Alpe d’Huez and Oisans · part 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Lyon / Rhône-Alpes rides return.

2. 2. 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 113 km into the recorded legs. Next is Food stop near La Côte-Saint-André.

3. 3. 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

   A break here. Next is Back to Alpe.

4. 4. Back to Alpe

   Saint-Martin-en-Haut and Saint-Didier-sous-Riverie lie in the Monts du Lyonnais, a range of rounded, wooded hills about thirty kilometres west of Lyon, where the city's suburbs give way to orchards, cattle and small farms. It is gentle country, the sort of place where Lyonnais go for a Sunday drive, and for a rider, the roads are fun and quiet, with lots of small curves, short climbs and pretty views toward the Alps on clear days. The dot marks a point on the long ride home after a day in the high mountains.

   Read the complete Alpe write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back to Alpe closes the day.