We had perfect weather for Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Rhine Cycle Route. But on Stage 3, our luck ran out. The forecast was calling for rain, LOTS of rain! 50-90mm – numbers so high we couldn’t quite fathom how much rain that was. In Toronto, a “downpour” is 20-30mm of rain. This would be double or triple that! And, if the Swiss forecast description – “persistent rain” – was accurate, it wouldn’t stop raining all day.
>> TABLE OF CONTENTS
- MAP: Stage 3 (Chur to Buchs)
- VIDEO: Heidiland + Liechtenstein
- GEAR: How we keep dry-ish
- RIDE STATS
- Up Next…
In this kind of weather, cycling Stage 1 or 2 would not have been safe because of the proximity to steep slopes (so many rockslide shelters on Stage 2!) and the river (Stage 1 took us quite close to the Rhine). But Stage 3 veers away from the river through meadows and vineyards, and when it returns to the Rhine, the cycleway is high on a levee. So, this ride was doable!
If we could handle the “persistent rain”.
MAP: Stage 3 (Chur to Buchs)
VIDEO: Heidiland + Liechtenstein
I took a few photos on this trip, but not a ton. And the photos I did take were used in the following video. So, to experience the whole adventure, watch the video!
NOTE how visible the rain is on camera, something that only happens when buckets of rain are dumping down. So, yeah, that’s how hard it was raining!
GEAR: How we keep dry-ish
In the YouTube comments, people inquired about how wet we got or how well our bags held up against the rain. So below is a list of our essentials for staying dry on a rainy ride!
NOTE: Except for Cleverhood who sent us the Rover capes we were wearing on this trip, everything else we bought ourselves and was not sponsored.
| LIST: Wet Weather Gear | |
|---|---|
| Brompton Fenders | Some people (Pier 👀) like the look of bikes without fenders, but I made sure we had fenders on our Bromptons because it’s just not practical to travel without them. And the Brompton fenders work really well. |
| Cleverhood rain capes | We bought our first Cleverhood rain capes (and reviewed them here) back in 2017 for our trip to the Netherlands, and they instantly proved to be the best rain gear ever! We chose Cleverhood Zipsters (which were redesigned and became the Rover capes Cleverhood sent us later) because they’re light and pack down smaller than a jacket. Best of all, there’s no need to bring rain pants or waterproof gloves since the capes cover your legs and hands while cycling. |
| Large Borough Bag with rain cover | The other thing that helps keep us dry are the front bags on the Bromptons. Rain capes shelter you from rain coming from above, but front bags stop rain that’s coming from ahead, onto your knees. I found this out while riding another bike that doesn’t have a front bag. Despite wearing a rain cape, my knees were wet, and I realized it was because I was riding into the rain and had no front bag to block the onslaught. Thus, Brompton front bags + Cleverhood rain capes are the perfect stay-dry combo! There is a waterproof version of the Borough bag (25L), but I bought the regular Borough (28L) because it’s a bit bigger. Thankfully, the rain cover kept the contents of the bag completely dry. The only thing I dislike is that with the rain cover on, I can’t access even one external pocket of the bag, which is why I was wearing a small backpack of essentials (snacks, water, money) for easy access under my rain cape. Pier had a 30L backpack with a MEC rain cover on the front of his Brompton. It works too. |
| Wool clothing | We were wearing a combination of Icebreaker and Unbound Merino clothes from head to toe! Even when damp, wool is not clammy or cold. The only place I was cold was my butt – I was not wearing wool underwear and kept sitting on my cape by accident. Next trip, I’m wearing wool underwear! As for Pier, his pants were synthetic, and with the rain whipping from the side, his lower legs did get damp and they were cold. He’s searching for some wool pants for next time. I was wearing wool tights from Unbound Merino and they’re awesome! But tights aren’t Pier’s style. |
| Waterproof shoes | Pier wore waterproof Keen hiking shoes. I wore Vessi Weekend shoes, which are just casual running shoes that are specially knit to be waterproof. They actually work! Our feet remained mostly dry. I did accidentally dump water from my cape into my shoes, but my wool socks kept my feet from feeling cold. And our shoes were totally dry by the next morning. |
Thanks to our gear, we never got totally soaked. Though after many hours in the pouring rain, our Cleverhood Rovers became damp on the inside of the front of the cape, but it never felt like the water was going through the cape, just that the water was collecting on the cape. But thanks to our layers of wool, we were still comfortable even when damp.
RIDE STATS
| STAGE 3: Chur (CH) → Vaduz (LI) → Buchs (CH) | |
|---|---|
| Distance — 55 km | Steepest Grade — 21% (we walked it) |
| Average Speed — 16 km/hr | Time in Motion — 3 hrs 32 mins |
| Top Speed — 39 km/hr | Total Trip Time — 6 hrs 35 mins |
NOTE that Komoot’s “Top Speed” stat seems to be off. If you go to our Komoot page, you’ll see that it recorded our top speed at 56.5 km/hr! On this ride, there was no way we were ever going that fast. So, I scrolled through our speed profile to find the highest spike, and that was 39 km/hr just past Jenins, which makes sense because that was a smooth downhill we took so fast that we missed the first turn to Heidiland and had to take the second, much steeper road. So that’s what I’ve decided was our top speed.
Up Next…
Stage 4 gets us to Lake Constance, and Stage 5 takes us around the lake as another rainstorm chases us down!
- DAY 1 – Rhine River Bike Tour: Cologne to Monheim (GERMANY)
- DAY 2 – Rhine River Bike Tour: Monheim to Dusseldorf (GERMANY)
- DAY 3 – Rhine River Tour: The Scenic Train to SWITZERLAND!
- DAY 4 – Cycle-Sightseeing in Zurich
- DAY 5 – Swiss Alps Hike to Devil’s Bridge
- DAY 6 – Rhine River Bike Tour: SWITZERLAND – From the top! (Stage 1)
- DAY 7 – Rhine River Bike Tour: SWITZERLAND – Gorge(ous) views! (Stage 2)
- DAY 8 – Swiss Alps Hike + Toboggan Run!
- Coming up…
- DAY 10-11 – Rhine River Bike Tour: Lake Constance (SWITZERLAND/AUSTRIA/GERMANY)