Boucle 6 – rouge (Vesseaux)
A short loop but quite dense in difficulties, it runs through the calcareous-marl terrain of the foothills of the Coiron, with its wild landscapes of scrubland and pine forests.
Route details
Description
The route heads for the calcareous-marly foothills of the Coiron volcanic massif. By calcareous-marly (alternating layers of limestone and marl), the mountain biker will translate that the terrain is sometimes brittle, sometimes rolling, depending on the dominance of one or the other of these sedimentary rocks. On these soils, the garrigue dominates... beware of the sun and thorny bushes if you stray from the trail.
The circuit begins with a steep but steady climb on a rolling track known locally as the "Lorraine Refugee Route." The refugees, having fled the German invasion, were housed in the commune, and the local authorities entrusted them with the work of creating the "road," which was carried out entirely with shovels and picks. This track joins the ridge at the Croix de L'Houme dolmen. This Copper Age funerary monument is located near the large oak tree, south of the crossroads. The burial is open-air, without its cover slab, probably since it was looted. The route continues on the Serre Noir ridge, so named because of the remains of a basalt structure that locally drapes the ground in black stones. The terrain is rough and stony, but the view of the Louyre Gorges and St-Laurent-sous-Coiron is magnificent, and the descent ahead is fast and playful. The end of the route follows the route of circuit No. 2, the old tramway track, to stretch the muscles a little.
