September 24, 2015
To Vienne: The start of the Via Rhona
Today was the day we started on the Via Rhona. I had got a map of it from the Tourist Information and there is a good website describing it. Both gave dire warnings about the route out of Lyon towards and to Givors and suggested that taking a train was the way to go. They did suggest that if you must do it either leave before 6am or after 9am. Well before 6am was out as it would have still been dark so we left after 9am. Actually if you kept your wits about you and went on the correct road it isn't bad at all, we have ridden much,much worse. The route is this - first cross to the western side of the Soane and follow the road beside the river all the way to The Confluence. Here everything looks terrible all you can see is the E15 with cars and trucks flying along it and over the bridge and along the river in the way you are going. Get off your bike and push across the pedestrian crossings and miraculously beside the E15 you will see the D386, this is a fairly quiet road and has no trucks and you can follow it all the way to Givors. The route is actually very attractive it goes quite high up into the hills with trees and small attractive towns. I was rather surprised at what a long downhill we had coming into Givors. At its entrance we found a fantastic bakery where we sat in the sun and ate almond croissants and drank coffee.
Actually the bakery is about the best think about Givors which is a rather lack lustre town. There was no indication where the Via Rhona was. There was no Tourist Information so I went to the Hotel de Ville to ask. The girl in reception had never heard of it, (despite having it on a list of things people might ask her) I wondered if she had heard of bicycles! Eventually she got on the phone and called for someone else. He had a vague idea and said "Go on the west side of the river and after about 5km you will see it" We did and after about 5km there was a road that seemed as if it would take us over the railway line. There was no signage of any sort to point us on the way which is astonishing when you think how much this wonderful high quality cycle way must have cost to put in. Once on it we really sped along it was fantastic and we were soon at St Romain-en-Gal. Vienne where our booking was was just across the river. We were really far too early as we had given ourselves such a short day anticipating problems getting out of Lyon. We dropped off luggage and bikes then back to St Romaine where there is a fantastic Roman Museum.
Between the 1st Century BC and the 3rd Century AD Vienne was one of the largest cities in Roman Gaul. This museum is therefore a treasure trove. It is situated on 8acres. Part is the excavated remains of the old town and inside the museum are all sorts of things dug up. Probably most impressive to me were the mosaics, I have never seen any so complete, and there were lots all meticulously put together and displayed. There were also of course amphoras and many other artefacts. Then back to the hotel - it all seems a bit quieter than the hectic pace of Lyon.
We felt that it was very likely that my Auntie Pat would have gone via Lyon on the way between Paris and Nice. If she (they) did it is very likely that they took the same roads as we did in and out of the city - they are the obvious ones. We will never know
Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 2,797 km (1,737 miles)
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