caitelliott.co.uk » Zurich

New Team: Velo Elsener-Specialized

Cait — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 19:51:07 +0000

I am excited to be representing Zurich bike shop Velo Elsener this season on board a Specialized Enduro 29er offroad and occasionally a Specialized Tarmac on the road. I cannot imagine a faster or more fun bike to ride and am grateful for the mechanical assistance from Zurich’s most reliable bike workshop

Check out the team webpage here. Updates there to follow will be a test of my German skills…!

‘real’ Winter

Cait — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 19:55:30 +0000

All of a sudden muddy grey autumn turned into sunny cold winter. The snow has arrived and there is plenty of fun to be had. Skiing on a bike in fresh powder is one of the most fun things ever, xc skiing to keep fit, DH for an adrenalin rush and to feed the mountain addiction. Hope the novelty lasts until spring…

Photos – not winter in the Alps yet!

Cait — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 07:02:30 +0000

The weather has changed and melting hot summer’s days are a thing of the past, but there is still time for some Alpine adventures before the dreaded snow arrives. Photos from some fun enduro rides near Zurich recently:

Next up 3 weekends in a row of racing…

Crash

Cait — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 13:26:07 +0000

My life seems to be a bit of a disaster zone at the moment. I got hit by a car on the way home from work last week. A driver didn’t stop at a crossroads where I had right of way and I went straight into the side of him smashing his door and window and snapping my forks. Not a nice feeling the split second between realising what is about to happen and hitting the floor! People quickly surrounded me panicking like mad having seen me flying up in the air and soon after an ambulance and the police arrived. What a palava!

I was pretty sore with colourful swollen bruises all down one side but my helmet saved me from the worst and I thought I’d got off lightly. I went to the doctor 3 days later for a checkup and after loads of tests, checks and worried looking faces I found out I’ve fractured a vertebra in my back (having ridden for 2 hours the day before!). My lovely road bike is written off too but at least the driver’s insurance should cover that.

SO annoyed. I’m stuck in rainy Zurich missing a long planned Easter mtb trip to Frejus in the south of France and can’t mountain bike for 6 weeks. To look on the bright side my German vocabulary now covers everything to do with crashing, dealing with police, ambulances, doctors and insurance.

I’m sticking to mountain bikes after this, much safer!

Frühlingscup crits – Brütten

Cait — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:10:08 +0000

Racing in Switzerland in February? you’d have to be mad! The Steiner season kicked of with the Frühlings Cup, a local 3 race crit series with a handicapped start. The first race was 40km in sub zero temperature, surrounded by snow and full on winter kit. I forgot my sunglasses and it was so cold I started to get dizzy because my eyeballs froze! After a long break I was reminded that racing is hard work especially when all the categories are mixed together and a little ‘local’ race here involves World champions, pro riders and very fast guys. There is also no hiding or kidding yourself either, racing confirmed what I’ve been trying to deny, my calves are not better. I’ll spare you the rant but I finished with calf explosions, out the back and very annoyed.

By the last race the temperatures had increased and an incredible panorama of the Alps in the background reminded me why its worth putting up with the cold winter here. The distance increased to 17 laps of a 4km circuit and Yves took his 2nd win and the overall series for the Steiner team! Handicapped races are asking for disaster, large pelotons coming together at totally different speeds on narrow roads, erratic riding and questionable bike handling skills. You really had to have your wits about you in there with several crashes and rideres frequently taking detours into the neighbouring fields. Fiola had a nasty crash putting her out of the race when she was well positioned for a great ride, get well soon!

Back to pestering doctors and cycling wise plan B is the focus…

Steiner Bäckerei Wetzikon – Argon 18 Cycling Team

Cait — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:35:08 +0000

This year I am excited to be representing Steiner Bäckerei Wetzikon – Argon 18 Cycling Team, one of Switerland’s most sucessful Jedermann/Gran Fondo (amateur) road racing teams. With a mixture of nationalities and experiences, the team has a great set up with lots of top quality sponsors and some very quick guys to train with. It will be my first time road racing outside of Ireland and I’m hoping there will be plenty of big hills involved. Give them a like over on facebook to keep updated!

