Vexin Limestone and Seine Cliffs

A 336 km loop

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Why this ride

Scenery first, traffic last, with checkpoints that make sense on a bike. Out of Mitry-Mory and back again: 336 km, roughly 7 h in the saddle. On the way it passes Saint-Crépin-Ibouvillers, in Septeuil, near Étréchy and Fresnes. Much of it runs through woodland.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Mitry-Mory fuel

   The aircraft give it away. Mitry-Mory lies just south of Charles de Gaulle Airport, and the planes descending over the fields are a constant presence. This is the Plaine de France, a flat, open country north-east of Paris where large-scale farming mixes with logistics parks, motorways and suburban towns. It is not a place you come to for scenery, but it is a practical gateway for riders heading out of Paris towards the north or the west.

   The area has a long agricultural history. Before the airport and the motorways, it was a breadbasket for the capital, with huge farms growing wheat and sugar beet. Some of these farms still exist, with fortified courtyards and big barns, a reminder of the past. The Canal de l'Ourcq, dug in the early nineteenth century to bring water to Paris, runs a little to the south, lined with trees and a towpath.

   Riding here is about getting through efficiently. Roads are wide and straight, traffic is often heavy, and roundabouts multiply. Lorries heading for the logistics hubs and the airport are common. Watch for speed cameras, which are frequent in France, and for wind on the open plain. If you are heading for the Vexin, the limestone plateau west of Paris with its Seine cliffs and villages, the most efficient route goes around the capital on the Francilienne ring road.

   Fuel is readily available in Mitry-Mory and around the airport, along with supermarkets and fast food. Bakeries in the old village centre offer a better coffee and croissant. Take a short break here, check the bike, and push on towards the more interesting countryside to the west, where the roads begin to curve along the river.

2. Near Saint-Crépin-Ibouvillers, on the way back swim

   The Pays de Thelle is a low chalk plateau north of the Vexin, crossed by quiet roads and patched with woods, and this stop lies in its quieter part, between Saint-Crépin-Ibouvillers, Villeneuve-les-Sablons and Lormaison. It is undramatic, gently rolling country, with big fields, farm courtyards built of flint and brick, and small churches in every village.

   Méru, the nearest town of any size, has an unexpected past. For centuries its workshops made buttons, fans, dominoes and small luxury objects from mother-of-pearl, bone and ivory, supplying the fashion houses of Paris. A museum in the town tells the story of that craft, with old machines and delicate pieces that are hard to believe were made by hand.

   There is no natural swimming water worth the name here. The plateau is dry chalk, and the streams are small. The honest answer is a municipal pool in Méru or Beauvais, or a longer ride to one of the lakes along the Oise.

   Beauvais, to the north, is home to a cathedral with the tallest Gothic choir ever built, so ambitious that parts of it collapsed and the nave was never finished. It is an extraordinary sight, a vast, soaring fragment of a building that defeated its builders.

   The riding is easy, with straight roads across the fields and gentle bends through the villages. The surfaces are generally good, but watch for mud and gravel from farm vehicles, especially in harvest season. Méru has fuel, shops and cafés, and the villages have the odd bakery that opens early and closes for a long lunch.

3. Food stop in Septeuil food

   Septeuil is a small village in the Yvelines, west of Paris, tucked into the valley of the Vaucouleurs, a small river that runs north towards the Seine at Mantes. The village has an old church, a few shops and cafés, and a pleasant rural atmosphere, surrounded by fields, woods and gentle hills.

   The area is part of the Mantois, a region of farmland and small villages between the Seine and the forests of the south. To the south lies Houdan, an old market town with a massive twelfth-century keep and a famous breed of chicken. To the north, the Seine valley and the cliffs of the Vexin offer dramatic scenery. The villages around Septeuil are quiet and unspoilt, with old farms, churches and manor houses.

   As a food stop, Septeuil has a bakery and a few places to eat, and nearby towns like Houdan and Mantes-la-Jolie offer more choice. As a start and finish, it is a convenient base for rides into the Vexin and along the Seine. The roads around the village are winding and pleasant, with short climbs, bends and views over the fields.

   Surfaces are generally good, and traffic is light away from the main roads. Fuel is available in the larger towns nearby. The valley of the Vaucouleurs is a pleasant ride, following the river through meadows and woods, and the plateaux above offer wide views over the countryside.

4. Photo stop near Étréchy photo

   Photo stop near Étréchy, about halfway.

5. Fresnes finish

   Fresnes is a working suburb on the southern edge of Paris, between Antony, Wissous and the sprawl of Rungis. It is not a place anyone visits for its scenery, but as a start and finish it does the job well. The A6 and A86 are close, the N118 heads west towards the Chevreuse valley, and the Vexin and Seine cliffs are within reach after a short motorway dash.

   The name carries weight in French history. The prison of Fresnes, one of the largest in France, was used by the Gestapo during the occupation to hold members of the Resistance and Allied agents, many of whom were tortured or deported from there. The prison is still in use, and the walls remain an imposing presence on the town's edge.

   Next door, Rungis houses the vast wholesale food market that replaced the old Les Halles in central Paris in 1969. It is the largest fresh-food market in the world, and the trucks moving in and out at night give you an idea of how much the city eats. If you start early, you will see the traffic around it.

   Riding out from here, the first part is all about getting clear of the city. Expect heavy traffic on the A86 and N118 at peak hours, plenty of lane changes and speed cameras. Once you are past Saclay and into the Chevreuse valley, the roads open up and the countryside begins.

   Fuel stations sit on every arterial road and the bakeries open early, so there is no excuse for leaving hungry or on reserve. On the way back, aim to arrive outside rush hour if you can, or plan to filter through traffic with patience.

6. High point near Ozouer-le-Voulgis photo

   High point near Ozouer-le-Voulgis comes up 240 km in.

7. Scenic stretch near Bussy-Saint-Georges photo
8. Back to Vexin Limestone finish

   Roissy airport is close enough here that you will see aircraft sliding down the sky at a low angle, a strange companion for a ride that began among limestone villages and river cliffs.

   It is honest to say that the riding here is a transition. You are crossing a landscape that has been squeezed between logistics warehouses, the runways of Charles de Gaulle and the cereal fields that still survive between them. Roads are fast and straight, roundabouts are frequent, and heavy lorries use the same lanes as you. The pleasure is in the moments between: a line of poplars, a small village church, a farm track that lets you slow down. If you have any choice, avoid rush hour on the N2 and the roads around the airport, because the traffic here can turn a good day sour in minutes.

   The land itself has a long history of feeding Paris. This plain once supplied grain and vegetables to the capital, and the villages kept their old centres even as everything around them became industrial. Goële, the old name for the area east of here, still turns up on signposts and in the names of local products. The clay soil explains why the fields are so heavy and productive, and also why they turn into a sticky mess after winter rain.

   Practically, Mitry-Mory has everything: fuel, supermarkets, a handful of cafes, and a railway line into Paris if the bike or the rider needs to call it a day. The smaller Moussy villages are quieter and good for a last coffee if you find an open bar, though in this part of the Paris region many village cafes close on Sunday afternoons and Mondays. Fill the tank before you head into the city, because station prices drop noticeably once you leave the autoroute and its service areas behind.

   For a finish, it works in its way: you are close to the Paris ring and the northern road network, with the long limestone day behind you. Take a minute to look out over the stubble or the green crops, and notice how large the sky is.

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