CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A one-way ride of 476 km, Rapperswil to Luzern - roughly 8 h 23 in the saddle. The stops in between: Appenzell old town, Toggenburg flow road and Walensee line. The climbs: Schwägalp Säntis road, Glaubenbielen high road and Brünigpass sweepers. It tops out at 1,611 m. Brunig Pass is subject to seasonal closure - check it is open before you set off. It is a high-mountain day.
The ground tilts up and stays tilted for 16 km. 498 m of it, taken steadily rather than in one wall — a steady rhythm suits this better than bursts. The height arrives whether you hurry or not.
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
478 m come off over 10 km at around 5.8%. The road gives back what the climb took, faster than it took it. Brakes early, eyes far ahead. A descent this long asks more of concentration than of pace.
16 km on Appenzell and Schwagalp Loop.
The last of the trees go and the road runs out onto open ground. The summit sits at 1611 m, and what surrounds it is rock, weather and distance — cold comes early up here and stays late. Ride it with something in reserve: the summit is not the end of the work, only the middle of it.
14 km that neither climbs nor drops much. The road settles into the ground rather than fighting it. This is where a day makes up time without anyone trying. Third and fourth, and very little else.
The wooden bridge at Rapperswil is the kind of crossing that makes you slow down on purpose. It stretches across the upper end of Lake Zurich, a footbridge of oak planks on piles, rebuilt in the early 2000s on the line of a medieval predecessor, and it joins the old town of Rapperswil on the north shore to the village of Hurden on the south. Pilgrims on the Way of St James have walked across it for centuries, and the modern version makes no attempt to be anything but simple and beautiful.
Read the complete Rapperswil lake bridge write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Rapperswil lake bridge is where the day begins. Next is Appenzell old town, climbing 372 m.
Appenzell is a town that has kept hold of itself, and that is the first thing you notice when you ride in. Houses are painted in bright colours, with decorated gables and flower boxes, and the main street feels more like a village than a town of five and a half thousand. The canton it governs, Appenzell Innerrhoden, is the smallest in Switzerland by population, and it clings to traditions that others have dropped.
Read the complete Appenzell old town write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Appenzell old town is where this day stops to eat. The road climbs 372 m over at least 46 km before it, steadily. Reckon on about 2 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Next is Schwägalp Säntis road, climbing 498 m.
The Säntis is the high point of the Alpstein, 2,502 metres of limestone that rises almost out of nowhere above the rolling hills of eastern Switzerland. The road that gets you to its foot is the Schwägalp pass, which climbs from Urnäsch in Appenzell Ausserrhoden to a high saddle at 1,278 metres and then drops toward the Toggenburg. At the saddle, a cable car carries people up the last steep stretch to the summit in a few minutes, and a famous weather station sits at the top.
Read the complete Schwägalp Säntis road write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
1278 m, and the road stops climbing. The road climbs 498 m on the way up to it, steadily. Reckon on about 6 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Next is Toggenburg flow road, mostly downhill.
Toggenburg is a long valley in eastern Switzerland, carved by the young Thur river, and it is a landscape of soft green hills with steep stone walls above. The road here runs from Wildhaus, high up at the head of the valley, toward Gams and the Rhine plain, and it has a flowing quality that has earned it a name among riders: long, open bends, gentle gradients and hardly any need to touch the brakes.
Read the complete Toggenburg flow road write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Toggenburg flow road, early in the day at 800 m. You lose 478 m on the way down to it, steadily. Reckon on about 3 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Next is Walensee photo line, mostly downhill.
The Walensee is one of the most dramatic lakes in Switzerland, and one of the least visited. It lies in a trench between the Churfirsten range to the north and the Glarus Alps to the south, a long narrow lake of intense green, with cliffs that fall almost vertically into the water. The photograph is the Churfirsten wall reflected in the surface on a still morning, seven jagged peaks mirrored in the lake.
Read the complete Walensee photo line write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Walensee photo line sits at 131 km, about halfway. You lose 381 m on the way down to it, steadily. Next is Back to Rapperswil.
Rapperswil sits at the eastern end of Lake Zürich, where a long wooden footbridge crosses the water to Hurden on the far shore, and it calls itself the Rose Town for the thousands of rose bushes that bloom in the gardens beside its castle. The old town climbs a small hill capped by a medieval castle with three towers, and its lanes are a mix of arcaded houses, small squares and lakeside terraces, with a view over the lake to the mountains. The lake here is about four hundred metres above sea level, and the air feels mild and soft.
