Saint-Martin-en-Haut and Saint-Didier-sous-Riverie lie in the Monts du Lyonnais, a range of rounded, wooded hills about thirty kilometres west of Lyon, where the city's suburbs give way to orchards, cattle and small farms. It is gentle country, the sort of place where Lyonnais go for a Sunday drive, and for a rider, the roads are fun and quiet, with lots of small curves, short climbs and pretty views toward the Alps on clear days. The dot marks a point on the long ride home after a day in the high mountains.
The route has covered a lot of ground. Alpe d'Huez, in the Oisans, is one of the most famous climbs in cycling, with twenty-one numbered hairpins that rise about a thousand metres in thirteen kilometres, and the stage finish has become a place of pilgrimage for Tour de France fans, particularly the Dutch, who have a corner named after them. The road is wide and well surfaced, and on a motorcycle it is more fun than hard. The valley below, with its glaciers and high passes, includes the Col du Lautaret and the Galibier, two of the great Alpine crossings, which are closed in winter.
Mont Ventoux, in Provence, is another cycling legend. Its summit, at 1,912 metres, is a bare, white crown of limestone that looks like snow even in July, and the road up from Bédoin is long and exposed, with a strong wind called the mistral often blowing from the north. A memorial near the top marks the spot where the British cyclist Tom Simpson died in 1967 during the Tour. The view from the top, over the Rhône valley and the Alps, can stretch for a hundred kilometres.
By contrast, the Monts du Lyonnais are soft and green. The roads wander through villages built of golden stone, past cherry and apple orchards, and the local cuisine is simple and hearty, with sausages, cheese and fruit tarts. Traffic is light, but cyclists are common, especially at weekends.
Fuel is easy in Saint-Martin-en-Haut, with a station and a bakery, and larger supermarkets can be found in Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise. In the evening, the light over the hills is warm, and you can sometimes see the white line of Mont Blanc on the horizon, a last reminder of the day.