All of Switzerland · one or two riders, never more
Who you'll ride with
I've been riding five days a week for years. What I love most is still the moment someone reaches the top of a climb they thought was beyond them.
Anne, road cyclist, based in French-speaking Switzerland. I know our roads by heart, in every weather, and I roughly know where the fountains are.
What's included
The origin
Months across Europe
For eighteen months, I left a sillage of my own across Europe. Following roads I didn't know, stopping wherever the light was good, letting myself be guided by people — and by my Garmin — who knew better than any map where the right road led.
It was far from home that Switzerland caught up with me. The more I discovered other people's countries, the clearer it became: we live in a small country of extraordinary richness, and too often we cross it without seeing it. The Alps, the Jura, Lavaux, the Jorat, the quiet roads of La Côte. What others travel thousands of kilometres to find, I'd had under my wheels all along.
Sillage grew out of that. Out of wanting to show our incredible little country the way I discovered others: no fixed itinerary, no group, no fuss. One or two people, at everyone's own pace. An almost intimate way of riding — and of leaving a sillage behind you too.
How it works
No bunch, no average pace to hold, nobody waiting politely for you at the top of the climb. I ride with one person, two at most, and the day is built around what you actually want to do.
Ten minutes on the phone is enough: your experience, what worries you, what you'd like to try, and the bike you have to hand.
A route made for you, with the right elevation, the right surfaces and a stop in the right place. You get it as a GPX file the day before.
I set the pace, I handle the traffic, I deal with the mechanics if anything goes wrong. You just look at the lake.
Your pace
Pick where you're at
Ballpark figures, not a target. The pace is yours: we set it as we ride.
Profil type : vallonné, quelques passages à 6 %.
The rides
Sillage doesn't stop at the shore of Lake Geneva. We ride wherever the mood leads: from the terraces of Lavaux to the ridges of my native Jura, up to the great Alpine passes.
The place for a first time: gentle roads, the view the whole way, and somewhere to stop in the shade of a vineyard wall.
Chexbres, Rivaz, Saint-Saphorin, Cully. Vineyard walls, the lake the whole way, and a café in Grandvaux worth the detour.
The high road above Vevey, the Rocher-de-Naye facing you, back along the shore. The most photogenic ride in the canton.
My everyday roads, the ones that start at the door. The vineyards of La Côte on one side, the Jorat forests on the other. Rolling, quiet, never far from a fountain.
Aubonne, Mont-sur-Rolle, Féchy, Bougy-Villars. A balcony of vines above the lake, gentle false flats and Mont Blanc in the background on a clear day.
We leave the lake for the forests and farms above Savigny. Empty roads, endless false flats, complete silence.
Where I learned to ride. Silent combes, pastures, dry-stone walls, and real climbs you take in the shade of the pines, twenty minutes from the lake.
Above Bière and Saint-George, we climb into the pastures of the Vaud Jura. La Combe des Amburnex, the herds, the smell of pine. Another world, right up there.
The queen climb of the Vaud Jura: some fifteen steady kilometres up to 1,447 m, then the descent to the Lac de Joux and its still water.
From the Prealps, within a day's reach of the lake, to the legendary passes at the heart of the Alps. The big summits are ridden as a getaway (an early start, sometimes a night on site) to go where the grand tours pass.
A proper pass day. Aigle, Le Sépey, Les Mosses, and a descent to Château-d'Œx you don't describe, you ride.
Via Villars and Les Diablerets, the great Alpine loop: the Col de la Croix at 1,778 m, the Dents du Midi opposite, and the feeling of having really ridden.
The country's most famous triptych: Furka, Grimsel and Susten linked up from Andermatt, three passes above 2,000 m, glaciers in your sights. An exceptional getaway, over one or two days.
The great Valais climb to the hospice at 2,469 m, in the tracks of Napoleon and the legendary dogs. Long, steady, unforgettable. Starting from Martigny.
Rates
2 to 3 hours of riding
Ideal for a first outing, getting back into it, or a morning among the vines.
4 to 6 hours of riding
For a pass, a long loop, or simply a whole day without watching the clock.
Road bike rental available on request through a local partner. Rides postponed free of charge if the weather makes them impractical.
Book
I reply within 48 hours. No commitment at this stage: we settle on a date and a level first, the route comes afterwards.
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