Drôme Provençale Weekend
A 257 km loop
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Why this ride
Scenery first, traffic last, with checkpoints that make sense on a bike. 257 km round from Givors - plan on about 5 h 21 of riding. It goes by way of Craponne, Scenic stretch near Le Bois-d'Oingt and in Saint-Georges-de-Reneins. The climb of the day is near Saint-Didier-sous-Riverie. Much of it runs through woodland.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near Givors
fuel
Fuel at 0 km.
- High point near Saint-Didier-sous-Riverie
pass
You top out here; the road stops climbing.
- Near Craponne
finish
West of Lyon, before the city has fully let go, the land starts to buckle into the Monts du Lyonnais, and the villages around Vaugneray, Grézieu-la-Varenne and Brindas sit on that first rise. They are prosperous, leafy places of four or five thousand people each, half suburb and half country, with stone walls, orchards and views back across the Rhône basin to the Alps on clear days. Craponne, a slightly bigger town, is a few kilometres closer to the city.
It is a fitting place to finish because the riding just behind you is some of the best close to Lyon. From here the roads climb west through cherry orchards and small woods towards Yzeron and Saint-Martin-en-Haut, twisting up wooded slopes with tight hairpins and short straights, and then running along open ridges at six or seven hundred metres with views into the Loire basin. Lyon riders use these hills as their evening and Sunday playground, so expect company at weekends, including cyclists who climb the same bends.
The area is full of quiet history. The Romans brought water to Lugdunum, their capital of Gaul, by aqueducts from these hills, and the arches of the Gier aqueduct still stride across fields at Chaponost, a few kilometres south. It is one of the best-preserved Roman aqueduct remains in France, and it is strange and lovely to see it standing among new houses and gardens. The Monts du Lyonnais are also known for their fruit, especially cherries in early summer, sold at roadside stalls, and for small farms that supply the Lyon markets.
The light is often the best part. Late afternoon, the sun drops behind the hills and the whole basin glows below you, with the Fourvière basilica a white speck above the city. In autumn morning fog can sit in the valleys while the hills stand clear above it, a good reason to climb before you descend.
Everything practical is close: fuel, supermarkets, bakeries and cafés in Craponne and the villages around, and the city itself only a short ride away. Traffic thickens fast towards Lyon at rush hour, especially on the main roads through Tassin, so if you can, arrive mid-afternoon or after seven and the last kilometres will be painless.
- Scenic stretch near Le Bois-d'Oingt
scenic
Scenic stretch near Le Bois-d'Oingt, about halfway.
- Photo stop in Saint-Georges-de-Reneins
photo
Photo stop in Saint-Georges-de-Reneins sits at 147 km, about halfway.
- Near Bouvesse-Quirieu, on the way back
swim
Where the Rhône swings around the northern edge of the Isle Crémieu, the river runs wide and green between limestone cliffs, with the Bugey hills rising on the far bank, and the villages of Bouvesse-Quirieu, Montalieu-Vercieu and Hières-sur-Amby sit along its southern side. It is a quiet corner, an hour from Lyon, that most people never think about, and on a hot day it is exactly where you want to be.
The swimming is real. At Montalieu-Vercieu there is a large leisure area on the Rhône with a supervised beach in summer, set on a broad stretch of slow water held back by the river works, and it is popular with families from Lyon on weekends. Away from managed areas, keep out of the main river: the current is strong and cold, and the hydroelectric works upstream can change levels without warning.
High above the river at Quirieu are the remains of a medieval fortified town that once guarded the crossing and the border between the Dauphiné and Savoy. Little is left except broken walls and a sense of space, but the view from the cliff edge over the Rhône is superb. Not far away, the plateau of Larina above Hières-sur-Amby is an archaeological site with traces of settlement from prehistory to the early Middle Ages, and at La Balme-les-Grottes a cave system has drawn visitors for centuries, including, legend says, the bandit Mandrin, who is supposed to have hidden there.
The Isle Crémieu itself is a limestone plateau of small lakes, marshes, woods and stone villages, crossed by narrow lanes that twist around rocky outcrops, ideal for riding at an easy pace. Crémieu, with its medieval market hall and old gates, is a lovely place for lunch. Across the Rhône, the roads into the Bugey climb steeply in hairpins to viewpoints above the river. The local stone has been quarried here for centuries, and you will see it in walls and farm buildings everywhere.
Montalieu has shops and basic services, and Tignieu, about fourteen kilometres away towards Lyon, is the nearest town of over five thousand people, with fuel and supermarkets. Arrive in late afternoon in summer, swim while the sun is still on the water, and the ride back to Lyon in the evening light will feel like a holiday.
- Food stop in Trept
food
A break here at 220 km.
- Back to Drôme Provençale
finish
This is the industrial southern edge of Lyon, where the Gier valley meets the Rhône at Givors, a town of eighteen thousand people with a working past. Givors was once a centre of glassmaking, with a large factory that produced bottles for the wine trade, and a canal built in the eighteenth century linked it to the coalfields and ironworks of Rive-de-Gier, carrying coal to Lyon. The canal has largely disappeared, but its line can still be traced in the streets, and a few locks and old warehouses survive beside the river. The town has a slightly worn, honest look, with tall chimneys and river wharves.
Behind Givors, the hills rise quickly. Chassagny and Montagny sit on the slopes above the valley, with views over the Rhône and the long trains and barges that pass below. Orchards and small vineyards cling to the terraces, and the first spurs of the Pilat massif rise to the south, covered in woodland. It is a quiet and unglamorous corner of the region, rarely visited by tourists, which gives it a certain authenticity.
For a ride called Drôme Provençale, the end of the day here feels like a descent from the sunny south back into practical France. The roads south of Lyon along the Rhône are straightforward and fast, though busy with lorries, and the climbs into the hills offer more fun, with tight bends and views over the valley. Surfaces are generally good, but watch for gravel on the smaller lanes. Fuel is plentiful in Givors, with several stations and big supermarkets, so there is no need to worry.
If you have a few minutes, take the small road up to one of the viewpoints and watch the sun go down over the Rhône. The river is wide and slow here, and the light on the water turns it a dark gold. Behind you, the hills smell of pine and warm stone, a faint echo of Provence.