The Dolce Via: Cycling the Eyrieux Valley Railway from Les Ollières to Pont de Chervil
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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Dolce Via Rider
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
The Dolce Via: Cycling the Eyrieux Valley Railway from Les Ollières to Pont de Chervil
225 + 100 XP
The Dolce Via runs 91 km up the Eyrieux valley from La Voulte-sur-Rhône to Le Cheylard on the bed of a narrow-gauge departmental railway that carried passengers and freight from 1891 to 1968, and in February 2020 it was named cycle route of the year at the Fiets en Wandelbeurs fair in Utrecht. From Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux the section to Pont de Chervil is 14.5 km, crossing the river on the Moulinas viaduct and running through an unlit tunnel past beaches and picnic spots. Over the hill in Privas, the firm Clément Faugier built on the Ardèche chestnut has made crème de marrons since 1885.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Cycle the 14.5 km from Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux to Pont de Chervil and stop in the middle of the Moulinas viaduct, where the old railway crosses the Eyrieux between the two ends of the section
2
of 4
Ride through the unlit tunnel on this section and find where the old railway cutting closes over your head, with no lighting at all from one end to the other
3
of 4
In Privas, buy a jar of crème de marrons, first made here in 1885, and a box of marrons glacés still finished by the sixteen-step sugar-glazing process Clément Faugier settled on in 1890
4
of 4
At Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux find the Fougeirol silk-throwing and weaving works beside the river, the industry the narrow-gauge line was built to serve, and on the valley slopes above the path pick out the peach orchards that were shipping fruit to England by the early 1900s
Cycle the 14.5 km from Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux to Pont de Chervil and stop in the middle of the Moulinas viaduct, where the old railway crosses the Eyrieux between the two ends of the section
Ride through the unlit tunnel on this section and find where the old railway cutting closes over your head, with no lighting at all from one end to the other
In Privas, buy a jar of crème de marrons, first made here in 1885, and a box of marrons glacés still finished by the sixteen-step sugar-glazing process Clément Faugier settled on in 1890
At Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux find the Fougeirol silk-throwing and weaving works beside the river, the industry the narrow-gauge line was built to serve, and on the valley slopes above the path pick out the peach orchards that were shipping fruit to England by the early 1900s
Before you go
Carry a light: the tunnel on this section has no lighting. Despite the name this is not a legal voie verte - it serves houses and businesses, so cars use some stretches. The surface is mostly soft-bound gravel rather than tarmac, and the climb inland is steady, which is why many riders take electric bikes.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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