CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
320 km from Gorgier to Gorgier, about 4 h 18 of riding. It goes by way of Lavaux, Port and back through Lavaux. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,150 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 88 km this is Route des Grandes Alpes, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Around the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, the water level once sat lower than it does now, and prehistoric farmers built villages on pilings along the edge. Les Argilliez, near Gorgier on the northwest shore, preserves traces of one of them. The wet mud at the bottom of the lake kept wood, textiles and tools in astonishing condition, which is why the pile dwellings around the Alps were inscribed by UNESCO in 2011. There is little to see above the waterline, but the idea of a village standing on stilts in these waters, with the Jura mountains behind it, is a strong one.
Read the complete Les Argilliez write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Les Argilliez is where the day begins. Next is Lavaux.
From the shore of Lake Geneva the vineyards of Lavaux climb almost vertically, terrace upon terrace, held up by stone walls, to villages perched on the slopes above. Monks from Cistercian abbeys began shaping these hillsides in the Middle Ages, and generations of winegrowers have rebuilt the walls ever since, carrying soil back up when rain washes it down. The result is one of the most striking wine landscapes in the world, stretching about thirty kilometres between Lausanne and Montreux, and listed by UNESCO in 2007. Locals like to say that the vines here enjoy three suns: the one in the sky, its reflection off the lake and the warmth stored in the stone walls.
Read the complete Lavaux write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Lavaux comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is Port.
Lake Geneva, which the locals call the Leman, is the largest lake in western Europe, and its southern shore, curving between Geneva and the French border, is where the river Rhone leaves the water. The little places of Corsier-Port and Anieres lie on the left bank, among villas, vineyards and gardens that slope down to the water, and they are among the most elegant addresses in the canton. The French shore across the lake rises into the mountains of Chablais, and on a clear day the whole range of the Mont Blanc can be seen to the south-east, a white line above the water.
Read the complete Port write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 160 km into the recorded legs you reach Port. Next is back through Lavaux.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lavaux write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Lavaux, late in the day. Next is Les Argilliez.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Les Argilliez write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Les Argilliez. That is the ride.
Les Argilliez → Lavaux is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lavaux → Port is 88 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Port → back through Lavaux is 92 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lavaux → Les Argilliez is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.