation as official tour operator.
Our Jura Tour
04.11
Bike Switzerland’s Jura Tour. This tour will take you from Geneva to Basel on the Swiss side and back to Geneva on the French side. You’ll be doing a large 700 km loop through the Jura mountains on BMC road bikes! Itinerary: Geneva, Lac de Joux, Couvet, Saignlegier, Basel, St. Hippolyte, Luisans, Malbuisson, Les Molunes. You’ll have 9 days of cycling and a rest day in Basel.
Our Challenge Tour
02.10
Bike Switzerland started off with just one tour back in 1994. Since then we’ve added itineraries and so now have four different tours every summer. Of course, with choice comes confusion and you might need some help deciding which tour is right for you. So this podcast is devoted to telling you a bit about our first and most popular tour “The Challenge Tour” across Switzerland.
Work for Bike Switzerland
02.10
Most of our staff from last year are returning. However, we’re always open to new collaborators.
We’re therefore considering applications for the following positions:
Bicycle Guide
Qualifications:
• Experienced cyclist based in Switzerland or neighboring France with a good knowledge of the Swiss national routes.
• Competent in basic bicycle mechanics (flats, derailleur adjustments, brakes)
• Available late August/Early September
• English and French (or German)
• At least 24 years old
Van Driver
• At least 24 years old with excellent driving record. Professional driving experience desired.
• Based in Switzerland or neighboring France
• Able to prepare diverse picnic lunches for cyclists
• Able to lift heavy suitcases up flights of stairs
• English (French and/or German a plus)
• Good knowledge of Swiss geography
• Competency in bicycle maintenence desired, but not required
New Clothing for 2011….in the works
01.26
We’ve hired a crew of designers to put together even more new offerings for 2011.
We’re still not sure which ones will make the final cut, but here are a few of my favorite at the moment
These are not your ordinary “custom” jerseys. Most clubs, teams and companies simply have their designs printed on a standard jersey offered by the manufacturer.
Our jerseys, however, are designed stitch for stitch this year. This means that we’re able to add lots of cool details:
♦ Ventilated side panels,
♦ Side pockets
♦ Colored piping at the seams
♦ Lasered cut cuffs and waist for perfect fit
I’m going to Italy next month to film some of the manufacturing process so that you 
see just what we’re doing.
We’re also working with several other manufacturers to introduce a line of Bike Switzerland helmets and gloves.
Oh, and ladies…we’re also going to get you some regular (non-bib) cycling shorts this year
Bike Switzerland Gear: The story up until now
01.17
We made our first jersey back in 2008. We only made 100 pieces and so we did as most others do and sent an email off to Louis Garneau. They held our hand all the way and made it easy. The jerseys arrived, they were good quality, but very expensive. That wasn’t the only bad part: LG insisted that their own logo be prominently displayed on our jersey and we had to pay a lot extra for each color appearing on the product. It wasn’t long before we decided to look for another manufacturer.
Our next supplier was based in Switzerland ! They had a good little team in a small sleepy town outside of Zurich and their jerseys were of reasonable quality and much less expensive. But all of the manufacturing was taking place in China ! We were paying a Swiss company to manufacture our products in China. Sure, it was easier than going to China ourselves, but that wasn’t the point. We wanted to be involved in the manufacturing. We wanted to get our hands dirty. We didn’t want a middleman anymore.
And so being in Western Europe, we naturally set our sights to Italy. We found GSG (Global Sports Gear) right away. Like most clothing manufacturers, GSG makes their own brand, but most of their business comes from manufacturing for other brands and teams.
It’s an open secret that the same sewing room that is putting out Pearl Izumi on Monday may be producing for Sugoi on Tuesday. But Bike Switzerland is not a Pearl Izumi. We’re not even a blip on the radar. Fortunately, GSG liked the Bike Switzerland story and the idea of getting behind a brand still in its infancy. We also promised that we’d tell the GSG story every chance we got. And so here we are…
Questions about our Independent Tours?
12.06
A few weeks ago, we put out a request asking everyone to send us their questions about our independent bicycle tours. Thanks for those !
And so here they are:
What is the difference between your guided tours and independent tours ? (Why the difference in price ?)
