Why this ride
149 km from Erlach to Erlach, about 3 h 07 of riding. It goes by way of Chenevières de Guévaux I, Village, Spitz and Les Grèves. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 950 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Strandboden and Les Grèves
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 149 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 07
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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.
Scenic road chapters
Grand Tour of Switzerland
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 16 km this is Grand Tour of Switzerland, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 16 km
- Named road
- Grand Tour of Switzerland
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Strandboden
Erlach sits at the south-western tip of Lake Biel, a little Bernese town of one steep street climbing to a castle, with vineyards on the slope behind and reed beds and beaches along the shore below. The flat ground by the water, the Strandboden, is where archaeologists have found traces of prehistoric lakeside villages, part of the network of pile dwelling sites around the Alps inscribed by UNESCO in 2011. Five or six thousand years ago farmers built their houses here on posts at the water's edge, and the waterlogged mud preserved timbers, tools, seeds and even textiles in astonishing detail.
Read the complete Strandboden write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Strandboden is where the day begins. Next is Chenevières de Guévaux I.
2. Chenevières de Guévaux I
Lake Murten is small, shallow and warm, framed on its north side by the vine-covered whale back of Mont Vully. Under its shallows near the Vully shore lie the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling villages, and Chenevières de Guévaux is one of them, part of the UNESCO site of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps. Between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, people built houses on timber posts along lake shores like this one. Waterlogged conditions preserved posts, tools, textiles and food remains for thousands of years, and the finds transformed what we know about early farming communities in Europe.
Read the complete Chenevières de Guévaux I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chenevières de Guévaux I comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Village.
3. Village
The label is simply Village, which tells you the scouts did not have a better name, so this entry is really about the shore of Lake Neuchâtel between Estavayer-le-Lac and Cortaillod. Here the lake is wide and calm, a long sliver of water set between the Jura mountains to the northwest and the rolling Fribourg country to the southeast. The southern shore is special. A broad belt of reeds, marsh and woodland runs along it, known as the Grande Cariçaie, which is the largest lakeshore wetland in Switzerland and a refuge for many birds, dragonflies and amphibians.
Read the complete Village write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 33 km into the recorded legs you reach Village. Next is Spitz.
4. Spitz
On the southern shore of the Murtensee, just west of the medieval town of Murten, a little point of land juts into the water at Greng, and here, beneath the shallows, archaeologists found the posts of prehistoric lake villages. Greng-Spitz is one of the Swiss sites in the UNESCO group of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, and while there is nothing to see but reeds, water and the occasional marker, it is pleasant to know that people lived on this shore some five thousand years ago.
Read the complete Spitz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Spitz, about halfway. Next is Les Grèves.
5. Les Grèves
Reeds, mostly. That is the first thing you notice when you roll down to Les Grèves on the southern shore of Lake Neuchâtel: a soft wall of reed and willow between the fields and the water, with the Jura sitting long and blue on the far side of the lake. This stretch between Portalban, Gletterens and Chevroux belongs to the Grande Cariçaie, the biggest lakeshore marsh in Switzerland, and it only exists because people once moved an entire lake level.
Read the complete Les Grèves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Les Grèves sits at 70 km, about halfway. Next is back through Spitz.
6. back through Spitz
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Spitz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Spitz comes up about 94 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Village.
7. back through Village
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Village write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 116 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Village. Next is back through Chenevières de Guévaux I.
8. back through Chenevières de Guévaux I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chenevières de Guévaux I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Chenevières de Guévaux I, late in the day. Next is Strandboden.
9. Strandboden
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Strandboden write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 149 km.
Leg by leg
Strandboden to Chenevières de Guévaux I
Strandboden → Chenevières de Guévaux I is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chenevières de Guévaux I to Village
Chenevières de Guévaux I → Village is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Village to Spitz
Village → Spitz is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Spitz to Les Grèves
Spitz → Les Grèves is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Les Grèves to back through Spitz
Les Grèves → back through Spitz is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Spitz to back through Village
back through Spitz → back through Village is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Village to back through Chenevières de Guévaux I
back through Village → back through Chenevières de Guévaux I is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chenevières de Guévaux I to Strandboden
back through Chenevières de Guévaux I → Strandboden is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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