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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Vorder Au and Riedmatt

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
116 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 45
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

A 116 km round trip from Wädenswil - roughly 1 h 45 in the saddle. On the way it passes Technikum, Riedmatt and back through Technikum. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Vorder Au

    The Au peninsula pokes out into Lake Zurich like a green thumb, and at its tip, Vorder Au, the shallow water hides traces of villages built on piles thousands of years ago. It is one of the Swiss sites in the UNESCO listing of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, though as with most of them, the archaeology lies under the lake bed and is protected rather than displayed. What you see is a wooded little hill with a castle-like house, vineyards running down to the water, reed beds and a small harbour.

    Read the complete Vorder Au write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Vorder Au is where the day begins. Next is Technikum.

  2. 2. Technikum

    Students at the technical university in Rapperswil study engineering on a lakeside campus, and beneath the shoreline in front of their buildings lie the remains of villages that people built on piles thousands of years ago. The site, named after the old Technikum, as the college was long known, is one of the prehistoric pile dwelling sites around Lake Zurich included in the UNESCO listing of 2011. Nothing is visible, but the idea that this shore has been home to people for so long gives a different perspective to a stroll along the promenade.

    Read the complete Technikum write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Technikum comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Riedmatt.

  3. 3. Riedmatt

    Zug has a reputation as one of the wealthiest places in Switzerland, a small canton of low taxes, glass office blocks and companies registered by the hundred. But beneath the surface, quite literally, lies a much older story. Along the shores of Lake Zug, archaeologists have found the remains of Neolithic and Bronze Age villages built on piles in the shallow water and marshy ground, and Riedmatt, near the border between Steinhausen, Cham and Zug, is one of the sites included in the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps World Heritage listing. As with most such sites, there is nothing visible on the surface; the remains are preserved in the waterlogged ground.

    Read the complete Riedmatt write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Riedmatt. Next is back through Technikum.

  4. 4. back through Technikum

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Technikum write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Technikum, late in the day. Next is Vorder Au.

  5. 5. Vorder Au

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Vorder Au write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at Vorder Au. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Vorder Au to Technikum

Vorder Au → Technikum is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Technikum to Riedmatt

Technikum → Riedmatt is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Riedmatt to back through Technikum

Riedmatt → back through Technikum is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Technikum to Vorder Au

back through Technikum → Vorder Au is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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