IM Zurich travel tips pre/post race

[mallaire1]

I am signed up for IM Zurich this year and will be traveling from California with my wife and 14yr old son. My initial plan is to leave Los Angeles on Tuesday, arrive Wednesday and do pre race “stuff” through Saturday with the race on Sunday. Monday will be a rest type day and then I want to spend the next 4-6 days seeing some sights.

Last year my wife and I did Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome for our 20th anniversary (sans kids of course) and that was our first taste of Europe. We were thinking head over to Germany, head to Nice (and scout IM France) or ??? Keep in mind we will be time constrained.

Obviously the bike and gear become an issue so I’m interested in hearing thoughts on that as well as any suggestions that could be fun with a 14yr old boy. My wife read something about a river float in Zurich or some fortress tours in the Zurich area. Maybe the Swiss Alps? I’m not opposed to simply staying in Switzerland the entire time too.

Any help is much appreciated.

[devashish_paul]

I am signed up for IM Zurich this year and will be traveling from California with my wife and 14yr old son. My initial plan is to leave Los Angeles on Tuesday, arrive Wednesday and do pre race “stuff” through Saturday with the race on Sunday. Monday will be a rest type day and then I want to spend the next 4-6 days seeing some sights.

Last year my wife and I did Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome for our 20th anniversary (sans kids of course) and that was our first taste of Europe. We were thinking head over to Germany, head to Nice (and scout IM France) or ??? Keep in mind we will be time constrained.

Obviously the bike and gear become an issue so I’m interested in hearing thoughts on that as well as any suggestions that could be fun with a 14yr old boy. My wife read something about a river float in Zurich or some fortress tours in the Zurich area. Maybe the Swiss Alps? I’m not opposed to simply staying in Switzerland the entire time too.

Any help is much appreciated.

Personally I think with the 9 hour time shift you are cutting it tight with arrival on Wed. First you have to recovery from the trip, just 5 days out from an Ironman and then time shift your body clock 9 hours. Not easy. I actually followed the same “format” but coming from the east coast in 2011 for IM Switzerland. The year before I did IMFrance and flew on Sunday evening which I found helped more. I have a lot of experience traveling across time zones as well as racing across time zones…I’d generally say “1 day per time zone” but once you are 7 days out, it is all a wash.

My son was 14 when we went to Zurich. Him and my wife had a good time just hanging around town and walking to the various sites. We drove across the Alps (actually my wife did because I was useless being discharged from hospital) and ended up in Italy after the race for our vacation and had a rental car to haul ourselves and my bike around, which unfortunately was totally destroyed (as was my body…I laid in bed for the Italy part) from a crash on race day that resulted in a DNF and unfortunately 2 years of rehab that continue to this day.

But, I think the the race vibe and venue was pretty awesome at least for the swim and first 37K of the bike that I actually experienced. Initially I wanted to go back and race there again, but I thinkI am too traumatized thinking about the events of that weekend to go back. Eventually I will, but the time for that is “not yet”.

. Nice would be a good place to end up in.

[logella]

My son was 14 when we went to Zurich. Him and his wife ….

Wow! You marry them young up there.

[mallaire1]

Thanks Dev. You and I met in transition before Oceanside last year. Tribodyboarder/Jay introduced us. So Tuesday is cutting it close…dang…more $$$. We really enjoyed Venice so were toying with the idea of going there for a few days then head over to Nice. So is it easier to simply ship the bike and gear back home, leave it in Zurich and return/depart from there home or drag it around everywhere and theoretically depart Nice to home?

[devashish_paul]

Hey, I think it also depends on how well you wan to race relative to your potential. If you don’t care about race time,you could arrive on Friday, check in stuff on Sat, race on Sunday (I know people who have done that at other European Ironmans coming from North America).

As for hauling the bike stuff around, it is a bit of a pain. There is no right answer. If you stay in Switzerland there is plenty to see and do, and you can fly back out of Zurich and perhaps leave our stuff at the hotel that you stay for the IM. In that case, you don’t need to rent a car and can just take trains which would be way more convenient in some ways.

