Anse is a small town of just over five thousand people on the Saône, at the point where the little river Azergues joins it, and it is the gateway to the Pierres Dorées, the Golden Stone country of the southern Beaujolais. The villages of this district are built of a soft, honey-coloured limestone that glows in the evening light, and the vineyards that cover the hills produce the lighter Beaujolais wines. As a fuel gate and start and finish of the ride, Anse is a convenient place, with fuel stations, a supermarket, bakeries and cafés, and it is easy to reach from Lyon, about twenty-five kilometres to the south.
The town has a long past. In Roman times it was a staging post called Asa Paulini on the road from Lyon to the north, and its position on the Saône made it a trading centre in the Middle Ages. The Château des Tours, on the edge of town, dates from the thirteenth century and was a residence of the archbishops of Lyon, who held much of the surrounding land. It is a solid fortified building with towers and a moat, and today it hosts events and exhibitions.
Leaving Anse, the road quickly climbs into the hills, with vineyards on the slopes and villages perched on ridges. The bends are gentle to medium, the surface is mostly good, and the views open across the Saône valley to the Dombes plateau and, on a clear day, the Alps. This is a classic day-trip landscape for Lyonnais riders, which means that weekends, especially sunny ones, can be busy, and cyclists share the roads. A weekday ride is calmer.
For a final or first meal, the local restaurants serve the food of Lyon and the Beaujolais, with sausages, andouillette, cervelle de canut, a herb and cream cheese spread, and the local wine, light and fruity and best served slightly cool. Fill the tank before the climb, because the hill villages have few stations, and enjoy a cup of coffee on the terrace before setting off.