Neuchâtel, with its castle and its long, pale blue lake, is a good forty kilometres to the north-east, past the first folds of the Jura. This is the landscape on the way, a rolling plateau of farms, orchards and beech woods, where the road to Neuchâtel begins.
Cossonay is the one worth a look. The old town sits on a rise above the river, with a Grand-Rue of old houses, a square with a fountain and a medieval church that overlooks the valley. It has been a settlement for centuries, a minor seat of local lords on the road from the Jura passes to the lake. The valley below is a patchwork of crops, with big skies and a feeling of room that surprises people who think Switzerland is all peaks. In spring the fruit trees blossom, and in summer the wheat turns gold.
From here the riding turns serious. The roads climb gently into the Jura Vaudois, a range of long, forested ridges, with passes such as the Col du Mollendruz, at about 1,180 metres, easing up through pasture and spruce to a high plateau. The curves are broad and flowing, the surface is typically excellent, and the traffic is light. Then you drop towards the Vallée de Joux and beyond to the lake of Neuchâtel. Mist often clings to the ridges in the morning, and in winter these roads are icy and closed to bikes.
Penthalaz and Cossonay both have fuel, and Bussigny, a larger place to the south, has more shops and services. In a Vaudois bakery or cafe, you might find a saucisson vaudois, a smoked pork sausage, or a papet vaudois, leeks and potatoes in a creamy mix, both served with local white wine. On Swiss motorways you need the annual vignette, but these minor roads do not, and speed cameras are common, so keep to the limits through the villages. The best time is May to October, when the roads are dry and the days are long.