How an ebike gave me the legs to tackle Switzerland’s contours

A new 240-mile cycle route from Lucerne includes spectacular alpine views and pastoral backcountry – with delicious local cheese and wine

With relatively few cars and roads as smooth as a Federer serve, Switzerland seems engineered for a low-carbon cycling holiday. Indeed, the Swiss government has launched a number of new cycle routes in recent years – including cycle route 1291.

Named after Switzerland’s founding year, route 1291 wraps around the heart of old Switzerland: the three founding cantons of Unterwalden (now Obwalden and Nidwalden), Uri, and Schwyz, as well as Lucerne. Starting and ending in the city of Lucerne, it runs through picturesque countryside for 240 miles. Sounds dreamy, but there’s just one problem: those mountains.