Here are some shots from the team photoshoot in the Steiner bakery and up in the hills in sub-zero temperatures at the weekend:

Don’t worry I haven’t given up mountain biking. My calf injury is improving but still not resolved and at the moment the road bike tends to do less damage to my legs as I can wear the crazy midsole cleats. It will be a season of experimenting and adjusted goals, hopefully I can survive the length of a race without calf explosions and will get some mtb racing in too (maybe a new bike and gravity enduro is they key!). Either way after 18 months since my last race I will be a major bag of nerves on the first start line in a few weeks time!

Switzerland – a country with seasons

Cait — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:40:56 +0000

Living in a country with four distinctly different seasons is a new experience for me. The day to day weather is generally more consistent but both summer and winter are more extreme. This takes some getting used to when you’re used to being able to do the same activities year around, but the changes are also exciting creating totally new opportunities for fun and adventure. I’ve now come full circle and know what to expect from the year ahead.

Spring
The season of anticipation, excitement. The snow starts to melt, the sunlight increases and can be as warm as Irish summer, the countryside turns green and thousands of seasonal cyclists start crawling out of the woodwork. I seriously thought I was in heaven until summer came. Every week horizons get broadened with higher trails becoming rideable as the snow gradually disappears. Its a slow process though and over enthusiasm was inevitable, I got stuck in snow a few times!

Summer
July and August here are incredible and whizzed by in a blur of adrenaline and excitement, there are so many opportunities and no where near enough time to make the most of them all. Back to back mad weekends of high alpine riding adventures. Hot evening rides followed by swimming in the lake, bbqs, riverside beers. Reliable sunshine that lasts for weeks not hours.

Autumn
The time for dry, dusty rides in the mountains surrounded by spectacular autumn colours and mild temperatures. The horrible fog started to come back but its spectacular when your can get above it. With the imminent arrival of snow I found myself panicking and trying to fit in as much fun as possible before the dreaded winter arrived. There is then a nasty few weeks between autumn and winter that is more like winter at home – damp, grey and cold but its only short though, can’t complain.

Winter
You might wonder how a cyclist can survive in snowy Switzerland in winter but it is possible. Zurich itself doesn’t have much snow and its only a few degrees colder than at home so if you’re tough enough you can ride all year round. That said most people don’t because there are too many other opportunities out there. Last year I stubbornly resisted the snow but this year I’m embracing it a bit more for some variety…

Summer & sanity maintenance

Cait — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 09:47:37 +0000

Lack of racing means I need new ways to get an adrenaline fix and feeling of adventure. The solution is to explore as much as possible, ride in interesting places and on challenging trails. I’ve developed hawk eyes for spotting singletracks in the woods and a tendancy for taking risks.

A few weeks ago I had an early season freeride adventure risking the presence of snow remaining in the Alps. I remember passing the near vertical mountain above Wallenstadt on the train when I was Liechtenstein and wondering how on earth there could be houses up there, so after finding out there was also a mountain bike trail there it had to be investigated!

Walensee - the start

A nice flat intro along the edge of the Walensee with a view of where we would end up.

climbing up

Gaining altitude rapidly, 1500m up a very steep hill in scorching heat.

first obstacle

Several snow obstacles and hike-a-bike sections.

steep cliffs

Alpine singletrack!

the top (ish!)

Seemed to be the top, it should be easy from here right?

scheisse Schnee!

Awkwardly placed snow patches on vertical sections of mountain with 100s of metres to fall to the lake. Possible to hike but when carrying a bike at the same time it would have been a bit stupid! = ride failure, turn back the way we came.

spring colours

Ragley you are one spoilt bike

Back down via some super walking trails – the illegal ones are always the best!

Wallenstadt

A quick (ie cold!) swim to cool off in the lake to cool off before hopping on the train home.

Wallensee

The arrival of summer makes Zurich a much nicer place to be. There is suddenly life in the streets and people come crawling out of their houses for bbqs and summer parties. Switzerland is a country of extremes, when the sun is out it gets super hot so jumping in the lake or super fast flowing river through the city are essential for cooling off. When it’s not sunny it can drop 15°C in an hour and rain torrentially with sky exploding bursts of thunder and giant hail stones. It’s all quite exciting as long as you’re not out on a bike!

post ride river chilling

hailstones

evening road exploration

Swiss road biking

Cait — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:38:43 +0000

after work ride

Zürich is a bit of a paradise for road biking, on either side of the lake there is a long, small but steep ridge of hills that you can zig-zag up and down for lots of 10-15 minute climbs. The roads are silky smooth and overlook the lake and the Alps. There is something pure and simple about riding uphill on a roadbike, especially if the climb is long and you have to attack out of the saddle around every corner because its so steep. I can combine a few of these hills for an after work loop of less than 2 hours but getting well over 1000m climbing.

