What’s the best type of ride?

I recently joined my friend Jim on the last leg of his 3 day trip from across Switzerland. He was riding from the North-East (near to Saint Gallen) right down to the South-West (Geneva).

During his 195km final leg from Solothurn to Geneva we got to talking about loops vs out and back rides vs point to point rides.

I’ve personally always been in favour of doing a loop versus an out and back.  We’re lucky where we live that there are so many different roads we can ride and can easily make a loop, whether we’re riding 20km or 200km.

However I have riding buddies that love the consistency and predictability of doing the same rides, often out and back routes to favourite climbs nearby.

Jim theorised that since we’re in the age of sharing our rides on strava, making an aesthetically pleasing route has become more important. This has been taken to its extreme by the rise of Strava art (you can see a few examples here – my personal favourite being the re-creation of the cover of Nevermind by Nirvana).

Strava Art T-Rex

Jim went on to say that an out and back ride simply doesn’t look as impressive on the screen – a 100km out and back looks at a glance like a 50km ride. 

I’m not so sure that loops became more popular since we started sharing our rides however. For my regular rides I always try to ride a loop, even if it is just coming back on slightly different roads from the way I went out. It keeps the ride interesting. I always see different things along the way.

But if I had to choose my favourite type of ride, I would always prefer to do a point-to-point ride. Like the one Jim and I did together a few days back. There’s something truly special about knowing you have to get to a destination, there’s no making the loop shorter or turning around earlier. This combined with the feeling of really travelling from place to place makes a point-to-point ride really special.

I must admit though that when we hit 160km (out of 195km) I was really ready to stop, but we had to get to Geneva. Riding with someone else and not wanting to be the one to quit really is a good motivator!

We rode through so many places I only knew from driving past them on the motorway. Now I know that I’ll always feel something different when driving past these places I’ve now ridden through, having experienced the smells, sights, place names and weather of a different part of our beautiful country.

My favourite loops

Geneva Vineyards

A ride I’ve been doing for almost 20 years now, and the great thing is that it is almost infinitely adapatable. There are so many options to take if you want to have more or less climbing, or to add a few kms here or there. This loop is the XL version and you can see all the different loops you can add / remove. Plenty of short sharp climbs to get the heart rate up, great views of the alps, and wonderfully quiet roads just outside of Geneva.

Russin in the Geneva Vineyards

Furka – Nufenen – San Gotthard

It was hard to choose between the Allos – Champs – Cayolle loop in the Southern Alps or this classic loop in the Swiss Alps. But it had to be the Furka - Nufenen - San Gotthard. Leaving from Andermatt we first climb the Furkapass up to 2429m and then descend all the way down to Ulrichen where we turn for the start of the Nufenenpass (2,478m). This is a real beast of a climb, with a seemingly neverending wall of hairpins to reach the col. From the top you descend into the warmth of Canton Ticino before starting the real jewel of this loop, the cobbled climb of San Gotthard (2,106m). This route has been used since the middle ages for transit between northern and southern europe. Climbing this is something every cyclist should do once in their biking life.

Furkapass looking towards Andermatt

My favourite point to point

Izoard and Vars

This is a recent entry into my list, having only ridden it for the first time last year. The ride leaves from beautiful Briançon and immediately starts to climb up the Col d’Izoard. This is one of the most iconic climbs in the French Alps, and has featured countless times in the Tour de France. The landscape (named the Casse Déserte) at the summit is otherwordly and truly has to be seen to be believed.  The long descent into the Gui Gorge is a welcome rest before tackling the Col de Vars. This is a lovely winding road up to 2,109m and then the joy of the long downhill descent into Barcelonnette (which is a great little alpine town in which to rest and refuel).

The Casse Déserte at the summit of Col d’Izoard

What I’ve been listening to while writing

Maximo Park - Stream of Life

New album from one of my favourite bands. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve seen them in concert. High quality tunes as always, with Paul Smith’s distinctive north-east accent making the songs sound extra special. We’re off to see them in Zürich in November. Very excited for that one.