Crossing the Ardeche and Vercors- WeLeaf

Route de la baguette

October 14, 2024

Dreeam route through the Ardeche and Vercors

At 9:30 in the morning, we arrive by bus in Beaune. In the bus, Olivier quickly cobbles together a route with Komoot. We want beautiful landscapes, small villages and quiet cycling routes. Those are easy to find in France and this time we would like to go to the Ardèche and the Vercors. Two mountainous regions with deep gorges, small villages and lots of history. Olivier selects a few Komoot highlights in the two areas and makes sure the total distance is about 500 kilometers. Half an hour late we have an itinerary, although we really have no idea what to expect.

10 days later, we had one of our best bike rides in ages. The route was fantastic from start to finish. Over old railroad lines, carved tunnels in the mountain sides, small villages and past beautiful lakes. “Why don't we live here,” we asked ourselves a few times!

Route

The tour begins in Givors, just south of Lyon. From there, you immediately cycle into the Parque regional de Pilat. Here you will find rolling hills, agricultural fields and lots of forest. After about 50 kilometers you hook up to the Via Fluvia, an old railroad line along the water. You climb slowly up at 2-3%. The tunnels are closed and in these places it is often a brisk climb as the bike path follows another road. After the Via Fluvia you climb further up to Devesset at 1,100 meters. There begins the Dolce Via, another railroad line. Enjoy 80 kilometers of descending through a beautiful gorge, over old railroad bridges and through short tunnels.

At the end of the Dolce Via you leave the Ardèche and cross the Rhone towards the Vercors. After some flat kilometers through the Rhone valley, the long climb to Col de la Bataille at 1,300 meters begins. This is already a beautiful climb, but especially the descent toward Saint-Jean-en-Royans is breathtaking. On certain sections the road is carved out of the rock face with a deep abyss hundreds of meters down. Back down you pass the beautiful village of Pont-en-Royans and then follows the second long climb to 1,300 meters. Because of the altitude restriction, there is very little traffic and it is a dream route for cycling.

Once out of the Vercors, follow the bike path along the Isère River and then cycle slowly toward Annecy. After Voreppe follows the only part of the route with more traffic. After the beautiful Lac d'Aiguebelette you cycle via the bicycle tunnel “galerie du chat” to Aix-les-Bains which is beautifully situated on the water. The last stretch to Annecy is a little busier, but the reward is the historic city on the water with endless restaurants.

Reverse the route? The end point for us was in Annecy, but it is perfectly possible to do the route in reverse. The route has quite a lot of altimeters, especially the second part through the Vercors and to Annecy. Fortunately, there are also long stretches on old railroad tracks where it is very gradual ascent and descent.

Getting there

Outbound: We took the bicycle bus to Beaune. From there we took the train to Givors, a two-hour ride. Train tickets can be purchased through the SNCF website. Bicycles can travel free on local TER trains, but between Beaune and Lyon you must reserve a place for the bicycle.

Beaune is a beautiful town in the Burgundy region. You can of course bike from Beaune to the starting point of the route, about 200 kilometers by bike.

CycleTours also has bicycl busses to Macon and Bourge-en-Bresse. From there it is about 100 kilometers to Givors. These bike buses run only in July and August while the bus to Beaune runs between May and September.

Return: we were too late in the season to return by bike bus. In July and August there is a bike bus from Cluses, about 60 kilometers from Annecy. You can also bike back to Bourg-en-Bresse, about 125 kilometers from Annecy.

We took the train back to the Netherlands from Annecy. Taking the bike on the train is always a bit of a hassle. Especially the transfers and reserving places for the bike make it quite an undertaking. We left at 5:45 in Annecy and traveled via Switzerland and Germany back to the Netherlands. It was 8 trains and 7 transfers that we actually made it through all of them. Still, we especially recommend the golden tip below!

Annecy-Genève tickets: we could not buy these tickets online, but had to buy them at a vending machine at the station. The price is €20pp plus €4 for a bicycle.
From Geneva we came to book our tickets to Eindhoven in one go. We did that through www.next.bahn.de. We paid €130pp, including the bikes.
The golden tip: a tip that we unfortunately got too late, but is worth its weight in gold. From Basel, you can take the night train to Utrecht or Amsterdam. This train leaves Basel at 11:13 pm and arrives in Amsterdam at 9:15 am. Taking the bicycle with you is possible. If we had known earlier...

TGV: It is also possible to travel back by train through France, but only on local trains. In fact, in the TGV, bicycles are allowed only if packed in a box.

Sleeping

Wild camping: In France, cyclists and hikers are allowed to bivouac. That means you have to pitch your tent an hour before sunset and clean up an hour after sunrise. In theory, you have to be one hour from a public road, but in practice this is not so strict. Lighting fires is strictly prohibited, though, and that is enforced.

We camped almost all nights in the wild. It is extremely easy to find a spot. Along the old railroad lines there are several resting places with a bench where you can pitch your tent just fine. In the Vercors, wild camping was very easy and we were often in beautiful places. From the Vercors to Annecy it was sometimes more difficult to find a spot because of the many agriculture and houses. In our book Wildkamperen you will find hundreds of tips to find fine and beautiful wild camping spots.

Shelters: 10 kilometers after Col de Bataille, there is a refuge next to the road where you can sleep for free one night. There is a wood stove, toilet and drinking water. You do need your own sleeping mat and sleeping bag.

Campings, gîte d’étappe en auberges: all along the route and are lots of campsites, gîtes and inns. A tent is not necessary at all if you like to sleep inside. Be aware that many campgrounds close at the end of September.

Climate

We took the bike bus from Breda on September 9 and arrived in France on September 10. Normally September is a very pleasant month for cycling, but the weather can be unpredictable. We had some very cold days with even a little snow in the Ardèche. The following week we had 25 degrees near Annecy. So be prepared for late summer weather with a few cold snaps.

Food and water

Cycling in France is pure luxury. In the north, villages are often deserted, but in the south there are bakeries and cafes everywhere. You come across several places to buy food every day. We bought dinner in a supermarket for 2 days, but you can survive perfectly well without a gas burner and pan set. Many bakeries close after noon or take a siesta, although we never had problems finding bread.

In France, all villages have public toilets and water taps. We usually filtered our water because it usually does not say if the water is drinkable. We use a a Care-Plus water filter. Water from rivers and lakes we filter anyway in France, but from natural springs we drink it unfiltered.

Good to know

Opinel knife: Are you looking for a nice souvenir from the region? Savoy, between the Vercors and Annecy, is where the famous Opinel knives come from. Locals always have an Opinel knife in their pocket and in the kitchen for cutting cheese. You can find them at small tobacco stores.
Free Wifi: many French villages often offer free Wifi.