East of Lyon, the Rhône splits into channels and lakes on its way into the city, and the vast Grand Parc de Miribel-Jonage has been made out of that watery landscape. This finish lies just above it, on the edge of the Côtière, the steep slope that separates the river plain from the Dombes plateau, between Thil, Beynost and Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost.
The park is the main reason to linger. It covers more than two thousand hectares of lakes, woods and meadows, with a large lake, the Lac des Eaux Bleues, that has supervised bathing beaches in summer. On hot weekends it is packed with Lyonnais, but on a weekday evening it can be surprisingly calm. It also plays a serious role as a flood plain and drinking water reserve for the city.
Above Miribel, on the Côtière, stands a tall statue of the Virgin on a tower, the Madone du Mas Rillier, built in the mid-twentieth century and visible from miles around. The view from up there takes in the Rhône plain, Lyon, and on clear days the Alps and Mont Blanc.
The riding is a mix of busy and quiet. The A42 and the old national road run along the bottom of the slope, with plenty of traffic, while small roads climb the Côtière in tight bends to the plateau. Up top, the Dombes roads are straight and quiet, with ponds and farms on either side.
On a warm evening the order of events writes itself: a swim in the Eaux Bleues, a slow climb up the Côtière to the Madone as the plain turns orange, then dinner in Miribel, where fuel and supermarkets are also close at hand.