A modest town on the little river Thérain, in the Oise département, Mouy lies about fifty kilometres north of Paris, among the low chalk hills and wooded ridges of the Picardy edge. The landscape is quiet: wheat fields, hedgerows, woodland and neat red-roofed villages, with the occasional church spire poking up on the skyline. It does not shout about itself, and there is something restful in that after the big roads of the capital.
The area is on the doorstep of two famous places. To the east, Chantilly has a grand château with a collection of paintings in the Musée Condé, a racecourse and the great stables that house horses and a museum of the horse, and the town is also known for its whipped cream. Not far away, the old town of Senlis has medieval walls, a cathedral and a cluster of narrow streets, and the forests of the Oise are full of deer. Together they make the case for ending a day here, on the edge of the château country that gives the ride its name, rather than at the far end of the Loire valley.
The riding is easy and pleasant. Roads in the Thérain valley and the surrounding plateau are smooth and lightly trafficked, with gentle bends, long views over farmland, and a pleasant rhythm of fields and woods. On weekends, cyclists and families are out in numbers. Fuel and food are no problem, because Mouy has about five and a half thousand people, with a supermarket, bakeries and a few cafés. The larger town of Creil is not far away, and has more stations. In winter, mist and ice can build in the valley, so take care on shaded bends and bridges.
In autumn, the beech woods turn deep copper, and mushrooms appear along the verges, and by evening there is a smell of leaf mould and woodsmoke. Park near the church, take a deep breath, and let the day settle. After a long ride, the peace of a small French town is hard to beat.