Opened secretly, quietly and quietly: There's a new route on the outskirts of Zurich
Do you want as few people as possible to know about it? Inquiries from Ride remain unanswered for a long time. On site, it turns out that the Altberg has its first official bike route.
The municipality of Dänikon has received CHF 25,000 to build a bike trail at the foot of the Altberg. This was reported in 2022 in the local press. After that, we didn't hear much more about it. The mayor, who is said to have personally campaigned for the trail to be built, replied curtly in the spring that it was not clear when the trail would be opened due to woodwork. Subsequent inquiries remained unanswered.
A reason to visit the Altberg again. Two bikers who claim to know their way around know nothing about a route down to Dänikon. A few hundred meters further on, a horse looks at me first, then I see the sign. It says "Bike Trail Altberg". Along with the rules of the trail: Pedestrians have right of way, be nice to each other, you know the drill.
The trailhead is located behind the Waldschenke, as seen from the ridge path. There, where horses are sometimes parked.
After a few meters, I lay down immediately. Perhaps I was still thinking about the horse that was watching me ride off. The trail winds down along an old path on relatively steep terrain. According to Colin Leutenegger from Allegra, who was in charge of the construction project, the trail was never allowed to be more than 10 meters away from the original path.
The result is a nice sequence of berms, and the trail builders used the relief as much as possible. The slope is not difficult - it only gets more difficult as the speed increases. But as you have to watch out for pedestrians in the berms, it is advisable not to force it. The trail builders have also included two tests of courage for dropping. After what feels like a minute, the fun is over again.
It goes down deeper than it looks in this picture. In the fall.
The classic remains the ridge path on the Altberg. If you want to descend into the valley afterwards, the Altberg bike trail is an entertaining way to end the tour. But I wouldn't make the journey from Zurich to the Altberg just for this trail. That's not the purpose of the route. Rather, it should take as many local bikers as possible away from other routes and thus contribute to relaxation.
After the ride, Markus from the Lägern Biketrails association got in touch. The trail has been open since May and the official opening will take place on September 10. More pictures of the trail and its construction can be found here.
And here is another POV video from wetter days.
Suitable Ride Spotguides
Further content on this article
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.