Read the complete Rapperswil write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 393 km. Next is Lucerne lake.
Lucerne sits where the lake narrows into the Reuss, with the Alps stacked up behind it, and at 436 metres it is one of the most visited cities in Switzerland. The best way to see the old town is on foot, so find a car park and leave the bike.
Read the complete Lucerne lake exit write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
197 km in you reach Lucerne lake. Next is Entlebuch food stop, climbing 287 m.
Entlebuch gave the world a dog. The Entlebucher Sennenhund, a small, sturdy, tricolour herding breed, was developed in these valleys to drive cattle on the steep pastures, and the village is proud of it. The surrounding region is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, recognised in 2001, a landscape of moors, wooded ridges and green pasture, where the Kleine Emme river runs down from the Alps toward Lucerne.
Read the complete Entlebuch food stop write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Somewhere to get off the bike, 229 km in. The road climbs 287 m on the way up to it, steadily. Next is Glaubenbielen high road, climbing 888 m.
Glaubenbielen is a pass for people who like their mountains empty. It crosses a green saddle at 1,611 metres between Giswil in Obwalden and the Entlebuch valley in Lucerne, and the road is narrow, steep and often quiet, with long stretches where you will meet nothing but cows and the occasional cyclist. The scenery is gentle but big, with moorland, scattered spruce and an open sky.
Read the complete Glaubenbielen high road write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The high point of this section, 1611 m up. The road climbs 888 m on the way up to it, steadily. Reckon on about 8 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Nothing on this route is higher. High enough to hold ice in the shaded corners early and late in the year. Next is Brünigpass sweepers, mostly downhill.
Brünig is the easy pass, and it is more fun than that makes it sound. At 1,008 metres it is one of the lowest of the main Alpine crossings in central Switzerland, joining Lungern in Obwalden with the shore of Lake Brienz and the Haslital, and it is open all year. The road is fast and well made, with long sweepers that let you lean the bike and keep the revs up, a kind of riding that is rare in the high mountains.
Read the complete Brünigpass sweepers write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Brünigpass sweepers tops the climb at 1008 m. You lose 603 m on the way down to it, steadily. Reckon on about 4 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Next is Giswil, mostly downhill.
Giswil sits at the bottom of the Brünig road, and so it is a place where riders gather. The village, with about three and a half thousand people, lies in the valley of the Sarner Aa, at 485 metres, south of Lake Sarnen, between wooded hills and steep slopes. It is a quiet farming community in the canton of Obwalden, the heart of central Switzerland, and the main road runs through it on the way up to Lungern and the Brünig pass.
Read the complete Giswil fuel gate write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Fill up here — 65 km left and no pump marked after this. You lose 523 m on the way down to it, steadily. Next is Zug lake return.
Zug is a small city with a big lake and a reputation for money. The lake, the Zugersee, lies in a bowl of low hills at the northern edge of the Alps, a calm, blue sheet of water with the Rigi rising across on the south side and the Pilatus further off. The old town sits on the northeastern shore, with a medieval clock tower, pastel houses and a promenade where boats bob in the harbour.
Read the complete Zug lake return write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Zug lake return, late in the day at 413 m. Next is Back to Lucerne lake.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lucerne lake exit write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back to Lucerne lake closes the day.
Rapperswil lake bridge → Appenzell old town is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Appenzell old town → Schwägalp Säntis road climbs about 498 m in 16 km. This is the part worth slowing down for - look through the bends and use the pull-offs.
Schwägalp Säntis road → Toggenburg flow road drops about 478 m over 8 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.
Toggenburg flow road → Walensee photo line is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Walensee photo line → Back to Rapperswil is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Rapperswil → Lucerne lake exit is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lucerne lake exit → Entlebuch food stop is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Entlebuch food stop → Glaubenbielen high road climbs about 888 m in 22 km. This is the part worth slowing down for - look through the bends and use the pull-offs.
Glaubenbielen high road → Brünigpass sweepers drops about 603 m over 16 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.
Brünigpass sweepers → Giswil fuel gate drops about 523 m over 14 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.
Giswil fuel gate → Zug lake return is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zug lake return → Back to Lucerne lake exit is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.