Bugey Lakes and Jura Edge · part 2

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Photo stop near Marcigny

   Marcigny is a small market town on the right bank of the Loire in southern Burgundy, in the heart of the Brionnais, a rolling country of green pastures, hedgerows and white Charolais cattle. It is also a land of Romanesque churches: within a short ride you can visit Semur-en-Brionnais, Anzy-le-Duc, Iguerande and many others, each with carved portals and capitals from the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The great abbey of Cluny lies to the east, and its influence is everywhere.

   Read the complete Photo stop near Marcigny write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Marcigny is where the day begins. Next is Lyon / Rhône-Alpes rides return.

2. 2. Food stop in Valleiry

3. 3. Near Chaponost

   The Romans brought water to Lyon from the Pilat massif, some eighty kilometres away, and the most impressive surviving section of their work stands at Chaponost, a few kilometres from the point. The Gier aqueduct, as it is called, crossed the valleys on arches of stone and brick, and at Chaponost a long line of them still marches across a field, some still carrying their channels. It is a remarkable sight, all the more so for being in an ordinary suburban setting, and it is easily reached by a short detour.

   Read the complete Near Chaponost write-up.

4. 4. Back to Bugey Lakes

   This stretch of country belongs to the border between the Drôme and the Isère, on a flat, fertile plain called the Valloire. It is a sleepy farming region, a land of walnut orchards, maize fields and low villages like Épinouze and Saint-Sorlin-en-Valloire, about fifty kilometres south of Lyon. The roads here are quiet, straight and bordered by hedges and poplars, and the air in late summer smells of cut hay and ripening fruit. It is not the Bugey, which lies far to the north-east, but the end of a long ride has a way of dropping you somewhere unexpected.

   Read the complete Bugey Lakes write-up.