The via ardeche disused railway line

[suavecarve]

Another day another disused railway line for cycling.
It is the via ardeche and we caught it right opposite the camping car park Aire about 3 Kms from Ruoms and went 23 Kms northish to Saint Sermin then on to uzers where it stops for us on normal bikes just as you get to the viaduct. No doubt it will open soon.
Gradient was about 80 m over 23 Kms.
Surface compacted white stone for 80 per cent 15 per cent of tarmac and 5 per cent concrete.
First noticeable thing is there are many long straight bits.
Less shade than most others and little to no water we could find and the only stop actually en route was the station at Saint sirmin.
Very few seating areas as well, however it was still quite picturesque. Limited areas for a dip and not many at bottom.
You have the choice at st sirmin to return or cycle to uzers on an uninspiring undulating path alongside the road. Once at Uzers you join the main road with small cycle lane then turn left down the D4. Now that is the fun part cycling through tunnels videoing ! This way back was really quite quick and the same distance.
Couple of quite decent viaducts and couple of tunnels where the lights changed colour (we think spectrum)
Photo time

 

[EuroTrotters]

thank you

 

[63720]

Are these mapped please?

 

[suavecarve]

They are.
I did use windymaps but it appears they have been bought out by mapy.cz
Finding them through Google and disused railway line or going into an area online looking through their tourism site for voie verte then cross referencing with many.cz.

I LL bung some photos up of the maps from TOs

 

[suavecarve]

Are these mapped please?

Some local maps and the overall map of France voie vertes.
2nd photo is what you get inside the first photo
The rest are picked up from TO s

Hopefully this link works as well
https://en.francevelotourisme.com/cycle-route

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[activecampers]

We were staying at Pradons a couple of days ago and did a lot of that route - the sandy dusty bit was awful but most was OK. Balazuc worth a visit (though the loop we did had many uncyclable steps!), Vogue was a bit dull, but you can head east a bit and loads of MTB tracks in the vinyards.

 

[suavecarve]

We were staying at Pradons a couple of days ago and did a lot of that route - the sandy dusty bit was awful but most was OK. Balazuc worth a visit (though the loop we did had many uncyclable steps!), Vogue was a bit dull, but you can head east a bit and loads of MTB tracks in the vinyards.

I should have mentioned the dust. Not overly an issue in our view unless there were 2 speedsters coming towards you on those big wheel bikes but our legs and bikes were covered in it at the end.
We missed the sign to turn off to baluzac so presume not that well signposted. We went into Saint Maurice which was quaint and Vogue's better viewed from the outside and suspect it is a tourist trap for prices. Looked good swimming though

 

[lorger]

This just appeared on my Instagram page, thought it might be of some use.

France Vélo Tourisme: All cycling routes in France

All cycling routes and itineraries in France : prepare your bike trip with your family, friends or as a couple for a weekend or during your holidays.

en.francevelotourisme.com

 

[jannyman]

Hi suavecarve. Can I ask what bikes are you using there and how are they please?

 

[suavecarve]

They are haibike with 500 watts of Bosch battery.
2000 euros bought in Germany 2 years ago and work really well.
Not really a cyclist per se so don't know a lot about them apart from we are happy with them
I should add they were made in Germany so likely to be engineered well.

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[jannyman]

They are haibike with 500 watts of Bosch battery.
2000 euros bought in Germany 2 years ago and work really well.
Not really a cyclist per se so don't know a lot about them apart from we are happy with them
I should add they were made in Germany so likely to be engineered well.

Thanks suavecarve. We were in France last month for the first time in over twelve years and were intrigued by all the well signed and organised 'velo' ways we came across. So thanks for your thread. You are slowly inspiring us!