Loire Gorges and Le Puy · part 1

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Saint-Jean-de-Bournay

   There is a particular kind of French country town that exists mainly to serve the farms around it, and Saint-Jean-de-Bournay is a good example: a square with plane trees, a church, a café where the same men have been drinking their morning coffee for decades, a pharmacy, a bakery and a weekly market. It sits in a shallow valley in the hills of the Bas-Dauphiné, about twenty-five kilometres east of Vienne, and it does not try to be anything else.

   Read the complete Fuel stop near Saint-Jean-de-Bournay write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Loire Gorges and Le Puy is where the day begins. Next is Food stop near Cognin.

2. 2. Food stop near Cognin

   Planning note

   Food stop near Cognin is where this day stops to eat. Next is High point near Saint-Martin-du-Frêne.

3. 3. High point near Saint-Martin-du-Frêne

   Planning note

   This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Scenic stretch in Buellas.

4. 4. Scenic stretch in Buellas

   Buellas is a small village in the Bresse, just west of Bourg-en-Bresse in the Ain department. The Bresse is a flat, fertile region of farms, hedgerows, ponds and woods, known above all for its chickens: the Bresse chicken, with its blue feet, white plumage and red comb, matching the colours of the French flag, is the only poultry in France with its own protected designation of origin. Farmers here raise them in open pastures, and they are prized by chefs across the country.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch in Buellas write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch in Buellas closes the day.