La Dolce Via, Ardeche, France. A must do gravel ride

La Dolce Via, won the award for bike path of the year in 2020 and I can confirm it is a beautiful route over an old railway in the shape of a fork. This gravel road winds its way between Saint-Agrève, Le Cheylard, La-Voulte-sur-Rhône and Lamastre. 90km of pure bliss overlooking the Eyrieux Valley, on perfect low-traffic/car-free gravel roads. For this video we ride the fork where we connect Saint-Agrève and Lamastre via a perfect descent to arrive at one ride of 157 km.

This adventure is possible in 1 day as the climbing is never really steep. But there are more than enough facilities to make it a multi-day family adventure along the Eyrieux River. In addition to a beautiful outdoor swimming pool, you will come across various campsites and catering establishments during your journey through changing landscapes, tunnels, viaducts, and endless lookouts...

The start in the picturesque France village of La Voulte sur Rhône unfortunately goes through an industrial area, but after about 5 km you arrive at the railway and the adventure really starts. I hope that the French government will one day connect this point with the VIa Rhona which is barely a few 100m away and thus offer a perfect adventure.

For those who don't like to climb, there is always the option to take the train to the top, although you will have to drive a good 20 km on the Via Rhona to the station to take the train to the top.

This aword winning route is a must ride for every cyclist, not impossible with a racing bike as the gravel path never gets worse than an average strade bianche in tuscany although I would recommend a sturdier 30+ mm tire.

https://www.komoot.nl/tour/965854798
https://www.routeyou.com/nl-fr/route/...