Logella, fixed that. Sorry, but my mind is not really that coherent talking about IM Switzerland. I get somewhat distracted with a variety of thoughts going over the events of that week. Just responding to this thread is enough of a challenge, but I’m forcing myself to do this type of thing because I can’t change the past even though it affects how I live daily. I’d like to change 10 seconds in 2011, but I can’t so I have to deal with it.

[CPT_Chaos]

Why don’t you do the holiday part before you get to Zurich. Go to nice where you can have a great holiday, and do your final training (on some great roads and climbs, swimming in the Med and running along the beachfront). If you do that, you will be there with plenty of time to overcome the time zone/jet lag and during taper you can really enjoy the holiday (except for eating perhaps). Nice is not a city that you have to do a lot of walking (the public transport and bike hire system is great), so you won’t trash your legs walking 20km per day seeing the sites.

I love that race (raced there 3 times) and would go back in a minute.

Jack

[cougie]

I’ve done Zurich twice - great lake.

They were doing kayak tours - that would be fun - and there is a water park just by the start of the swim. Both worth doing after I’d think.

[devashish_paul]

Why don’t you do the holiday part before you get to Zurich. Go to nice where you can have a great holiday, and do your final training (on some great roads and climbs, swimming in the Med and running along the beachfront). If you do that, you will be there with plenty of time to overcome the time zone/jet lag and during taper you can really enjoy the holiday (except for eating perhaps). Nice is not a city that you have to do a lot of walking (the public transport and bike hire system is great), so you won’t trash your legs walking 20km per day seeing the sites.

I love that race (raced there 3 times) and would go back in a minute.

Jack

x2 on this. In fact in 2010, when I did IM France I was riding 2+hours per day every day on race week on the climbs outside of town. It was just too nice to sit around and “taper”. My taper ended up being a 100% run taper (zero running race week), but I was swimming and biking like a normal training week (trying to keep the intensity down) and just took the day before the race “off”. I like CPT Chaos’ idea better. If I recall correctly I rode the Col d’Eze on the Thu and Fri before the race, did the race on Sunday and then rode it again on Tue and Wed too! I was there and may as well enjoy the terrain. Like is too short to sit couped up tapering!

Edit: Jack…are you racing Galveston this year? I am in Texas the week after for work and was thinking about coming 3 days early to race.

[CPT_Chaos]

Dev,

I am on the fence about Galveston this year, as I also want to do New Orleans (have never visited), but Galveston is much easier to do and my work demands may be the deciding factor. Oh yeah, and my health which is just now getting to a point where I can train again. If I do get there, let’s definitely link up! I was gutted to miss you in the years past.

Jack

[devashish_paul]

Dev,

I am on the fence about Galveston this year, as I also want to do New Orleans (have never visited), but Galveston is much easier to do and my work demands may be the deciding factor. Oh yeah, and my health which is just now getting to a point where I can train again. If I do get there, let’s definitely link up! I was gutted to miss you in the years past.

Jack

OK, fix up your health first…racing second. Speaking of fixing up health, and related to this thread, I might try another IM France trip in 2015 when I am in 50-54. It’s kind of scary even typing that sentence (the 50-54 part).

[CPT_Chaos]

IM France in 2015 is my plan as well! After training there last summer, I found it to be a great place and it seems like a course that will limit drafting, which is my top priority for courses these days.

Jack

[devashish_paul]

IM France in 2015 is my plan as well! After training there last summer, I found it to be a great place and it seems like a course that will limit drafting, which is my top priority for courses these days.

Jack

I agree about IMFrance limiting drafting. From the T1 exit, the first 15 minutes of riding are on wide roads, and then suddenly it gets compressed to 1 lane and turns into a draft fest for around 15 more minutes. In 2010, I had a peleton of around 30 guys on my tail (why you would draft me I don’t know…my draft is small), but I almost got a penalty for my number having fallen off out of T1 because my buckle was not clipped properly!!!

After the first 30 minutes, basically there is zero impact of drafting. You are either climbing or descending. The final 20K on the bike is into a headwind (always get the wind off the sea) and while this could be a draft fest area, everything is blow apart. I pretty well rode back solo. My split was 5:37, so around 10 min slower than what I do on hilly courses like Tremblant and Placid. Like you I try to pick courses with a lot of vertical. It’s my only chance to do a good placement as my top line watts are low.

