Work Ride
Balance
You might know the feeling: It’s been a long day, and the pace was frantic. The city is buzzing with energy, and your thoughts are riding a mental rollercoaster. But you know what to do: Get on your bike and out into nature. Calm down your mental chatter and rebalance body and mind as you hit the pedals.
We in Switzerland really can’t complain: Cycling fans in any Swiss city have an incomparable advantage in that they always have mountains and nature right at the tips of their pedals. It therefore doesn’t come as a surprise that more and more urban cyclists are getting together with friends for regular after-work bike rides in the local mountains. In Berne, they’re most likely to head for Gurnigel pass, while Zurich cyclists’ home circuits take them across Sattelegg or Albis pass.
https://vimeo.com/375936547
Some really give it their all after a long day at the office, whereas others prefer to take it a little easier. Cycling aficionados refer to these more chilled tours as “coffee rides”, although it should truthfully be said that coffee rides tend to be more of a weekend ritual. They aren’t so much about training to get fitter or faster, and stopping for a coffee or two en route certainly isn’t frowned upon, as the name suggests. These leisurely rides are more of a social event.
Generally, the social aspect is hugely important among cyclists: They value riding together and sharing their love of the sport, nature and their bikes. Of course, many of them also have a fairly strong competitive streak, which extends to the appearance of both outfits and bikes – two things that matter to cyclists. Wearing the right clothes and riding a well-maintained bike is pretty much compulsory. You’d better not turn up with a dusty, dirty bike, whether for an after-work or coffee ride. Unless you’re the next Ferdy Kübler and leave everybody in the dust anyway.