Of course the descents are the best part, completely pothole free swooping hairpin bends, some open and flowing where you can pedal flat out to hit 60 or 70 kmph, others incredibly tight and technical with huge drops off the edge meaning mistakes could be lethal. It’s amazing to ride them as fast as possible, tucked on the drops, minimal brakes, hanging off the side of the bike willing it to go around the corner and hoping like mad your skinny tyres won’t give way.

roads above Zürich

For longer rides there are Alpine passes within riding distance of the city. Similarly insane roads except climbs and descents go on for 10 or 15km and the surrounding scenery gets more dramatic. I’ve ridden the local ones (at first surrounded by skiers and 2m of snow), but in the next few weeks the really hardcore passes will open up so there is more exploring to be done. There’s signpost for the Gotthard at the bottom of my street that’s been tempting me all winter…

road to Schweiz

The weather is starting to get really hot (when it’s not torrentially raining) and now that its ‘cycling season’ there are roadies everywhere. Seasonal cyclists mean I’ve never seen so much blinged out carbon moving so slowly but there are also plenty of really fast people with lots of top pros based in the area and turning up on local group rides. Strava also adds a whole new dimension to road riding, I’m trying to convert the world – get on it!

It’s actually highly dangerous, I’m a mountain biker, I really shouldn’t be this enthusiastic about road biking!

Greifensee, Zürich

Spring evening ride

silky smooth roads

view above my house

after work ride

chilling after a ride

Ireland vs Switzerland Part II

Cait — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:00:39 +0000

My last blog post seemed to raise a few opinions so I’d better explain further. As I said before Ireland and particularly Dublin is one of the best places I know for xc riding and training, with a great cycling community and a great variety of technical trails within easy access of the capital city. So why do Switzerland have a handful of both male and female xc riders in the top 20 in the world from junior through to elite level whilst Ireland has… err, well, none?! Elite racing is given so much more prestige and recognition here, achievement in sport seems to be more desirable and encouraged. The national newspapers frequently cover mountain bike racing and national races frequently attract 7,000+ spectators.

Swiss racing

There are 8 UCI ranked xc races attracting top riders from all over the world in Switzerland this year and none in Ireland. This allows riders to compete in their own country whilst gaining experience of world class level racing, providing inspiration and increasing ambitions. It gives the events more prestige making it easier to attract public and media attention as well as associated funding and financial support. The availability of support not only from the National Cycling body but also from teams from amateur through to professional level cannot be underestimated – making racing financially possible (it is almost unheard of here for an elite rider to work full time), providing valuable expertise and allowing riders to focus on performance.

Development from a young age is well considered in Switzerland. Nationals races have kids races which include skills testing as well as other entertainment to keep them interested throughout the day. Many clubs have a good development structure offering technical coaching, training and race assistance for underage riders. This is only beginning to get going in Ireland.

Up to a certain level the Irish race scene is quite good, it is not considered elitist so there is a wide variety of people taking part, there is a good sociable atmosphere at races, and participation is rapidly increasing. Having raced all over Europe I would still say Djouce, Castlewellan or Kilruddery are amongst the best national standard races courses I’ve ridden, technically and physically challenging as well as great fun to ride.

racing - Dublin mountians

Its when you get to the top level of the sport that things are lacking with very few riders competing at a real international level, especially for elite women. There is little understanding of the standard of international racing and what is involved to get that fast. There is no structure or guidance and little experience of coaching for riders wanting to compete at that level. Without our own UCI races and with low numbers of elite riders it becomes essential to travel to Europe for anyone wanting to progress in the sport but there is no encouragement to do so. It is logistically and financially difficult with riders left to make their own way. This takes a lot of determination, often leads to doing things the hard way and ultimately often affects results negatively. It is easier to stay at home, win a race all be it at a slower pace and be happy with what we have rather than really progressing and being internationally competitive.

Some of these factors come down to wider cultural economical differences between Switzerland and Ireland (some of which you would never dream of trying to change!), but I’m sure that Ireland has the potential to gain a reputation for being at least as good a place for mountain biking and racing as Switzerland, and develop some top level riders to go with that.