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WELCOME IN THE VERCORS |
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RIDING PETITS & GRANDS GOULETS |
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Welcome on sensational roads in the Vercors ! This ride will bring you in the Vercors from Pont en Royans. This village is located in the west of the Vercors. This ride is easy, only 12 kms for 450 meters of positive climb... Pont en Royans is showed on the top left of this map...
Just before Pont en Royans, we can see an overview of this road, between the mountains...
Pont en Royans is well known for its typical houses...
Before the start; we are always in Pont en Royans, on Pont Picard at 211 meters of altitude. The little river is called "La Bourne". This ride is going to sail up another river: "La Vernaison" which flows into "La Bourne"...
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The ride begins! We leave Pont en Royans for another village: Sainte Eulalie en Royans, in Drôme department. In France, we often say: La Drôme, the more you ride it, the more you enjoy it...
Before arriving in Sainte Eulalie, a little climb allows us to see where we are going to pass after this village. Please note the tunnel, besides the red point...
We arrive in Sainte Eulalie en Royans at 311 meters of altitude. We can see the typical church in the village...
The ride goes on in the right direction...
Just after Sainte Eulalie, the road climbs gently in the forest and we are going to go through five tunnels. We enter in "Petits Goulets". Here is the first tunnel...
Tunnels are not long. Just after the first one, the second one appears...
Before entering in the third one, the fourth one appears in the back. Tunnels are very wet because mountains in Vercors are limestone mountains...
After this one, on the left side, we can see "mont Baret" at 786 meters of altitude...
The fourth tunnel seems to be very dark, perhaps awful...
...but we find again the road and the last tunnel...
The end of "Petits Goulets" allows you to see on the left side a mountain called "le Pas de l'Allier (1171m)"...
And the road continues in the forest. We cross again the Vernaison on Pont d'Echevis at 311 meters of altitude. From this point, the road is going to climb...
The climb is not steep and we stay on the right side of the Vernaison.
Three kilometers later, a bend appears...
The road climbs towards the sky...
And another bend arrives! After this one, the climb becomes again easy. Clouds are enjoyable to avoid too much sun..
The road climbs gently, clouds disappear...
Eight kilometers after Sainte Eulalie en Royans, we arrive in "Grands Goulets" after this tunnel...
The road becomes magnificient with the rock just over your head...
During this moment, the climb is not very steep...
And we arrive to another point where we can see tunnels... Enjoy this moment, we are in the heart of "Grands Goulets". The space between mountains is going to become tiny. On the opposite side, this mountain is called "Rochers d'Echevis"...
Just before the tunnels, the road is tiny... no cars for the moment, splendid, great...
Another point where you can crash your head in the mountain if you get honking on the bike...
Finally we cross another bridge on "La Vernaison"...
We arrive in the village called "Les Barraques en Vercors"...
Suddendly, the space becomes luminous with fresh air. It is over, you are in the Vercors, you are in this fabulous plateau... Please note the commemorative sign about the second world war...
Your ride can continue towards "La Chapelle en Vercors" by a little climb (5kms with 300 meters of climbing) or towards "Saint Martin en Vercors" (6kms with only 50 meters of climbing)... Happy riding in the Vercors...
So, will you ride in the Vercors ? |
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Page written by Jean-Philippe BATTU September 2001 |