Saint-Étienne wears its history in layers of coal, iron and cloth, and from the ring roads on the north side you can see how a city spread across a series of ridges, with the hills of the Pilat to the south and the mining basin of the Gier to the east. This is the second time the rides use it as a base, and it makes sense: with nearly a hundred and seventy-six thousand people, it has fuel on every approach, early bakeries and a tram that runs through the centre. The suburbs of Saint-Genest-Lerpt and Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, each with about six thousand people, climb the hills on the north side and make the quickest exit onto quieter roads.
The city's industrial story is still visible, not least in the preserved Puits Couriot, a former pithead with a tall headframe that now forms part of a mining museum. Nearby in Firminy, about ten kilometres west, stands the largest ensemble of buildings designed by Le Corbusier in Europe, including a housing block, a stadium and a church whose concrete cone rises against the sky. These are the places to see if you have a free hour or an interest in modern architecture, and they are no distance from the route.
As a ride start, Saint-Étienne offers an easy exit to the hills. In twenty minutes you can be climbing among beech and fir toward the Pilat, with the ridge road and its views opening out over the Rhône valley, and in an hour you can be in the high country, the air noticeably thinner and cooler. The same roads bring you back at the end of the day, usually in the lower light of evening, with the glow of the city below you and the smell of woodsmoke on the air.
Coming back in the dark, take care at the junctions near the ring road, where trams, buses and delivery vans share narrow streets. The city can be damp and foggy in autumn and winter, while in summer the heat in the valley is a pleasant contrast to the hills. A plate of local sausage with potatoes in a simple restaurant is the right way to end it.