Switzerland
brin
Posts: 1,122
watching the tour all week, did anybody else notice the drain covers on the road having the slots running longitudinal? could easily trap a wheel of any unsuspecting cyclist - didn't look very 'bike friendly' to me :shock:
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I'm feeling kinda neutral on that one.Cycling weakly0
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Me neither but I will be looking for them from now on. Tram tracks are much more of a hazard for the inattentive around here.0
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brin wrote:watching the tour all week, did anybody else notice the drain covers on the road having the slots running longitudinal? could easily trap a wheel of any unsuspecting cyclist - didn't look very 'bike friendly' to me :shock:
Maybe is doesn't matter there as Swiss drivers probably give cyclist room when they over take?0 -
Wappygixer wrote:brin wrote:watching the tour all week, did anybody else notice the drain covers on the road having the slots running longitudinal? could easily trap a wheel of any unsuspecting cyclist - didn't look very 'bike friendly' to me :shock:
Maybe is doesn't matter there as Swiss drivers probably give cyclist room when they over take?
Am I right in thinking that in Switzerland, your registration plate is to you and not the car and it can be traced via a directory, therefore cars are naturally more carefull0 -
Registration numbers in Switzerland are not related to the year of first registration so you transfer 'your' number to your new car.
It is also possible to register two cars to the same number and simply switch the number between two cars. You only have one insurance policy and the car with the numbers on is insured. However, in 2005 we had bad flooding and I know of someone who lost both cars when their underground garage filled with water but the insurance only paid out on one!!
You don't have to always drive with 'your' numbers though. I drive the car that is registered in my wife's name with 'her' numbers and vice versa.
The good thing is that the numbers are only available directly from the government agency who issue the them, you have to prove you have insurance and if your insurance lapses the insurance company inform the agency and I guess the police will turn up and confiscate your numbers. The topic of uninsured drivers doesn't seem to be a problem here. Also with insurance, for 3rd party cover, it is the car that is insured regardless of who is driving. I have a personal insurance that tops up this insurance if I am driving someone elses car so effectively I have fully comp on every car in Switzerland as long as I have the owners permission to drive the car.
Also, if I have a courtesy car from the garage for more than a couple of days, they take my registration document off me, fill out a form and put my numbers on their car. Everything is sent away to the agency and and when I return the car, the garage let the agancy know and my registration document is returned to me.
It seems to me a far better system than in the UK where the motor industry have far to big a say in how cars are registered just so they can continue selling cars with 'new' plates. I remember thinking when the March registrations came in because the 'industry' said that they sold more than 50% of their cars in August and it made cash flow difficult, why not just do away with age related plates and then there will, more than likely, be an even distribution throughout the year.
Anyway all that is so far off topic!!0 -
schweiz wrote:Registration numbers in Switzerland are not related to the year of first registration so you transfer 'your' number to your new car.
It is also possible to register two cars to the same number and simply switch the number between two cars. You only have one insurance policy and the car with the numbers on is insured. However, in 2005 we had bad flooding and I know of someone who lost both cars when their underground garage filled with water but the insurance only paid out on one!!
You don't have to always drive with 'your' numbers though. I drive the car that is registered in my wife's name with 'her' numbers and vice versa.
The good thing is that the numbers are only available directly from the government agency who issue the them, you have to prove you have insurance and if your insurance lapses the insurance company inform the agency and I guess the police will turn up and confiscate your numbers. The topic of uninsured drivers doesn't seem to be a problem here. Also with insurance, for 3rd party cover, it is the car that is insured regardless of who is driving. I have a personal insurance that tops up this insurance if I am driving someone elses car so effectively I have fully comp on every car in Switzerland as long as I have the owners permission to drive the car.
Also, if I have a courtesy car from the garage for more than a couple of days, they take my registration document off me, fill out a form and put my numbers on their car. Everything is sent away to the agency and and when I return the car, the garage let the agancy know and my registration document is returned to me.
It seems to me a far better system than in the UK where the motor industry have far to big a say in how cars are registered just so they can continue selling cars with 'new' plates. I remember thinking when the March registrations came in because the 'industry' said that they sold more than 50% of their cars in August and it made cash flow difficult, why not just do away with age related plates and then there will, more than likely, be an even distribution throughout the year.
Anyway all that is so far off topic!!
I know, I feel drained!0 -
When you say that you have your own set of numbers, I think I may have some of these.
They're really bright colours with a little magnet on the back and I normally play with them on the fridge door, are these the same??? :shock:
Either way they are definately MY numbers and I don't want anyone else playing with them or I'll get mad!!0 -
Tram lines are the nightmare in Basel. If you are not careful you either fall in them, then fall off, or slip on them when they're wet, and fall off. The drain covers outside of my office have "slots" running parallel to the road, I've only fallen in once, fortunately as I was stopping with one foot unclipped. Haven't really noticed them anywhere else. I guess the majority of people on bikes have tyres so fat they wouldn't slip between the slots on the drains? That said, its a great place to cycle.0
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First post, have been lurking for a while but thought I'd better sign up.
I moved from the UK to Switzerland last month and have been exploring the area by bike quite a bit. I have to say, cycling round here here compared to the UK is a revelation, beautiful scenery, decent hills and fantastic roads (no more feeling like you'll be thrown off by a pothole on every downhill section!). I actually feel safe descending at 30mph+, which is not the case in the UK.
I have noticed this type of drain cover on the road from Basel to Delemont, fortunately the slots are slightly wavy and along most of the road there is bike lane marked off by a yellow dashed line that is wide enough for you to go around them without worrying about the traffic.
On balance, the cycling round here so far is fantastic.0 -
Thanks!
