Why this ride
From Esbly it runs 753 km to Goussainville; allow about 12 h 13 of riding. It goes by way of Bresles, near Gisors, near Ablis and Verrières-le-Buisson. The climbs: near Vaux-le-Pénil and near L'Isle-Adam.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fontainebleau Forest and Loing Sweep + Morvan Southbound Weekend
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 753 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 13
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fuel stop near Esbly
Planning note
Fontainebleau Forest and Loing Sweep is where the day begins. Next is Paris / Île-de-France escapes return.
2. Near Bresles, on the way back
North of Paris, in the Oise, the land flattens into the great chalk plateau of Picardy, all wheat, sugar beet and sky, and Bresles sits on its edge where the small valley of the Thérain drops away towards Beauvais. It is a town of about four thousand people with a solid stone château that once belonged to the bishops of Beauvais, who used it as a country residence and, in the troubled centuries, as a stronghold.
Read the complete Near Bresles, 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
Paris / Île-de-France escapes return comes up 51 km in. Next is Food stop near Gisors.
3. Food stop near Gisors
Gisors is a Norman town that stands guard on the border with the Île-de-France. It lies on the Epte, the old border river, and its great castle, a motte-and-bailey fortress with a tall octagonal keep, was built by the Normans in the late eleventh century and strengthened by the kings of England, before it fell to the French king Philip Augustus in the twelfth. It was one of the key strongholds on the frontier, and the walls and keep still dominate the town. A local legend says that the Knights Templar hid treasure in the castle, and it has kept treasure hunters busy for generations, though nothing has been found.
Read the complete Gisors return gate 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 Photo stop near Ablis.
4. Photo stop near Ablis
Ablis lies right where the forest of Rambouillet gives way to the Beauce, and the change is almost theatrical. Ride south out of the trees and the land flattens into an immense, open plain of wheat, barley and rapeseed that runs to the horizon in every direction, the granary of France. On a clear day you can sometimes make out the spires of Chartres Cathedral far to the south-west, rising out of the fields like a ship on the sea, the way pilgrims saw them for centuries.
Read the complete Photo stop near Ablis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Photo stop near Ablis, early in the day. Next is Fontainebleau Forest checkpoint 8.
5. Verrières-le-Buisson
Verrières-le-Buisson is one of the greener towns on the southern edge of Paris, a residential place wrapped around a large wood, the Bois de Verrières, that runs along a ridge above the Bièvre valley. Antony and Châtenay-Malabry are next door, but the trees give the town a feeling of space that is rare this close to the capital.
Read the complete Verrières-le-Buisson write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Fontainebleau Forest checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is High point near Vaux-le-Pénil.
6. High point near Vaux-le-Pénil
Vaux-le-Pénil sits on the high ground above the Seine, just east of Melun, in the Seine-et-Marne department. From the edge of the plateau, you can look down on the river as it winds through its valley, with Melun on its island and the forest of Fontainebleau stretching away to the south.
Read the complete High point near Vaux-le-Pénil write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
High point near Vaux-le-Pénil is the summit of this stretch. Next is Scenic stretch near Melun.
7. Scenic stretch near Melun
On the night of 17 August 1661, Nicolas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances, threw a party at his new château of Vaux-le-Vicomte, a few kilometres north-east of Melun, for the young Louis XIV. There were fireworks, a new comedy by Molière, music by Lully and a banquet served on gold plate. Three weeks later, Fouquet was arrested by d'Artagnan of the musketeers, and he spent the rest of his life in prison. Louis took his architect, painter and garden designer, Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre, and set them to work on Versailles.
Read the complete Scenic stretch near Melun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
304 km in you reach Scenic stretch near Melun. Next is Back to Fontainebleau.
8. Back to Fontainebleau
Louis Braille was born in Coupvray in 1809, and the house where he lived is now a small museum, a short ride from this point.
Read the complete Fontainebleau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Fontainebleau. That is the ride. Next is Morvan Southbound Weekend.
9. Fuel stop in Goussainville
Planning note
Next is Photo stop near Saintry-sur-Seine.
10. Photo stop near Saintry-sur-Seine
Planning note
Photo stop near Saintry-sur-Seine comes up 457 km in. Next is Scenic stretch in Les Ulis.
11. Scenic stretch in Les Ulis
Planning note
507 km in you reach Scenic stretch in Les Ulis.
12. Near Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, on the way back
In 1951 the poet Louis Aragon and the novelist Elsa Triolet bought an old water mill on the Rémarde river near Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, and turned it into their country home. They lived and wrote there for decades, and they are buried together in the garden. The Moulin de Villeneuve is now a museum, with their library, furniture and the park where they walked.
Read the complete Near Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, 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
Paris / Île-de-France escapes return, late in the day. Next is Food stop near Osny.
13. Food stop near Osny
Planning note
Food at 609 km, roughly 13 hours into the riding. Next is High point near L'Isle-Adam.
14. High point near L'Isle-Adam
Planning note
The high point of this section. Next is Morvan Southbound Weekend checkpoint 8.
15. Saint-Gratien
Princess Mathilde, niece of Napoleon, held one of the most brilliant salons of nineteenth-century France at her château in Saint-Gratien. Flaubert, the Goncourt brothers, Sainte-Beuve, Maupassant and many other writers and artists gathered there in the summers, and the conversation, it was said, was the best in France. The château still stands, though not open to the public, on the edge of the lake of Enghien.
Read the complete Saint-Gratien 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 761 km. Next is back to Morvan Southbound Weekend.
16. back to Morvan Southbound Weekend
Nobody plans a holiday around Goussainville, and that is fine, because this stop exists to get you out of Paris with a full tank. Aircraft pass low overhead on their final approach, so loud that conversation stops and restarts, and the sky is stitched with white contrails.
Read the complete Morvan Southbound Weekend write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back to Morvan Southbound Weekend closes the day.
Leg by leg
Fuel stop near Esbly to Near Bresles, on the way back
Fuel stop near Esbly → Near Bresles, on the way back is 95 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Food stop near Gisors to Photo stop near Ablis
Food stop near Gisors → Photo stop near Ablis is 105 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Ablis to Verrières-le-Buisson
Photo stop near Ablis → Verrières-le-Buisson is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Vaux-le-Pénil to Scenic stretch near Melun
High point near Vaux-le-Pénil → Scenic stretch near Melun is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Melun to Back to Fontainebleau
Scenic stretch near Melun → Back to Fontainebleau is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Fontainebleau to Fuel stop in Goussainville
Back to Fontainebleau → Fuel stop in Goussainville is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fuel stop in Goussainville to Photo stop near Saintry-sur-Seine
Fuel stop in Goussainville → Photo stop near Saintry-sur-Seine is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Photo stop near Saintry-sur-Seine to Scenic stretch in Les Ulis
Photo stop near Saintry-sur-Seine → Scenic stretch in Les Ulis is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch in Les Ulis to Near Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, on the way back
Scenic stretch in Les Ulis → Near Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, on the way back is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Food stop near Osny to High point near L'Isle-Adam
Food stop near Osny → High point near L'Isle-Adam is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near L'Isle-Adam to Saint-Gratien
High point near L'Isle-Adam → Saint-Gratien is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.