Alpe d’Huez and Oisans · short arc

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Mornant

   Mornant is a small town in the Monts du Lyonnais, about twenty-five kilometres south-west of Lyon. It sits on a plateau among orchards, vineyards and farmland, with views east over the Rhône valley and, on clear days, all the way to the Alps. The town has a medieval core with a fortified church and remains of its old walls.

   Read the complete Fuel stop near Mornant write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Alpe d’Huez and Oisans is where the day begins. Next is High point near Chazelles-sur-Lyon.

2. 2. High point near Chazelles-sur-Lyon

   For more than a century, if you bought a good felt hat in France, there was a decent chance it came from Chazelles-sur-Lyon. This hill town in the Monts du Lyonnais was the capital of French hat-making, with factories turning rabbit fur into felt and felt into fedoras, bowlers and cloches for customers across Europe and beyond. The industry faded in the twentieth century, but one of the old factories now houses the Atelier-Musée du Chapeau, where you can watch the old machines at work and see hats worn by film stars and statesmen.

   Read the complete High point near Chazelles-sur-Lyon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Alpe d’Huez and Oisans checkpoint 8.

3. 3. Pollionnay

   The road from Lyon over the Col de la Luère is a local institution. It climbs west from the suburbs into the Monts du Lyonnais, through woods and meadows, with a series of bends that every rider and cyclist in Lyon seems to know by heart, and Pollionnay, a small village at the foot of the climb, is where many of them end their rides. It has a church, a few houses on the slopes and views back over the city, and it feels much further from Lyon than it actually is.

   Read the complete Pollionnay write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 276 km. Next is Scenic stretch in Chaleins.

4. 4. Scenic stretch in Chaleins

   Chaleins is a village on the western edge of the Dombes, close to the river Saône, about thirty-five kilometres north of Lyon. It sits on the gentle slope between the plateau of the Dombes, with its countless ponds, and the broad valley of the Saône, with its meadows and poplars. Across the river, the hills of the Beaujolais rise in a green wave of vineyards.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch in Chaleins write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch in Chaleins, about halfway. Next is Photo stop near Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne.

5. 5. Photo stop near Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne

   Flowers are Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne's calling card. In summer every bridge over the little River Chalaronne is hung with geraniums, and the town has won national prizes for its displays year after year. Underneath the colour sits a fine old centre: half-timbered houses, a brick Gothic church and a huge covered market hall whose oak roof timbers were rebuilt after a fire centuries ago and still shelter the weekly market.

   Read the complete Photo stop near Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne sits at 188 km, about halfway. Next is Lyon / Rhône-Alpes rides return.

6. 6. Near La Tour-du-Pin, on the way back

   The geologist Déodat de Dolomieu, born in 1750 in the village that bears his family name, gave his name to the mineral dolomite and, through it, to the Dolomites, the most spectacular mountains of Italy. The village of Dolomieu lies a couple of kilometres from the point, near La Tour-du-Pin, in the rolling hills of the Bas-Dauphiné, between Lyon and the Alps, and it is a pleasant reminder that even quiet corners have their stories.

   Read the complete Near La Tour-du-Pin, on the way back write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Lyon / Rhône-Alpes rides return comes up about 242 km into the recorded legs. Next is Food stop near La Côte-Saint-André.

7. 7. Food stop near La Côte-Saint-André

   Hector Berlioz was born in La Côte-Saint-André in 1803, and the town has never let anyone forget it. His family home is now a museum, and every summer a festival in his name fills the courtyard of the château with orchestras. It is a fine reason to linger, but the town has other charms too: a huge medieval covered market hall with a timber roof, steep lanes, and the distillery of Cherry Rocher, which has been making liqueurs here since the early eighteenth century.

   Read the complete High point near La Côte-Saint-André write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Food stop near La Côte-Saint-André closes the day.