From Roanne to St Etienne

by Daniel Heesch

As it was a Saturday morning, the city was already quite busy when I arrived there at 8am. Had it been night, I would not have found my way out quite as easily. As it happened, a young man was heading into Roanne too, at a furious speed as he had to be at work by 8. He offered me to show me how to get out of Roanne once in the city centre. That was a chance not to be missed even if that meant keeping up with his pace.

From Roanne there are two ways to get into the south of France. The N7 cuts through to Lyon in the Rhôone valley. Since my goal was to avoid Lyon and instead follow the Loire for a little more, I chose what has been known since the 1930 as the Route Bleue. This route was created to give the region the same kind of economic boost the villages along the N7 had enjoyed.

You take the main road (D482) into the city until you get to a major junction where you see Parigny signposted to the left. After a few metres you arrive at the bank of the Loire where you turn right to follow the river upstream, still on the D482. For the fourth and last time on your journey, you will now cross the Loire. Once on the other side, you keep to your right in the direction of Parigny. The road soon begins to run parallel to the N7 which has become for a few kilometers a motorway. A few kilometers outside of Roanne, you join the N7 which after another kilometer divides into the N7 and the N82. The N7 now leads up to the Col du Pin Bouchain at 760 meters and from there down to Lyon. The N82 is the beginning of the Route Bleue towards St-Etienne, and the one for us.


Soon after the split, the N82 itself turns into a motorway and you may at this stage take the route over Vendranges, which is less travelled than the motorway. Whichever way you choose, the climb is the same. It is by far the steepest climb so far and although it is not much longer than three kilometers, the climb comes as a surprise and can hit you hard on the second day. The traffic on the slow lane comes to a near standstill. Even in their lowest gear, lorries seem to struggle.

Once at the top and 250 meters higher, the road leads you over a plateau to the pretty village Neulise. It stretches out along the west side of the plateau that rises above the surrounding by a few hundred meters. If you thought the previous climb counted towards the Col de la Republique, you are mistaken. We are hardly through the centre of Neulise and the road begins to drop again, gently at first but then steepening continually until it joins up with the N82. It is not as steep as the way up and a little longer.

The next cities are Feurs and Montrand-Les-Bains 40 and 50 kilometers after Roanne. Although you are now getting deeper into the Massif Central with every meter, all around you it seems flatter than ever before. Much like the N81 between Nevers and Digoin the day before, the N82 follows a perfectly straight course from Feurs all the way to Andrézieux-Bouthéon. Although there is a motorway running parallel to the N82 from Roanne to St-Etienne, the traffic here is considerable and fast but not unpleasant as the road is wide enough. The many lorries, that were a real plague on the climb are now literally pulling me towards St-Etienne. We are now well past the KM 400 mark and are quickly approaching the mid-point of the tour. In Andrézieux-Bouthéon the plain finally comes to an end. It's here that the climb begins, very gently still but noticeably.

You need to be especially careful not to miss the exit to St-Etienne. Shortly after arriving in Andrézieux-Bouthéon you get to a point where the motorway to St-Etienne flies across the N82. Just before that, a road branches off to your left which runs parallel to the motorway virtually all the way to St-Etienne. The remaining 6.5 kilometers consist of one big climb out of Andrézieux-Bouthéon, then a descent into the outskirts of St-Etienne and another climb into the centre. With 140 meters, the net gain in altitude is not gigantic but it's enough to make you believe that you are now entering different territory.

St-Etienne is one of the few cities in France with trams and a network of tracks criss-crosses the town. With slender wheels, they need special attention. St-Etienne boast a large central square, not too far from the start of the climb, with many cafes and bistros on either side to refuel.