I've cycled through Aesch quite a few times already, going that way makes for quite an easy way home after my (rather slow) ascents of Gempen or Challhoechli, so our paths may have already crossed!
At this stage, I might be a bit slow for a rider used to cycling Switzerland. I've already decided I'm getting a better bike, because obviously it's the bike that is making me go slowly up those hills!0 -
Of course it's the bike and with the CHF so strong against the £ (1.35 today!) and the € (1.2) you'd be crazy not too!! To think that 4 years ago it was 2.4 and 1.55!!
I've just recommended that a work colleague looks at the Focus Cayo 105 at Wiggle. Even with import duty an MwSt it's only going to be about about CHF1200. The retail price of the Cayo 4 which is the nearest equivalent (with better wheels it has to be said) has a RRP of CHF 2400.
There are bargains to be had out there!!
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Absolutely.
I'm currently riding a Genesis Vapour CX bike which, whilst being great for commuting and general riding in the uk, doesn't really suit over here especially with the canti brakes.
I'll relegate the vapour to commuter duties and get something more suited to the hills for weekend use.
I've been considering getting a Canyon, although I'd have to pick it up from Germany as they don't deliver to CH.
Need to get paid here first of course!0 -
robbo2011 wrote:First post, have been lurking for a while but thought I'd better sign up.
I moved from the UK to Switzerland last month and have been exploring the area by bike quite a bit. I have to say, cycling round here here compared to the UK is a revelation, beautiful scenery, decent hills and fantastic roads (no more feeling like you'll be thrown off by a pothole on every downhill section!). I actually feel safe descending at 30mph+, which is not the case in the UK.
I have noticed this type of drain cover on the road from Basel to Delemont, fortunately the slots are slightly wavy and along most of the road there is bike lane marked off by a yellow dashed line that is wide enough for you to go around them without worrying about the traffic.
On balance, the cycling round here so far is fantastic.
Basel - Delemont is my TT route 64km or near as 40 miles, almost flat and few lights or roundabouts. Also know Gempen well, have you seen the white lines painted across the road at the bottom in Dornach and then again at the top? That's the hill climb course, some guy did it in just over 12 minutes in this yea's event, I was several (4) minutes behind him.
There are some nice routes on Bikely.com if you search on Basel. My favourites are around Passwang and Scheltenpass. Public Holiday tomorrow, so I'll be heading that way, if the rain stops.0 -
12 minutes? Oh my. I dread to think how long I took. Still, plenty of room for improvement.
Cheers for the heads up on the routes on bikely, I'll check them out. Sadly, its a normal day at work for me tomorrow, I work in Canton Solothurn.0 -
robbo2011 wrote:Absolutely.
I'm currently riding a Genesis Vapour CX bike which, whilst being great for commuting and general riding in the uk, doesn't really suit over here especially with the canti brakes.
I'll relegate the vapour to commuter duties and get something more suited to the hills for weekend use.
I've been considering getting a Canyon, although I'd have to pick it up from Germany as they don't deliver to CH.
Need to get paid here first of course! I've just been eyeing up the Canyons this evening. I have a friend who lives in Germany just over the border. It's worth declaring it at the border, claiming the German MwSt back and paying the Swiss and it's all getting very tempting. But then again there's Ultegra DI2 on the way and if Greece pulls out of the € then I've heard rumours that it could go down closer to 1:1. If it gets to 1:1 then DA DI2 will be on the shopping list.
And on top of all that I have to convince the wife as I told her my 50mm DA carbon clinchers would be my only 'non-consumable' purchase this year!! (another exchange rate VAT free bargain from Merlin) LOL0 -
Oh please stop talking about how great Switzerland is am getting jealous :x
Everytime i see bike races in Switzerland on tv you just think it`s god`s playground. Gorgeous scenery. Mountain Passes. Ski Chalets. great road surfaces. zero crime lol.
Fed up getting soaked here in Scotland on my bike 0 -
Yep, Thursday and Friday off, thanks to Kanton Aargau for that. Tragically, my wife and children don't get the holiday.0
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Bern are working tommorow too (including the Mrs!), crazy Reformists!!
Much better to work in a Catholic Kanton
On that note...top tip to robbo2011 as a newbie. Unless you are a Christian and want to donate to the Church via Church Tax just put 'Keine' on your form when you regiser with the Fremdenpolizei. That way you will save yoursef a few hundred francs a year to spend on bike bits!0 -
schweiz wrote:if Greece pulls out of the € then I've heard rumours that it could go down closer to 1:1. If it gets to 1:1 then DA DI2 will be on the shopping list.
Hope not! Not sure how long my job will last if that happens, most of our clients are EU or UK based!
I already did the 'Keine' bit on the Anmeldung!0 -
Switzerland certainly is a lovely place to cycle. I went for a spin at lunchtime yesterday from my girlfriends in Geneva up the lake road to Coppet and back. Lovely views of Lac Leman, the Jura and the Alps, even with the strong headwind on the way back.0
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I had a holiday in Interlakken a couple of years ago I could tell then it would be a fantastic place to visit with the bike.
Now if I can just shed the wife and kids You've no won the Big Cup since 1902!0 -
Nice as the scenery may be, isn't the whole country based on stolen Nazi gold, Jewish artwork and the expulsion of fleeing Jewish refugees back the the death camps?
Or did UBS and the rest of the banks pay all that money away a few ago because they are nice?
Just wondering, like ............0 -
Bleedin hell, i have a moan about drain covers being on the wrong way and my thread turns into an episode of ' wish you were here' :x :x ............. 0
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"Five hundred years of peace and democracy, and all they came up with was the cuckoo clock."
The Third Man.
(and now drain covers, it seems)0
