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.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 490 km round trip from Sitten - roughly 6 h 15 in the saddle. It goes by way of Lavaux, Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch, back through Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch and back through Lavaux. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,350 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 74 km this is Grand Tour of Switzerland, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Sion is the capital of the Valais, the Swiss canton that runs along the upper Rhône between two walls of high mountains, and it is dominated by two hills. On one, the ruins of the Tourbillon castle crown the rock, and on the other, the fortified church of Valère holds what is said to be the oldest playable pipe organ in the world, dating from around the fifteenth century. You climb to it by a steep stone lane, and in summer the organ is used for a festival. The two hills rise straight out of the town and give Sion a theatrical appearance, like a backdrop for something medieval.
Read the complete Sion write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Sion is where the day begins. Next is Lavaux.
From the shore of Lake Geneva the vineyards of Lavaux climb almost vertically, terrace upon terrace, held up by stone walls, to villages perched on the slopes above. Monks from Cistercian abbeys began shaping these hillsides in the Middle Ages, and generations of winegrowers have rebuilt the walls ever since, carrying soil back up when rain washes it down. The result is one of the most striking wine landscapes in the world, stretching about thirty kilometres between Lausanne and Montreux, and listed by UNESCO in 2007. Locals like to say that the vines here enjoy three suns: the one in the sky, its reflection off the lake and the warmth stored in the stone walls.
Read the complete Lavaux write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Lavaux comes up 52 km in.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lavaux write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
104 km in you reach Lavaux. Next is Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch.
No road comes anywhere near. This is a landscape of ice, rock and sky, the first Alpine area to be listed as a World Heritage site, and the riding is all around it rather than through it.
Read the complete Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch, about halfway.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch sits at 208 km, about halfway. Next is back through Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch comes up 260 km in. Next is back through Lavaux.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lavaux write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
312 km in you reach back through Lavaux.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lavaux write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Lavaux, late in the day. Next is Sion.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sion write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 490 km.
Sion → Lavaux is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Lavaux → Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch is 133 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch → back through Lavaux is 133 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Lavaux → Sion is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.