This stretch of country belongs to the border between the Drôme and the Isère, on a flat, fertile plain called the Valloire. It is a sleepy farming region, a land of walnut orchards, maize fields and low villages like Épinouze and Saint-Sorlin-en-Valloire, about fifty kilometres south of Lyon. The roads here are quiet, straight and bordered by hedges and poplars, and the air in late summer smells of cut hay and ripening fruit. It is not the Bugey, which lies far to the north-east, but the end of a long ride has a way of dropping you somewhere unexpected.
The area has one genuine marvel hidden nearby. At Hauterives, a few kilometres to the east, a country postman named Ferdinand Cheval spent thirty-three years, from 1879 onward, collecting stones on his rounds and building a fantastical palace in his garden, a riot of towers, grottoes and carved animals that he called the Palais Idéal. The surrealists admired it, and in 1969 the French state listed it as a historic monument. It is a short run from here and well worth ten minutes if you are not too tired.
For a rider, the Valloire is a restful finish. The roads are flat and fast, with long straights and gentle bends, though there are occasional tractors, so keep your eyes open. Small towns here have a bakery and a bar but not always a petrol station, so for a reliable fuel stop use Roussillon, about twelve kilometres away, or the bigger towns along the Rhône valley. Wind can pick up along the open plain, particularly in spring, and there is the odd smell of manure from the fields, a reminder that this is working land.
In September the walnut harvest begins, and you will see nets laid under the trees and trailers heaped with nuts. Local walnut oil and walnut cake are good things to buy and carry home. The landscape feels unhurried, and after a day of climbing, that is exactly what you want.