Bikepacking SWITZERLAND: Most Beautiful Cycling Route EVER!?

Have you ever ridden your bike feeling each day like you're living in a postcard? Welcome to Switzerland. It's beautiful every which way you turn, but you have to pay for it sometimes. Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. Hey, I'm Sheila and this is my partner Michael. In the spring of 2023, we flew to Zurich, Switzerland with no plan other than that we needed to fly out of Barcelona a month later. How will we make it through three countries in 30 days? We aren't really sure. First, we have to make it across Switzerland. Fortunately for us, our kind warm showers host comes to the rescue by introducing us to the Switzerland Mobility app, a series of cycling and hiking trails zigzagging all across the country. The next day, we prepare our bikes and depart through the heart of Zurich. We decided on the Route 9 lakes route. It promises views of lakes and mountains with relatively reasonable elevation by Switzerland standards. Let's see how it goes. Pretty soon, we find ourselves rolling along peaceful bike paths and through quiet towns. Before long, we've arrived in the historic town of Lucerne and luckily make it to our warm showers host just in the nick of time as a serious rainstorm descends on the area. The next day calls for a lot of rain, but we keep our fingers crossed and hit the road. It's unreal in this area of Switzerland to see mountains everywhere you turn. They peek out from behind roads, buildings, and more mountains. The hours fly by and before we know it, it's lunchtime. Now the one downside of Switzerland is it's expensive, so we seek out affordable grocery stores to stay within budget. One of the reasons I love touring in Europe and why I think it's such a great place to do a first bike tour or if you're new to bike touring is that resources like food and groceries are really easy to come by. Not everywhere, but in a lot of places. There's a lot of things you're used to, but then there's a lot of new stuff, so you get to have this nice mix of familiarity and something new. And if you're like me and you have food allergies, there are a lot of options. Today, we are making wraps with hummus and bulgur salad and some grilled artichokes. So fancy. And then obviously dairy-free Nutella for dessert. So good. The scenery is so stunning, we feel as though we could do this forever until... It's been all fun and games kind of zigzagging our way through the valleys near the mountains, but now the real climbing starts. It's hard to tell, but he's gonna go up there and there and there and he goes all the way up there and then we don't know. Somewhere over there. Good thing we had a day and a half to warm up our legs. Let's climb. You got this. Let's go daily. Sometimes you just gotta walk. You know, these aren't bad climbs, just tough for day two. I've gotta give it to Switzerland. the rain we've been avoiding so well finally comes for us. One of the small challenges in Switzerland is that the weather can change very suddenly, so we are waiting out the rain in the hopes that that sun over there will continue. The sky is soon clear and we head out once more, but there is one final challenge in store for us. We are finally descending, which I'm very grateful for, but this descent is a little spooky. It's pretty long. It's all gravel, which would be fine except that there are these water trough kind of passages that are really wide and sometimes they're on like sharp turns, so you have to make sure you don't get like your wheel caught in them and then there's a whole bunch of cliffs on the side as well, so just taking my time and trying to breathe. The road smooths out and we set up camp just before another storm cloud hits the area. Once again, the forecast isn't looking the most promising, so we get an early start to try and beat the rain. This path today is beautiful. It is cutting along the valley right through the mountains, so you get all the perks of seeing the mountains without having to go up and down them constantly, which we did yesterday, so it's nice to have a little break for our legs and still see all of these beautiful views. All along this path through the mountains, there are these like, I think they're bunkers. They're like covered with grass. They look like either a tiny airport hanger or some kind of military bunker. What do you think they are? I mean they're encased in concrete, which makes me think it's a some kind of shelter. If you know what they are, let us know. The path is so well marked that we barely need our GPS. We just follow the signs and check the Switzerland Mobility app when needed. It's freeing to not be checking in on a device all day. The rain we were hoping to avoid finally comes for us, but we get a stroke of good luck. That was quite the rainy end to the day, but luckily the owner of a campsite is letting us sleep in this little cabin here. Looks like it's some kind of event space or something normally. So we've got our cozy little bed station. We've got some drying hooks. We've got our tent drying from last night. It's not extravagant, but when you hear the rain pounding on the roof, you're just very grateful to be inside. A thick layer of clouds descends on the Alps and we spend the day rolling amongst the flowers in the misty mountains. Fortunately, all along the route, fresh water, clean washrooms, and sometimes even tools aren't hard to find. It's kind of the wildest thing to look behind you and see how far you came physically yourself on these little two wheels all the way over there in the distance. We gain a deeper understanding of the wooden houses all around us as we pass through vast lumber yards. These moments are some of my favorites of bicycle travel. In a car on the highway, it's unlikely to come across the behind the scenes of a country, but for us, it's really the best part. The famous attractions are neat, but it's the people, places, and moments in between that mean the most. After a misty day, we're grateful to find shelter for the night under the cover of a church in a small town. When we wake, we know that after five stunning days, it is time to make our final climb and descent out of the Alps. The endless beauty of Switzerland is hard to leave, but our journey must continue on into France. A big thank you to all of my patrons. If you want to support my videos as well as get some more tips and tricks for cycling in Switzerland, come join me over on Patreon. Next up, the journey continues in France, and boy does France have a lot in store for us. I don't even know if you can hear me right now. It's so windy. See you then.