Why this ride
115 km one way from Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne - plan on about 1 h 51 of riding.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Lac du Bourget Balcony Ride · part 3
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 115 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 51
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Lac du Bourget Balcony Ride photo pull-off → Lac du Bourget Balcony Ri
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 56 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 66 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Photo stop near Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne
The Chalaronne winds its last few kilometres towards the Saône past Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne, a quiet village of brick and timber houses at the western edge of the Dombes. Here the plateau of ponds slopes down to the broad Saône valley, and the landscape becomes a mix of meadows, woods and fields, with the hills of the Beaujolais rising on the other side of the river.
Read the complete Photo stop near Saint-Étienne-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 Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne is where the day begins. Next is Lac du Bourget Balcony Ride checkpoint 8.
2. Near Miribel
East of Lyon, the Rhône splits into channels and lakes on its way into the city, and the vast Grand Parc de Miribel-Jonage has been made out of that watery landscape. This finish lies just above it, on the edge of the Côtière, the steep slope that separates the river plain from the Dombes plateau, between Thil, Beynost and Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost.
Read the complete Near Miribel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Lac du Bourget Balcony Ride checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is Back to Lac.
3. Back to Lac
Saint-Martin-en-Haut lives up to its name, which means St Martin on the heights. Aveize and the old hamlets of the area sit among meadows and orchards, and the whole region is unexpectedly rural, though it lies less than an hour from the city.
Read the complete Lac 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 115 km.
Leg by leg
Photo stop near Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne to Near Miribel
Photo stop near Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne → Near Miribel is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.