Why this ride
Out of Mouy, one way: 315 km, roughly 5 h 24 in the saddle. On the way it passes Scenic stretch in Élancourt, Épernon and in Boissy-le-Cutté. near Persan is the high point.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Seine Loops and Roche-Guyon · short arc
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 315 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 24
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Food stop near Mouy
Mouy is a small town in the valley of the Thérain, in the Oise department, about sixty kilometres north of Paris, halfway between Creil and Beauvais. The valley is green and pleasant, with water meadows, poplars and old mills along the river, and the town has a modest centre with a church and a market square.
Read the complete Food stop near Mouy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Food stop near Mouy is where the day begins. Next is High point near Persan.
2. High point near Persan
Persan sits on the river Oise, about thirty-five kilometres north of Paris, facing Beaumont-sur-Oise across the water. The two towns have grown together along the river, and the old part of Beaumont, with its church and remains of a castle, stands on a hill above the valley.
Read the complete High point near Persan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Scenic stretch in Élancourt.
3. Scenic stretch in Élancourt
Élancourt is part of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, one of the new towns built around Paris from the 1970s to absorb the capital's growth. Its landscape of housing estates, business parks and roundabouts is not the stuff of dreams, but the town has two surprises. One is France Miniature, a theme park where the country's monuments are reproduced at small scale. The other is the Colline d'Élancourt, a man-made hill built from construction spoil and landscaped into a park, offering one of the widest views in the west of the Paris region.
Read the complete Scenic stretch in Élancourt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 91 km into the recorded legs you reach Scenic stretch in Élancourt. Next is Paris / Île-de-France escapes return.
4. Near Épernon, on the way back
West of Rambouillet forest the land loosens up into a patchwork of wheat, copses and small river valleys, and this stop sits in that gentle seam between the Yvelines and the Eure-et-Loir. Épernon is the nearest proper town, a few kilometres off, built where the Guesle and the Drouette meet before they wander on towards the Eure. It is quiet country, and after a day on the Seine loops it feels like the ride is exhaling.
Read the complete Near Épernon, 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, about halfway. Next is Photo stop in Boissy-le-Cutté.
5. Photo stop in Boissy-le-Cutté
Boissy-le-Cutté is a small village in the Essonne, south of Paris, sitting on the edge of the Juine valley in the Gâtinais français regional park. It is a place of quiet streets, stone houses and fields, far from the bustle of the capital even though it lies only an hour away. The surrounding landscape is a mix of farmland, woods and river valleys, with sandstone outcrops scattered across the hills.
Read the complete Photo stop in Boissy-le-Cutté write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Photo stop in Boissy-le-Cutté sits at 214 km, about halfway. Next is Seine Loops and Roche-Guyon checkpoint 8.
6. Enghien-les-Bains
Enghien-les-Bains is the only town in the Paris region that feels like a spa resort, and that is exactly what it was built to be. The town grew up in the nineteenth century around sulphurous springs and a lake, and the Parisians who came to take the waters left behind villas, promenades and a casino. This finish puts you right on the lake shore, with Montmorency forest on the hills behind.
Read the complete Enghien-les-Bains 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 315 km. Next is Back to Seine Loops.
7. Back to Seine Loops
East of Paris the land flattens into the Brie plateau's margin, and the towns here run together in a belt of low houses, retail parks and market gardens. Mitry-Mory is the nearest place of any size, with about 18,500 people, and Claye-Souilly and Villeparisis lie a little further along. It is not scenic in a postcard sense, yet it has a quiet logic: this is where Paris has always fed itself, and farmland still survives between the suburbs.
Read the complete Seine Loops write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Seine Loops closes the day.
Leg by leg
Food stop near Mouy to High point near Persan
Food stop near Mouy → High point near Persan is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Persan to Scenic stretch in Élancourt
High point near Persan → Scenic stretch in Élancourt is 74 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Scenic stretch in Élancourt to Near Épernon, on the way back
Scenic stretch in Élancourt → Near Épernon, on the way back is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Photo stop in Boissy-le-Cutté to Enghien-les-Bains
Photo stop in Boissy-le-Cutté → Enghien-les-Bains is 82 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.