Glaciers and Mountain Passes: Riding Switzerland

Interlaken sits between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz and is the starting point for the Jungfrau region. This ride climbs from Interlaken to Grindelwald, crosses the Grosse Scheidegg pass at about 1,962 m and drops down the other side to Meiringen. With about 1,400 m of climbing, it is the hardest day of the five.

Beyond Grindelwald the road narrows, and from there over Grosse Scheidegg to Schwarzwaldalp private cars are not allowed; only postbuses and bikes use it. You climb with no traffic noise, right beside the huge rock walls of the Eiger north face and the Wetterhorn, which is why Swiss cyclists love this road.

Over the top, a steep descent winds through forest and pasture past Rosenlaui to Meiringen. If you still have energy, ride back along Lake Brienz to Interlaken to close a loop of about 80 km; if not, take the train from Meiringen.

Lauterbrunnen is a U-shaped valley between sheer rock walls hundreds of metres high. Glaciers carved it, so the floor is flat, and dozens of waterfalls pour off the cliffs on both sides. That is why it is nicknamed the valley of 72 waterfalls.

From Interlaken the road climbs gently along the river to the valley entrance, and from Lauterbrunnen village to Stechelberg at the head of the valley it is almost flat. With little climbing, it is a good first-day ride to get used to the bike, and with a photo stop at every waterfall the day goes by fast.

On the clifftops sit the car-free villages of Mürren and Wengen. You can reach them by cable car or train, and on a clear day the Jungfrau massif faces you across the valley. Instead of riding up, take the train and explore the villages on foot.

These are some of the legendary Swiss pass roads. From Meiringen you follow the Aare upstream and climb between granite mountains to the Grimsel Pass, with about 1,600 m of climbing. Around the pass, reservoirs held back by hydroelectric dams lie between grey rocks, a landscape that feels like another world.

Heading south from the Grimsel, switchbacks lead down to the hamlet of Gletsch, with the Rhone Glacier, the source of the Rhone, above it. From here you can climb again to the Furka Pass. Crossing both passes in one day is very hard, so do one to suit your fitness or split them over two days.

Because of snow, the high passes usually open around June and close around October, with dates that vary from year to year. Postbuses and trains over the passes can carry bikes for the return trip, but space is often limited, so check ahead.

This route starts in Lucerne, the lake city in the middle of Switzerland, and passes several lakes and one low pass on its way to Interlaken. You leave Lake Lucerne to the south, pass Lake Sarnen, and then the road starts to climb through forest and pasture.

The biggest climbs come once before Lake Lungern and once before the Brünig Pass. At about 1,008 m the pass is not high, but some short stretches are steep, which suits an e-MTB. Over the top, the road runs downhill to Lake Brienz and along the shore to Interlaken.

It is a good warm-up before the big Alpine passes, and a train links Lucerne and Interlaken along the same route, so you can hop on midway if you get tired.

This is the north shore of Lake Geneva in French-speaking western Switzerland. For about 30 km, from the east of Lausanne to Chillon Castle, stone-walled vineyard terraces climb the slopes facing the lake. They are said to date back to monasteries around the 11th century, and in 2007 they became a UNESCO World Heritage site as the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces.

The main lakeside road is flat, but the fun of this route is in the vineyard lanes. Ride up and down the narrow paved lanes between small wine villages, with the lake and the French Alps across the water spread out below. Some stretches are quite steep, and an e-MTB helps a lot.

It shows a warmer, more relaxed side of Switzerland than the high passes. Trains run along the shore, so it is easy to finish the day wherever you like.