Saint-Savin is a village in the hills just north of Bourgoin-Jallieu, in the part of Nord-Isère where the land starts to fold up towards the Isle Crémieu and the Rhône. It is quiet, green country: hedges and walnut trees, ponds in the hollows, stone farmhouses, and narrow roads that seem to have been laid down by following the cows.
Just south lies the valley of the Bourbre, once a great marsh that was drained over the centuries to create farmland, with the new town of L'Isle-d'Abeau built in the 1970s on its edge. The old villages on the slopes above it, Saint-Savin among them, kept their rural character, and the views south across the valley to the Terres Froides and the distant Alps are lovely in the early morning.
As a start and fuel stop, the practical side is handled by Bourgoin-Jallieu, a few minutes away, which has plenty of service stations, supermarkets and bakeries. The A43 motorway is close for a quick run east towards the Alps. But the real pleasure is in the minor roads around Saint-Savin, which wind over the hills and through small woods, with short climbs, blind bends and good views.
Surfaces vary from good to patchy, and you will meet tractors, cyclists and the occasional herd crossing. Traffic is light. For a long day towards the Ardèche, this is a calm place to start, with a coffee in Bourgoin and the hills waking up around you.