Route 5 (Mittelland Route): Section 1 ; cycling Wil SG to Romanshorn, Switzerland

OVERVIEW of the ENTIRE ROUTE 5 (Mittelland Route: Romanshorn–Lausanne): SwitzerlandMobility.ch ( https://schweizmobil.ch/en/cycling-in-switzerland/route-5) describes Route 5 as an easy and pleasant ride along mostly traffic-free trails, at low altitudes (2,700m total elevation gain), and 375km long (divided in 7 sections). It alternates between lakes, rivers, farmlands and villages/town, from the Bodensee to Lac Leman

Route 5: Section 1 (Romanshorn 397m-Wil SG 563m)

Highlights: Hagenwil Castle , Bridge & Town of Bischofszell, Wil SG

Stats from SwitzerlandMobility.ch ( https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/cycling-in-switzerland/routes/route/etappe-01053.html): 36km long (1/3 unpaved), but with detours I reached 44km; height difference Wil-Romanshorn 240m, though I did 260m with the detours (420m in the opposite direction). Their site has the full profile. 

April 2024

It has been soooo long, “pre-Covid” long, since I did one of my all-day bike-tours. It was difficult to muster the mental energy to leave the comfort of my bed pre-7am and take an almost 4h multi-train journey (each way) to northeastern Switzerland. But it was a personal challenge and so I did it. Also, with this ride I finally COMPLETED the ENTIRE ROUTE 5 ( Mittelland Route from Romanshorn to Lausanne; see at the end of the post for the other sections of the Route).

Oh, and if this wasn’t enough of a challenge, I decided to try something new: to bike this relatively easy section with my regular (non-electric) bike, and to load it up and down the trains in a bag. By using the bag I skipped the need for bike reservations on some trains, like IC (but carrying the bag is quite uncomfortable and heavy, and got a lot of bruises…..). 

Biking this section in the opposite listed direction (Wil to Romanshorn) has the advantage of cutting the denivelation in half and riding in the direction of the wind (at least today). This entire path goes through nature, on natural trails along rivers, or through farmland and orchards of apple and pear. 

At the start in Wil SG, I took the opportunity to visit the old town on a slight hill above the modern Wil.

Like all Swiss-German towns, it has picturesque streets with decorated or timber-framed old houses. Too bad that the main landmark, the «Hof zu Wil» building, was all covered up for repairs. But on its flank is one of the oldest fortified city gates (around 1400). The old town is not very touristy though; actually it’s pretty dead on Sunday.

From Wil the trail descends through fields and orchards on a natural path. For a while it also coasts small rivers, where one can have a refreshing bath in hot days.

Plenty of bikers go through this route, encountering some minor traffic jams when crossing the meter-wide metal suspension bridge or the covered bridge.

The first and only village I found on this route is Bischofszell, crossed also by Cycloroute 95. Here I do a minor detour along route 95-north to peek at the small but massive stone bridge of Thurbrücke Bischofszell.

This 116-meter-long 8-arched bridge over the Thur dates from the 15th century and it is the longest surviving late-medieval stone bridge in Switzerland. Today it is crossed only by bicycles and pedestrians. Incidentally, it is located quite below Route 5 so that there is a good climb back to continue with the tour.

But aside the Bridge, the village of Bischofszell is worth browsing through and it may be a good place for a mid-way stop. The old alleys are decorated by beautiful late Gothic and late Baroque buildings.

More pear and apple orchards follow, already in bloom.

But the next landmark is the jewel of this section: the cute little moated castle of Hagenwil. It looks like something out of a fairytale, with its red-white timber frame on stony walls and its little moat, sitting in the middle of the countryside . Its oldest parts are around 1000 years old and it is very well preserved. It contains now a restaurant and it produces its own wine. A few rooms can be visited and the moat has some large koy fish (carp).

Continuing towards the Bodensee, the country road becomes more populated with Sunday goers, and refreshment stops pop up here and there.

Once reached Romanshorn (see also Route 2:05) I have only a little time to bike along the lake before going to the train station, which incidentally is next to the water. This is a true touristic town, full of people, bikers, and families strolling along the park on the lake or sitting on lakeside cafes; very very busy on this sunny weekend. 

Links to Introduction and other Sections:

• BIKING THROUGH SWITZERLAND
• Route 5: Section 2 -Wil SG to Kloten
• Route 5: Section 3 – Kloten to Aarau
• Route 5: Section 4 – Aarau to Solothurn
• Route 5: Section 5 –Solothurn to Ins
• Route 5: Section 6 – Ins to Yverdon
• Route 5: Section 7 – Yverdon to Lausanne
• Route 2 (Rhine Route): Section 5 – St. Margrethen to Kreuzlingen