Cyclists will happily spend six hours climbing mountains, debate tyre pressures to the nearest PSI, agonise over whether 28 mm tyres are “too wide,” and critique someone’s bike all day long. But ask whether taking a train to shorten or change a ride is ok and the jury is out.

So, let’s settle this once and for all. Is it ok to take a train as part of your ride? Absolutely. In fact, sometimes it’s the smart thing to do, especially in Andermatt where it can really help you get the most out of your day.

With seven major passes leading out from Andermatt, many people choose to make long loops out of them. But others want to arrange a shorter route, and this is where Switzerland’s world-class train network can come in, making a variety of point-to-point adventures possible. And that’s before you add in punctuality, cleanliness, and overall bike-friendliness of Swiss trains. There’s then the fail-safe option, knowing that if you need to cut the day short you can easily get back to Andermatt.

Here are some ways in which train travel can be incorporated into some of the routes around Andermatt (which of course can be reversed):

• Oberalp/Lukmanier/Gotthard loop – direct train from Biasca to Airolo, taking off nearly 40km and 1,000m of elevation

• Nufenen/Gotthard – direct train from Andermatt to Ulrichen, avoiding the Furka pass, gives you two epic climbs before rolling back to Andermatt

• Furka one-way – direct train from Andermatt to Oberalp, gives you a route back past the famous Belvedere Hotel.

Top tips:

• Make use of the SBB website and app, for routes, timetables and prices. You can also buy your tickets directly

• Bikes are charged separately, so you need to buy a ticket for each one that you take on the train

• Look out for specific bike carriages, which have more space and bike racks.

Cycling is supposed to be enjoyable, and the objective should be the same: have a great day on the bike. And if the train helped you get there, I’d say it was worth the ticket.