Lake Murten & Erlach for Coffee

A ride named after its coffee stop: across the farmland to Lake Murten at Muntelier, along the shore to Sugiez and the Broye canal, then up through Ins to Erlach for coffee and back over the Jolimont. 63.7km and the flattest of my home rides.

Lake Murten is the small one of the three lakes, tucked between Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Biel, and from Bargen it's a short hop south across the Seeland. On Monday 10 April 2017 I did what the ride's name says: "Lovely cross ride to Lake Murten then across to Erlach for coffee before the trip home."

Murten And Its Lake

Murten, or Morat in French, is the capital of the See/Lac district of the canton of Fribourg, and about three quarters of the town speaks German. Its old town and its city walls, which you can still walk along, are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national importance. The town's big date is 22 June 1476, when Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, besieged it. Murten held out for 13 days until the Bernese and their Swiss allies arrived, and some 10,000 Burgundians were killed in the battle that followed.

The lake sits between the two bigger ones and is linked to them by canals: the Broye canal runs from Sugiez, at the north end of Lake Murten, to Lake Neuchâtel. Across the water from Murten is the Vully, a hill with over 100 hectares of vineyards. The flat land between Murten and Lake Biel is the Grosses Moos, drained marshland that is now some of the best vegetable-growing country in Switzerland, and that's most of what this ride crosses.

The RideBargen To Lake Murten, And Erlach For CoffeeMonday 10 April 2017

The route, from my GPS track. Green: start and finish in Bargen. Down to Lake Murten at Muntelier, along the shore to Sugiez, north through Ins to Erlach (white) for coffee, then over the Jolimont (red) and home. This ride on Strava →

63.7kmDistance

342mClimbing

536mHighest point (the Jolimont)

424mLowest point

2h 46mMoving time

14:02–17:12Out on the road (3h 09m)

23.0km/hAverage moving speed

44.3km/hTop speed

2,062Calories

Carbon CrossBike

How The Day Went

14:02 – 14:45

Across the Grosses MoosBargen → Kallnach → Galmiz

16kmfarm roads

14:45 – 15:01

Lake MurtenMuntelier → along the shore → Sugiez

6kmlakesidethe Broye canal

15:01 – 15:36

North to InsSugiez → Ins

10km

15:36 – 16:01

To ErlachIns → Thielle → Erlach

11km

16:01 – 16:21

Coffee in ErlachLake Biel, 431m

20 minthe reason for the ride

16:24 – 16:41

Over the JolimontErlach → the Jolimont, 536m

6km+90mthe only climb

16:41 – 17:12

HomeLüscherz → Hagneck → Walperswil → Bargen

13km

Down To The Lake

I left at 14:02 and went south through Kallnach and across the flat fields of the Grosses Moos to Galmiz, then onto the shore of Lake Murten at Muntelier, just north of Murten town, at 14:47. From there the route follows the lake up to Sugiez, where the Broye canal leaves for Lake Neuchâtel, and then turns north across the farmland to Ins.

A calm canal lined with willows and trees, reflecting a blue sky with white clouds — On the ride: the canal by the lake, flat as a mirror in April.

A canal and small harbour seen from a bridge, with moored boats, a village and the Jura beyond — Looking along the canal from a bridge, on the ride.

Two glasses of beer on a café table at Murten, with the sun setting over Lake Murten — Murten itself, another time: a beer at sunset over the lake (March 2017).

A slice of cake and a hot chocolate topped with cream on a café table in Murten — If you do go into Murten itself, the cafés in the old town are worth it (December 2017).

A red cycle-route sign pointing to Biel and Erlach beside a gravel path along the water — The gravel path towards Erlach, signed for Biel and Erlach.

Erlach For Coffee

From Ins it's along the canal past Thielle to Erlach, at the bottom end of Lake Biel, where I stopped for 20 minutes at 16:01. That was the whole point of the ride, and it's the same lakeside café I've stopped at for years; a few of the visits are below.

A large Ovomaltine mug next to a Garmin bike computer showing 103.4km, on a table at the Erlach lakeside café — Ovomaltine and 103km on the Garmin at the Erlach café (April 2014).

A black carbon cross bike leaning against a blue car on a sunny street — The bike for the day, the Carbon Cross.

Over The Jolimont And Home

The only climb of the day comes straight after the coffee: up out of Erlach over the Jolimont, the wooded hill behind the town, to 536m. It's only about 90m, but it's enough to feel after sitting down. Then it's downhill to Lüscherz and back past Hagneck and Walperswil to Bargen at 17:12. 63.7km and 342m of climbing, which makes it the flattest of the home-turf rides on this site.

The concrete hydroelectric power station across the Aare canal at Hagneck, with a wooded hill behind — The power station on the Aare canal at Hagneck, where the river goes into Lake Biel, on the way home.

Where It Is

Lake Murten (marker at Muntelier) at the bottom, Lake Biel and Erlach at the top, with the Grosses Moos in between.