Adventure,  Biking,  Europe,  Switzerland

E-Biking in Switzerland

July 10, 2021 / 32 Comments

I just got back from my first vacation this year! It felt great to go somewhere even if in the same country and close to home. I went e-biking in Switzerland!

Overlooking Lake Thun

We spent four days doing part of the Heart Route Bike Tour. I first experienced this bike route last year when we also did four legs of the 13-leg route that goes from one end of Switzerland to the other. 

I wrote a blog post about that trip (‘Biking the Heart Route in Switzerland‘) that you will want to read if you haven’t already. I won’t repeat all the good tips that I included in that article but I will share my new photos from this trip and some more lessons learned. 

Followed Route 99

Last year we did sections 7 through 10 of the 13. This time we did sections 2 through 5 but in the reverse order. We started in the Swiss German part and ended up close to where we live in the Swiss French region.

Potato plants with nice chapel in background

I absolutely love this kind of vacation where you bike across gorgeous terrain all day and travel from one location to another. The challenge of course is to pack lightly and carry all of your belongings on the bike. For this reason, we only go for 4 days.

Town of Thun

Another reason for keeping the duration to 4 days is the burden on your body. We biked between 35 and 95 kilometers everyday for 3 to 6 hours. Not only were my legs a bit sore after the last day, my bum was killing me. I wore padded biking shorts and used a gel seat cover but still suffered.

Small lake outside of Thun

I prebooked three different hotels for each night as I wanted to stay in some nice hotels since this was our first vacation since last year. Each hotel was unique and two of the three were boutique hotels. I use booking.com for finding the best deals and best selection of accommodations.

Mountain views outside of Thun

Here are a few pictures of the hotels and a link to each hotel on booking.com. 

Hotel Moosegg in Emmenmatt near Langnau, Switzerland

Hotel Moosegg
View from our hotel room

Boutique Hotel Spedition in Thun, Switzerland

Inside our hotel in Thun

Adler Boutique Hotel in Murten, Switzerland

Outside our hotel in Murten
Outside our hotel in Murten

So now for my lessons learned and advice I have for anyone wanting to do a bike tour like this one.

Get your bike serviced before the trip

I used my own e-bike while my partner rented one for the trip. I thought my bike was in fairly good condition but I found out after the second day that my rear brakes were not working properly. They would make a loud screech when coming to a stop. I was scared my brakes would give out on one of the steep descents.

Roman theater in Avenches

I was worried I wouldn’t make it for two more days, especially in the heavy rain that was forecasted. Luckily we managed to find a nearby bike shop in Thun before starting our Day 3. They said that my brake pads were completely gone and I was pressing metal to metal. We were very thankful that the bike shop was able to squeeze us in and replace the pads and disk within one hour. Here’s a shout-out to this great bike shop if you ever need one in Thun – M Way.

Use quality bike bags 

I bought an inexpensive bike bag last year to store my clothes. It was small and simple but sufficient. I used the same bag this year but one side ripped open on the first day.

 

Typical farmhouses along the route

The bag barely held up but my advice is to invest in a proper bike bag. The good quality bags are waterproof which is critical if you don’t want all of your clothes and belongings drenched from the rain.

Aside from the ample space these bags provide, they are also easy to pop on and pop off the bike. It’s no fun struggling each day to strap on the bags and then hope they don’t fall off on the first big bump.

Be well prepared for bad weather

We had two days of intermittent rain this time with one cloudy day and one sunny day. Some rain during the summer months is expected in this region so you have to be prepared.

I brought along a plastic cover for my bike bag which helped. I also had two rain jackets and a poncho. Despite all of this equipment, I still learned additional ways to improve a wet riding experience.

Wet upon arrival to Day 1 hotel

It is important to have a waterproof biking jacket that is close-fitting and covers the backside. I would suggest bringing an extra pair of shoes to change out when one pair gets soaked. We had to dry out our sneakers one night with a fan in our hotel room. I also think waterproof pants would help to stay warmer and keep the water from seeping in.

Ruins outside of Avenches

It’s no fun getting wet while biking but you can be ready to survive when it happens!

Stay hydrated with a camelback

I appreciated again my camelback water bag on this trip. It’s a pain to reach down for and pull out a water bottle while biking. I love the ease of just putting the camelback tube in my mouth to get frequent sips.

I would fill up the bag with water in the morning and it would last all day. Most camelbacks also have some space to store a few items.

Ancient theatre in Avenches

Save key information to your phone

To have all the route and hotel info readily available, I recommend doing print screens of emails or data on your smartphone. You can save the photos into a dedicated album on your phone to find them quickly. This tip will save your phone battery for long riding days. Instead of using 4G to retrieve emails or using GPS, you can keep your phone on airplane mode and simply look up the info you need in your photos.

Loved seeing Swiss countryside like this

Summary

I hope these tips will help you have a fun bike tour wherever you go. It’s an active vacation for sure but I love e-biking in Switzerland! We did a total of 250 km in the 4 days and are bringing back a new appreciation for the Swiss countryside. The Heart Route is very well structured to keep you off main roads and is clearly sign-posted at every turn. I’m so impressed with how easy it is to follow this route!

Sunrise from our hotel room in Moosegg

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!

If you are looking for other ideas on what to see in Switzerland, you will want to see my other posts below!

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