This is the Isle Crémieu area, the low limestone plateau that pushes the river into a wide bend east of Lyon, and the landscape of fields, gravel pits, poplars and small villages has an unhurried feel.
After a long day returning from the Vanoise gateway, it is a calm place to arrive. Roads are flat, with long straights and occasional bends where they follow the river or the edge of the plateau. Surfaces are generally decent, and traffic is light except around the main road to Lyon and the autoroute junctions. If you have time, the plateau roads to the east are among the nicest in the area, with farms, stone walls and views across the Rhône valley to the Alps on a clear day. Spring and early autumn have the best light, and morning mist often lies in the river valley.
The Rhône here has a mixed history. It was a Roman and medieval trade route, and the old channels and islands are now a protected nature area, home to beavers, herons and many kinds of dragonfly. Crémieu, a short ride away, is a small medieval town with a market hall, old gates and a ruined priory, and it is worth a short stop for its atmosphere alone. The villages around here have a number of old farms built from rammed earth, which glows a golden brown in the late sun.
For fuel, the choice is Tignieu, which has stations and supermarkets, or the larger service areas along the Lyon road. Loyettes and Saint-Romain have bakeries and a bar or two, and both are small enough to be sleepy in the afternoon, especially on Mondays. The riverbank at Loyettes is a pleasant place for a sit-down, with shade and the sound of water.
When the ride ends on an evening like this, with the sun low over the fields and the Alps a pale shape in the east, there is a quiet satisfaction in it that no pass can match.