Can I bring my own bike ?
Can I do a shorter tour ?
What if I get a flat ?!
How do the trains work with your tours ?
You’ll find the answers to these questions and others in the podcast below !
Click the icon to subscribe to our podcast in Itunes
2012 TDS tour
12.05
Chris White, our “Bike Switzerland” Tour de Suisse leader has updated the information for our 2012 TDS tour. Above you see that we’ll be doing 4 days of riding with the tour: two loops and the other two times we’ll be getting back with the train. Our home base will be at the Hotel Jakob in the scenic lakeside town of Rapperswil ! Again, the dates are:
Arrival: June 13
Departure: June 18
Price: 2,450 (includes all breakfasts and dinners, lodging, bmc road bike and in-country transportation)
If there is enough interest, we’ll be extending the tour one more day to tour the BMC factory in Grenchen and that would also give us the opportunity to ride into the Jura.
We’ll get the information on the site as soon as possible, but in the meantime: here’s the itinerary.
Day 1.
Welcome to Switzerland! From Zurich airport, it’s just a short train ride into the center of Zurich and then we’ll take a scenic train ride along Lake Zurich to the town we’ll be staying in throughout this trip: Rapperswil.
If you arrive early enough then you can take some time to stop off in Zurich and explore this cosmopolitan city in the heart of Europe before going to Rapperswil (you can store your luggage in the lockers at the train station).
Our hotel is just a couple of minutes walk from the train station. After you’ve got settled into your room then we’ll show you the BMC bikes that you’ll use during the tour and make the adjustments needed to make them fit you well.
After dinner, we’ll take a short walk around the castle grounds next to the hotel and enjoy the views across Lake Zurich to the mountains that will be our playground for the next few days.
Day 2. 90 km with 1200m climbing.
Let’s ride! We’ll start off with a gentle climb over the lower pre-Alpine hills, before tackling our first official mountain pass. We’ll have lunch while looking up at the rocky cliff-faces that lead up to Säntis, the tallest mountain in the region at over 2,500 metres (8,200 ft).
We’ll then head towards Bischofszell, where Stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse will end. There will probably be some circuits around the surrounding area before the finish in the town itself, and if so then we’ll get to see the riders multiple times. The race route should include a lot of rolling hills, so if an early breakaway has not happened then expect the punchier riders to attack on the short climbs in the finishing circuits.
After watching the podium ceremonies, we’ll take a train back to Rapperswil for supper.
Day 3. 60km with 600m climbing.
Time for a Time Trial! Our hotel is very close to Gossau, where the main time trial of the race will take place. We’ll take a very indirect route to get there by riding around some of the lakes in the region and climbing up to the local peaks.
This will be our shortest day of riding because there is so much to see at the time trial – it’s the best day to be a spectator.
The area containing the team buses where the riders warm up and the mechanics get the bikes ready should be open to the public, so we’ll have a good look around. We plan to use our connections with BMC to get to meet some of the staff and maybe some of the riders. We’ll then head out to a place on the race route where we can get some great photos of the riders whizzing past individually.
At the end of the day, it will be an easy 30 minute bike ride back to the hotel.
Day 4. 100 km with 1100m climbing, or 140 km with 1800m.
Off to the mountains! The racers will have their last mountain-top finish of the tour today, and we’re going to be on the final slopes to watch them battle it out.
We’ll have one decent climb part-way through the day, but we’ll save almost all the climbing for the end. Along the way, we’ll ride along some amazingly scenic valleys that are surrounded by towering mountains.
The climb up to the ski town of Arosa will be a long one. Those not feeling up to it can stop on the lower slopes to watch the racers go past on the steepest sections there, while the more ambitious of us will head for the upper section of the climb. Afterwards, we’ll all descend and re-group at the bottom to hop on a train back to the hotel.
Day 5. 120 km with 2300m climbing.
Let’s finish with a Bang! Hopefully we haven’t tired you out in the previous three days, because we’ve saved the toughest ride for last.
The racers will start pretty close to our hotel, and they’ll almost immediately head uphill. After a slightly longer warm-up than them, we’ll ride up that first climb in the morning and have lunch while we wait for the racers to catch us up.
