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john
June 25th 04, 11:41 PM
Hi all.

What's the best bicycle route from the Zurich airport to downtown Zurich?

Thanks in advance,
John

Jacques Moser
June 26th 04, 09:14 PM
On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 15:41:40 +0000, john wrote:

> Hi all.
>
> What's the best bicycle route from the Zurich airport to downtown Zurich?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> John

For lack of direct personal experience on this precise route I can't give
you a really valid answer. However, from my general experience of riding
in various Swiss cities, I wouldn't expect a problem following main
roads through Glattbrugg and Oerlikon. Most probably you will also, at
some point, encounter bike-specific signposting. These, however, can
sometimes be misleading if you don't know the place. They might take
you out of the main routes and then dump you somewhere without further
information.
If you prefer, you can load your bike in the train at the Zurich Airport
station. This will cost you double fare: one for you, one for the bike.
And you are not allowed to load your bike during rush hours (6-8 am, 4-7
pm Mon-Fri).

Have a good trip

Jacques

Steve Maas
June 26th 04, 11:56 PM
I've never biked out of the airport, but I'm more or less familiar with
the area. Head towards Kloten by whatever road takes you there. Then,
get on Schaffhauserstr. (a main road, hard to miss) and head south. That
will take you right into the center of town.

When you cross the Glatt river in Glattbrugg, you will see a bike path
going along the river. This is a really nice ride; goes all the way to
the Rhein.

Also, watch for the little red signs showing bicycle routes. These will
steer you onto the best roads for getting around by bike.

Steve


john wrote:

> Hi all.
>
> What's the best bicycle route from the Zurich airport to downtown Zurich?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> John

john
June 27th 04, 09:56 AM
"Jacques Moser" > wrote in message >...
> On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 15:41:40 +0000, john wrote:
> If you prefer, you can load your bike in the train at the Zurich Airport
> station. This will cost you double fare: one for you, one for the bike.
> And you are not allowed to load your bike during rush hours (6-8 am, 4-7
> pm Mon-Fri).

Thanks Jacques.

I have a folding Dahon bicycle with 20 inch tires. Are they strict in
their interpretation of what is a bicycle? In other words, do you
think I can bring that on the train at rush hour?

John

Ned Mantei
June 27th 04, 11:22 AM
In article >,
(john) wrote:

>Hi all.
>
>What's the best bicycle route from the Zurich airport to downtown Zurich?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>John

There are marked bicycle routes from the airport to downtown. The
national bicycle route 5 has a branch leading to the main station in
Zurich. This may be the easiest to follow, as it is extremely well
marked. These routes are chosen so as to avoid traffic.

You can also be in downtown Zurich in about 10 minutes by train. I would
suggest this, since the scenery between the airport and downtown isn't
all that appealing. There is a train station in the lower level in the
airport. Bicycles cost extra, Fr. 15 for a day card, or the cost of your
ticket, whichever is less. The ticket would cost something like Fr. 8.
Commuter trains ("S-Bahn") may restrict bicycles during rush hours, in
which case you might have to wait half an hour or so for an intercity or
interregional train (IC or IR).
Sometimes you have to be prepared to hurry along the rail platform to
find the one or few cars that will take bicycles (they have a bicycle
pictogram on them). For IC or IR trains there will be a diagram on the
platform called "Formation der Zuege" (‰ "formation of the trains"; the
only one printed on blue paper). This will tell you in which sector the
cars for bicycle transport will be.
Finally, one intercity train, from Romanshorn to Geneva, requires a
reservation, so you couldn't easily use this one.
Folding bicycles or bikes in bike bags go for free.
See the website of the railway: http://www.sbb.ch/pv/veloselb_e.htm#7

--
Ned Mantei
Department of Cell Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland

john
June 27th 04, 07:00 PM
Ned Mantei > wrote in message >...
> In article >,
> (john) wrote:

> There are marked bicycle routes from the airport to downtown. The
> national bicycle route 5 has a branch leading to the main station in
> Zurich. This may be the easiest to follow, as it is extremely well
> marked. These routes are chosen so as to avoid traffic.

Thanks Ned.

How can I find bicycle route 5 from the airport? If you give me a
street name, or better yet an intersection, that should be enough to
get me going.

John

Ned Mantei
June 28th 04, 04:00 PM
In article >,
(john) wrote:

>Ned Mantei > wrote in message
>...
>> In article >,
>> (john) wrote:
>
>> There are marked bicycle routes from the airport to downtown. The
>> national bicycle route 5 has a branch leading to the main station in
>> Zurich. This may be the easiest to follow, as it is extremely well
>> marked. These routes are chosen so as to avoid traffic.
>
>Thanks Ned.
>
>How can I find bicycle route 5 from the airport? If you give me a
>street name, or better yet an intersection, that should be enough to
>get me going.
>


There should be signs directly as you walk out of the airport building.
At worst you might have to look around a bit, or ask someone where the
signs are ("Wo ist der Wegweiser fuer die nationale Veloroute?"). Then
just follow the arrows for Zurich.

--
Ned Mantei
Department of Cell Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland

Jacques Moser
June 29th 04, 07:58 PM
On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 01:56:21 +0000, john wrote:

> I have a folding Dahon bicycle with 20 inch tires. Are they strict in
> their interpretation of what is a bicycle? In other words, do you think I
> can bring that on the train at rush hour?
>
> John

Not really sure, but I would expect that if you fold it then you can
probably slip it under a seat and then it won't count as a bicycle.

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