Dev

[sheene]

Just a few thoughts. I’d try and get to Zurich as early as possible and get the body clock adjusted and settled in. I don’t see the point of going to another location such as Nice prior. Swimming at the race site is really nice and there should be plenty to keep the family amused for a few days. I’d check out the bike course if possible. I did the race last year and didn’t see the course until race day. Prior knowledge would be beneficial, quite a few junctions and short steep descents. The locals give big respect to anyone doing the IM. It’s funny, I was with a group and some were doing the 5150 elite race on the day before the IM. These were the ‘serious’ athletes but the guy in the street just didn’t rate them because they weren’t doing the IM!

[cjbruin]

I also did the race in 2011 and travelled from So Cal. I left Tuesday, got there Wednesday morning and took a nap/sleep until the early afternoon. That worked pretty well for me from a rest/adjustment standpoint. Zurich has some good sights and if you get bored, you can always hop a train to Lucerne for the day.

You need to prepare yourself for the fact that Zurich is Uber-Expensive. I’m talking like a bowl of pasta = $40 expensive. Groceries are pricey too. It is what it is and you’re only there for a few days so just budget for it and don’t let it ruin your trip. It’s a terrific race and the fan support is great…though by the end of the day you will be really tired of hearing, “Hop, hop, hop!”

[mallaire1]

Thanks CJBruin. I have read over and over how expensive it is and am preparing for that. I’m thinking I can pull off pretty much what you described as far as arrival and scouting the course. As I said last spring we went to Paris and previously I’ve been as far away as Bali and I typically try to force myself awake and/or to sleep on the time zone I’m traveling to during the flight over and when I arrive I adjust to their time zone pretty quickly. How long did you stay after the race? Can you give me any do’s/dont’s regarding shipping the bike? I read somewhere that you need to reserve a spot on the plane for it. I plan on using points and staying the Sheraton as well. This trip is obviously going to set me back some coin so I’m just going to make the most of it and try to enjoy traveling with my 14yr old.

[cjbruin]

I also stayed at The Sheraton. Very convenient to the venue and local restaurants. Some of the rooms are tiny but the staff is great. You might try emailing them ahead if time and mentioning that you will have your bike with you and would appreciate one of the larger rooms.

I flew American and there was no need to pre-reserve a spot for your bike. Just the $150 fee. We decided to spend the next week in Dublin which was awesome. I did make a bike reservation on Aer Lingus for that flight.

[devashish_paul]

As part of my exercise to get over the events from 2011, I just did a gmail seach of where I stayed and price. They added an extra cot for my 14 year old and we had plenty of room in that hotel with my bike. there were several restaurants reasonably priced (for Zurich) and a grocery store across the street.

**Hotel: Four Points By Sheraton Sihlcity-ZurichRoom reservation: **Devashish Paul - 2 adultsTotal room cost:C$870.60Taxes & fees:C$8.27 /night

**Lodging total:**C$903.65Four Points By Sheraton Sihlcity-ZurichKalandergasse 1Zurich 8045SwitzerlandPhone: 41 (44) 5540000 Check in: 07/07/11Check out: 11/07/11Nights: 4Hotel Rules and Regulations.

[Former_User]

hey mate-

i think we chatted about this previously, but: i live in zurich, and might be around during that time, in which case i’m happy to help out!

weds-friday will be very easy to kill in zurich itself. the transit is excellent, and a 24-hour card will work on all forms of transit. the city’s great in summer: lots of swimming at free public parks/baths around the lake. also open-air bars and clubs on the lake, al fresco eating, etc. i’d basically consider a walk down bahnhofstrasse, around the neiderdorf, and then plunk yourself at enge park or badi rushlikon and chill out.

the river float in zurich is the limmatschwimmen, which isn’t till august - otherwise, no swimming in the river, just the lake and the badis (pools) in contained areas on the river.

