La Voie Bleue: which way and when to ride
The best month for La Voie Bleue is September: 76% of days were dry with highs of 10–30 °C. In September the wind barely favours either direction — on average 0.1 km/h along the route (ERA5 2006–2025, daytime 9:00–18:00).
Weather by month
| Month | Good days | Rain days ≥ 1 mm | Rain, mm | Avg high | Days ≥ 30 °C | Days < 10 °C | Daylight, h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10% | 27% | 86 | 6 °C | 0% | 83% | 8.8 † |
| February | 25% | 26% | 68 | 8 °C | 0% | 66% | 10.2 † |
| March | 52% | 26% | 73 | 12 °C | 0% | 35% | 11.8 |
| April | 69% | 26% | 68 | 16 °C | 0% | 11% | 13.6 |
| May | 68% | 31% | 92 | 20 °C | 1% | 1% | 15.1 |
| June | 63% | 27% | 83 | 24 °C | 11% | 0% | 16.0 |
| July | 57% | 24% | 70 | 26 °C | 22% | 0% | 15.6 |
| August | 60% | 21% | 76 | 25 °C | 20% | 0% | 14.3 |
| September | 76% | 20% | 76 | 21 °C | 4% | 0% | 12.5 |
| October | 73% | 22% | 88 | 16 °C | 0% | 7% | 10.7 † |
| November | 35% | 28% | 93 | 10 °C | 0% | 50% | 9.2 † |
| December | 12% | 30% | 99 | 7 °C | 0% | 78% | 8.4 † |
Best months are all months within 3 percentage points of the best one. † less than 11 hours of daylight — long stages get tight.
Wind by month
| Month | Wind Hagondange → Lyon, km/h | Headwind > 15 km/h, Hagondange → Lyon | Headwind > 15 km/h, Lyon → Hagondange | Better way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2.5 | 15% | 6% | Lyon → Hagondange |
| February | −2.0 | 14% | 8% | Lyon → Hagondange |
| March | −0.6 | 12% | 9% | either |
| April | +1.0 | 8% | 8% | either |
| May | +0.8 | 7% | 8% | either |
| June | +1.1 | 5% | 6% | either |
| July | +0.6 | 4% | 4% | either |
| August | 0.0 | 5% | 3% | either |
| September | +0.1 | 6% | 6% | either |
| October | −2.1 | 12% | 5% | Lyon → Hagondange |
| November | −3.1 | 14% | 5% | Lyon → Hagondange |
| December | −3.8 | 16% | 4% | Lyon → Hagondange |
Stages
The route is split into 6 stages of about 100–150 km between towns; each stage has its own page.
| Stage | km | Best month | Tailwind Hagondange → Lyon in September, km/h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Hagondange → Metz | 90 | September | +0.2 |
| 2. Metz → Épinal | 139 | September | −0.1 |
| 3. Épinal → Port-sur-Saône | 106 | September | −0.9 |
| 4. Port-sur-Saône → Auxonne | 119 | September | −0.5 |
| 5. Auxonne → Chalon-sur-Saône | 99 | October | +0.1 |
| 6. Chalon-sur-Saône → Lyon | 148 | October | +1.6 |
How to read the numbers
Wind is the 10 m wind of a 25-km grid cell, daytime hours 9:00–18:00 local solar time; at saddle height in a sheltered valley it is weaker, on a coast or ridge stronger. A positive value is a tailwind. ERA5 slightly over-counts days with ≥ 1 mm of rain (by about 5–7 percentage points) and underestimates daily highs by 1–2 °C. Good day = less than 1 mm of rain between 9:00 and 18:00 (riding hours, local solar time) and a high between 10 and 30 °C; rain at night or in the evening does not spoil it.