Why this ride
From Courzieu it runs 778 km to Tarare; allow about 12 h 42 of riding. It goes by way of Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, Pilat and Yzeron. The climbs: Col de la République and near Neulise. It tops out at about 900 m. It is a high-mountain day.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pilat Ridge and Monastery Roads + Annecy Bauges Loop
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 778 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 42
- 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. Yzeron ridge roads
Lyonnais like to escape to the hills on Sundays, and the Yzeron valley is one of their favourite exits. It lies to the west of the city, in the Monts du Lyonnais, a range of rounded, wooded hills that reach about nine hundred metres at their highest, and the roads here, little more than lanes, climb out of the suburbs into a landscape of meadows, chestnuts and old stone farms. The village of Yzeron gives its name to the stream and the valley, and it has been a weekend retreat for generations.
Read the complete Yzeron ridge roads write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yzeron ridge roads is where the day begins. Next is Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez.
2. Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez
Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez is a village inside a monastery, which is a sentence that does not make sense until you see it. Béatrix de Roussillon founded a Carthusian charterhouse here in 1280, in a hollow of the Pilat hills, and for five centuries, monks lived in solitary cells around a cloister, as the Carthusians do. When the Revolution dispersed the community, the buildings were sold, and the villagers moved into the monks' cells and the service buildings, so today ordinary houses, a bakery and a café share the old walls, and the village's streets follow the cloister. The church, the chapter house and the great gate are still there, and some of the cells are open to visitors.
Read the complete Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez comes up 60 km in. Next is Pilat viewpoint.
3. Pilat viewpoint
The Pilat is the last high ground before the Rhône, a rounded massif of granite and forest that rises abruptly from the river valley to its highest point, the Crêt de la Perdrix, at about fourteen hundred metres. It is a regional nature park, a place of beech and fir woods, heather moors and open pastures, and it feels more remote than its position, between Lyon and Saint-Étienne, would suggest.
Read the complete Pilat viewpoint write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
119 km in you reach Pilat viewpoint. Next is Col de la République.
4. Col de la République
The Col de la République is a pass with a political name and an unexpected role in cycling history. At about eleven hundred and forty-five metres, it carries the old main road from Saint-Étienne to Annonay across the Pilat massif, and it has been climbed by the Tour de France more than once, while the steady grade through the beechwoods has made it a training favourite for local clubs. The pass lies in the Parc naturel régional du Pilat, between the industrial valley of Saint-Étienne and the Rhône basin.
Read the complete Col de la République write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The high point of this section. Next is Back to Yzeron.
5. Back to Yzeron
Yzeron sits on a hillside high in the Monts du Lyonnais, a village of stone houses and a church spire among pasture and spruce woods, with views over the folded hills toward Lyon. It is a cooler, quieter place than the city, which is only about twenty-five kilometres away. In summer, people from Lyon drive up to escape the heat, and in winter a dusting of snow sometimes falls on the high ground, giving the villages an Alpine air. The landscape is made of rounded ridges and wooded gorges, cut by little rivers like the Yzeron itself, which runs down toward the city through a long green valley.
Read the complete Yzeron 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 Yzeron. That is the ride. Next is Annecy Bauges Loop.
6. Fuel stop near Tarare
Muslin made Tarare's fortune. From the eighteenth century onwards the town wove fine, light cotton cloth that was sold across Europe, and every few years it still celebrates the fact with the Fête des Mousselines, when the streets and façades disappear under kilometres of draped fabric in a riot of colour. Outside festival time, Tarare is a quiet valley town in the hills between the Beaujolais and the Lyonnais, with old mill buildings and a long main street.
Read the complete Scenic stretch near Tarare write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Annecy Bauges Loop is the fuel stop for this leg. Next is High point near Neulise.
7. High point near Neulise
Planning note
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Food stop in Dunières.
8. Food stop in Dunières
Planning note
Somewhere to get off the bike, 417 km in. Next is Lyon / Rhône-Alpes rides return.
9. Saint-Hilaire-du-Rosier, on the way back
Planning note
Lyon / Rhône-Alpes rides return sits at 476 km, about halfway. Next is Scenic stretch in Serrières-de-Briord.
10. Scenic stretch in Serrières-de-Briord
Planning note
Scenic stretch in Serrières-de-Briord comes up 536 km in. Next is Photo stop near Hauteville-Lompnes.
11. Photo stop near Hauteville-Lompnes
Planning note
595 km in you reach Photo stop near Hauteville-Lompnes. Next is Annecy Bauges Loop checkpoint 8.
12. Lentilly
Planning note
The route ends here after 714 km. Next is Back to Annecy Bauges.
13. Back to Annecy Bauges
Tarare is a textile town that grew rich on muslin, and its big, grey nineteenth-century factories still stand along the river Turdine.
Read the complete Annecy Bauges write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Annecy Bauges closes the day.
Leg by leg
Yzeron ridge roads to Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez
Yzeron ridge roads → Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez to Pilat viewpoint
Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez → Pilat viewpoint is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pilat viewpoint to Col de la République
Pilat viewpoint → Col de la République is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Col de la République to Back to Yzeron
Col de la République → Back to Yzeron is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Yzeron to Fuel stop near Tarare
Back to Yzeron → Fuel stop near Tarare is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fuel stop near Tarare to High point near Neulise
Fuel stop near Tarare → High point near Neulise is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Neulise to Food stop in Dunières
High point near Neulise → Food stop in Dunières is 103 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Food stop in Dunières to Saint-Hilaire-du-Rosier, on the way back
Food stop in Dunières → Saint-Hilaire-du-Rosier, on the way back is 103 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Scenic stretch in Serrières-de-Briord to Photo stop near Hauteville-Lompnes
Scenic stretch in Serrières-de-Briord → Photo stop near Hauteville-Lompnes is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Photo stop near Hauteville-Lompnes to Lentilly
Photo stop near Hauteville-Lompnes → Lentilly is 104 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Chartreuse Forest Passes · part 1 · 217 km
- Vanoise Gateway Overnight · part 2 · 233 km
- Beaujolais Dawn Sweep · part 2 · 151 km
- Pilat Ridge and Monastery Roads · 139 km