We’ll then have most of the afternoon to ride on the small roads through the mountains. We’ll do some long, tough climbs before finishing with a long descent back to the hotel.
Your home in Geneva: Hotel Cornavin
11.28
We used to use the Hotel Mont Brilliant which is located right behind Cornavin station. Sure, the rooms were nice and the staff was friendly, but I really loved that I could wait for my riders downstairs and at the same time burn my nose in the sun on their terrace with a beer. It was a lovely arrangement that could have continued indefinitely, but for some reason they decided to increase their rates and cut off my complimentary beers, and so there was really no reason to stick around.
Travel in Europe and you’ll find lots of hotels near the train station. Of course, you’ll also learn to avoid all hotels near the train station. Fortunately, there are exceptions. The Hotel Cornavin is such a place: sound-proof windows, clean sunny rooms and wonderful views of the lake from the breakfast room on the tippy-top floor.
There is no downstairs bar, however. Never mind that. I’ve solved that problem by putting a long list of (good) nearby restaurants and drinking establishments in the arrivals folder. Problem solved.
Thanks to Mark for doing the video. Afterwards, he told me that puts on a French accent when he goes to New York with family…just to embarrass his kids.
So, not sure what kind of accent you’re hearing in the video. You tell me.
I Wish it Were a Bit Colder Outside
11.28
I went to shores of Lake Zurich to show that the Autumn weather had made it too cold do do anymore cycling.
I was hoping that the statue would help to emphasize my point. The weather, however, wasn’t cooperating: it was a beautiful day and people kept walking around and interfering with my camera angles.
The video ends with contest: Tell us who sculpted the statue and receive a Bike Switzerland t-shirt. Amazingly, one of our Facebook fans wrote in within minutes of posting with the correct answer. I’m still not sure how that happened, unless he happens to live across the street
Bike Switzerland’s Tour de Suisse on track for 2012
11.10
We really want to fill our Tour de Suisse tour this year and there is no reason that we shouldn’t.
Afterall, we’re the only in-country company giving access to this tour, and with our collaboration with BMC we hope to get you up close to the action.
We’re in the process of updating our site to include our 2012 Tour de Suisse itinerary.
However, the dates on the site are correct and we can also confirm that you should plan on flying into and out of Zurich.
We’ll be on brand new BMC road bikes, and we can even arrange for you to take one home with you at a special price if you sign up for a tour.
So, leave your bike at home, but bring a bike box !
Bike Switzerland’s Race Winter Jerseys
11.08
Ronny Fracarro, GSG's Director
I sat down with Ronny Fracarro, the director of GSG manufacturing a few weeks ago. Actually, we hadn’t planned on talking about business. Ronny was in Switzerland to see a client and so I invited him to supper.
Before going out to eat, I asked to see the winter products that he was showing his customer. Afterall, I normally have to go to Italy or order samples to get my hands on actual product samples and now there they were sitting in the next room.
The production floor at GSG
Ronny had all of GSG’s samples on a travelling clothing rack and I took the time to get lost in the colors, textures, stitching and one hundred other small details that put GSG above other manufacturers. By the time we left for supper, I knew that we needed to put a few more of these Italian-made products onto our shelves.
So, I just called Ronny this morning and told him that we want their best winter jersey: the same elite cold-weather jersey worn by Acqua-Sapone. The work order will be put in tomorrow which means that we’ll get them delivered to you before Christmas !
Classic Winter Jersey
Tradition Winter Jersey
We’re keeping our same “Classic” and ”Tradition” designs. Both jerseys incorporate exptremely flexible “Roubaix” material with soft fleece inside for temperatures around zero degrees celcius. They’ve got full-length front zip and three rear compartment pockets and an elastic silicone hem.
Again, these jackets are designed in Switzerland, but everything else is done IN-HOUSE at Giessegi’s headquarters outside of Treviso: research, tests, cutting the materials, printing, stitching and boxing. It’s all done by a small-group of hard-working Italians that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know.
Everyone making a pre-order by December 10th will get the jersey a special price: 99chf.
And since we’re making only 50 pieces of each design, there is a real possibility that the jerseys will be sold out before they ship.
Again, we won’t be shipping until around December 10th, but best to pre-order now at this link.
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