BV25-41 Straight To It

“Straight to it” is about getting a workout in, not taking in the scenery. That said, Bois de Vincennes is still a nice escape from the city center to put in some miles.

The route heads out like a Marne loop along the quai, but instead of doing the full loop, you cut north and hop straight into the park. This puts you at the infamous Polygon, about 13 km and roughly 30 minutes into your ride, warmed up and ready for a workout.

The Polygon is well known to Parisian cyclists. It’s a 3 km triangle closed to cars and serves as a training ground for many locals. You can ride it at any speed; the KOM is a mere 3:30, but there are always people riding at different paces.

If you’re looking to get in some intervals, like a VO₂ max session, and don’t want to do it on the trainer, this circuit is perfect. The bottom corner requires you to scrub a bit of speed, but overall the road surface is in good condition and you can carry quite a bit of speed through the other turns. This particular route does five laps, but feel free to do as many or as few as you want.

For the return, I headed northwest out of the park and cut back through the 12th. I like to make a loop whenever possible, and if you’re not in a large group, Avenue Daumesnil has a separated bike lane that takes you straight back to Bastille and on to the cafe.

GPX File