post-race, here’s a thought: probably my favourite spot for a real ‘swiss’ experience is lauterbrunnen. http://www.myswitzerland.com/de-ch/lauterbrunnen.html

gorgeous scenery, hiking, swimming, cows, cheese - very swiss. it’s about 2-3 hours from zurich by car or train, and would be an awesome, awesome place to chill out for a night or two post-race. it’s also where ‘on her majesty’s secret service’ was filmed, and you can go up to blofeld’s lair on piz gloria if your son’s a james bond fan. there’d be snow up there in mid-summer, and it’s your real ‘alps’ experience.

nice from zurich is basically a flight - otherwise the train takes something like 8 hours and the car longer. the good news is that lots of cheap airlines from zurich-nice, and others basel-nice. the bike would be a pain, though; if you fly in and out of zurich, why not leave the bike behind? your hotel could store it. if not, i’ll store it for you if i’m around.

southern germany from zurich is a piece of cake - there are some great pretty areas there. baden-baden is a favourite of mine, and has some of the best spas (and the best casino) in the world. colmar, across the rhine in france, is the ‘venice of the north’ - pretty, great wine, great markets. luzern, in eastern switzerland, is ~45 minutes from zurich by train and has an awesome transport museum (totally hands-on) and an imax theatre that a 14-year-old would probably like.

anyway, keep me posted as your plans progress. can’t really go wrong!

-mike

[WeRide]

Sounds really fun. Zurich is a very spectator friendly course, so your family will have lots of fun tracking you that day.

I think you should spend the balance of your vacation in Switzerland. It’s a gorgeous, unique country, and having done Ironman you will be kickstarted to being a part of the fabric of the population rather than just any tourist. All Euro countries are expensive.

What do you like to do on vacation? From Zurich, you can be in any other part of Switzerland within 3 hours time. Someone suggested Lauterbrunnen (west), that is in the Bernese Oberland and contains stunning scenery most closely associated with Switzerland. On the way over, you could stop by Luzern too, and go hike around and check out William Tell country, the Rutli meadow where the apple and the arrow went down in 1291. That is the Gettysburg of Switzerland.

~Heading east (90 min), you could hit up Graubunden, home of the mtb world champion and Olympic silver rider Nino Schurter (you can book a training session with him for $$$), plus a few ski gold medalists. There is an extensive amount of bike trail network here, many places to rent a bike (that’s always a good clue) and even a network of what’s called “biker hotels”. http://www.flims.com/...ikeGuide_2013_EN.pdfThis area is near Austria and Leichtenstein if you must make a side trip to another country. There are tons of outdoor activities here, mountain lifts, hiking, ziplines and freezing cold lakes with the cleanest water you’ve ever seen. the southern part of Canton Graubunden contains the familiar towns of Davos and St Moritz…James Bond territory.

Flims and the surrounding area have made a huge effort in the past decade, to become a tourist friendly summer destination as well as just for skiing. It shows.

~3 hours South of ZH, you can drive over or through the Gotthard pass, spectacular experience (think California Route 1) , to Ticino. On the other side of the pass, they speak Italian and you can dog paddle around Lake Lugano under the palm trees. There’s some ziplines and riding around there (Monte Tamaro) but not too much. From Ticino you can go to lunch in Italy by Lake Como , rent a boat and zip past Clooney’s place.

~3 hours Southwest of ZH will bring you to cantons Vaud and Valias, Geneva, Lausanne, Olympic Museum, steepest vineyards in the world, The Swiss Riviera (vevey , montreux), Castle Chillon, stunning scenery, home of the huge Jazz Festival. Savoie alps and French border. This is Switzerland’s wine region, and they keep 99% of their wine for themselves for a reason.

Also in Canton Valais, the Matterhorn, where depending on the weather you might be able to ski in July.

Now, come on. You’ll already BE in Switzerland!! Any other time you come over, they’ll charge you 40chf to drive over the border (in a car rented elsewhere). Might as well save the 40chf and stick around and have the experience of a lifetime.

PS. Full disclosure, I’m Swiss.

[WeRide]

PS.

Mike, great suggestions and great blog.
Dev, sorry about the accident. Really sorry. I haven’t been on this page in a long time, I didn’t know. You helped me out with some travel advice when I was heading to Zurich.
Mallaire, good luck and have lots of fun.