Over the last few years I taken my road bike up and down lots of the high passes of Switzerland, mostly riding single-day loop routes. I found lots of fun + pretty riding (not a surprise), and I’d gladly do lots of it again. This year I finally connected it all into a continuous route, so I’ve ridden every kilometer from Grand St Bernard in the southwest to the Bernina pass in the southeast, most but not all on paved roads. And because I rode so much of it as loops, also a second route from east to west. I put together a set of
reports + suggestions about the high passes
+
map . . .

The reports have lots of ideas about loop rides and up-and-back climbs that could be done while spending several days at a single base—and also ideas about multi-day “moving on” tours, not just one route, but different alternatives for most of the stages. I say which roads I liked best and why, and which parts I didn’t like and would avoid.

I’d be glad to hear other suggestions (and corrections) for routes + riding.

Surprising for me: Trying to ride every kilometer between southwest + southeast forced me to “fill in” between passes on some gentle valley roads and paths—but I discovered those were rather pretty and fun, and added variety to my overall experience of Switzerland.

So now I feel more interested to attempt riding all the way across as a continuous multi-day tour - (but more likely I’ll repeat some of my favorite loops and up-and-back rides).

Ken