2022: Le Grand Tour

The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Germany:

On July 3rd 2022 I arrived at the Hook of Holland in The Netherlands, turned around and pedalled off in the direction of France. It was an anti-clockwise tour of France; the EuroVelo 12 along the Belgian coast, the EuroVelo 4 to Dieppe, L’Avenue Verte to Paris, La Véloscénie to Mont St Michel before rejoining the EuroVelo 4 to Roscoff, the EuroVelo 1 / Vélodyssée to Royan, the Canal de la Garonne to Toulouse, the Canal du Midi to Sète, the EuroVelo 17 beside the Rhône to Andermatt in Switzerland and finally the EuroVelo 15 / Rhine Cycle Route all the way back to Rotterdam and the return ferry to Hull… I arrived back at the Hook of Holland on September 3rd 2022.

The Book!

The book, Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda, was published in May 2024 and recounts Andrew P. Sykes’ journey around France, into the Alps and down the Rhine in the summer of 2010. It is available as a paperback and as and eBook from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com (and other international Amazon sites) and Apple iBooks.

“Secondary school teacher and inveterate would-be adventurer Andrew P. Sykes is back in the saddle. This time, however, it doesn’t belong to his long-term sidekick Reggie. There’s a fresh-faced kid on the block and she’s a bike called Wanda. (Nothing fishy about that!)

The new double act set off on a grand tour of Europe to explore some of the continent’s most iconic cycling routes and locations: the Vélomaritime, the Avenue Verte to Paris, the Véloscénie to Mont-Saint-Michel, the Vélodyssée, the Canal de la Garonne, the Canal du Midi, the ViaRhôna, the Furka Pass and the Rhine are all on the itinerary of this light-hearted loop from the Hook of Holland… to the Hook of Holland.

Join Andrew and Wanda as they put their best foot and only front wheel forward in a hot, dusty but at times very damp quest to delve into the lives, landscapes, history and culture of some of our nearest continental cousins and the countries they call home.

[Warning: This adventure also contains trains.]“

“I love, love, love the humour”
Helen Moat, travel writer

“Engaging, witty and pacy”
Steve Silk, journalist and travel writer

“Interesting, intriguing, humorous and well-written”
Brian Palmer, The Washing Machine Post

Signed copies of the book are available for £15 per book. The price includes postage and packing to addresses within the UK. If you would like to give one of the books as a gift, a message can easily be included. Please fill in your requested message when prompted to give instructions to the seller on PayPal.

Le Grand Tour on a Bike called Wanda (signed copy)

£15.00

Pre-trip Posts to CyclingEurope.ORG:

Posts to CyclingEurope.org During the Cycle:

EPISODES OF THE CYCLING EUROPE PODCAST PUBLISHED DURING THE CYCLE:

LE GRAND TOUR; THE FILMS

CYCLING UK: CYCLE MAGAZINE – JUNE / JULY 2023

Read the full article by following this link.

Here’s an animated map of my planned route…

…and here is a bit of background information regarding my decision for choosing to set off to France, Switzerland, Germany and The Netherlands rather than cycle around the Baltic Sea as I had planned for the summer of 2022.

STAGE 1:

Rotterdam to Calais: EuroVelo 12 / North Sea Cycle Route (Netherlands / Belgium / France)

This stage: 260 km / Cumulative: 260 km

Official website: EuroVelo.com/ev12

Ken Wynn @HighFielder80: “How are you getting from Hook to Belgium? Amazing road through Brielle, one of my favourite Dutch towns, and down the coastal defense dijks, the Oosterscheldekering, an astounding feat of engineering, to Middelburg and canal to Vlissingen for Breskens ferry. Ev12 seems to ferry from Hoek to the Maasvlakte europoort extension, instead of Maassluis ferry to Rozenburg for Brielle, then later it sticks to the coast for vlissingen instead of via Middelburg. Would be a shame to miss Middelburg its such a beautiful city.“

STAGE 2:

Calais to Dieppe: EuroVelo 4 / La VeloMaritime (France)

This stage: 180 km / Cumulative: 440 km

Official website: LaVeloMaritime.com

STAGE 3:

Dieppe to Paris: L’Avenue Verte (France)

This stage: 240 km / Cumulative: 680 km

Official website: AvenueVerteLondonParis.com

STAGE 4:

Paris to Mont Saint Michel: La Véloscénie (France)

This stage: 450 km / Cumulative: 1130 km

Official website: Veloscenic.com

STAGE 5:

Mont Saint Michel to Roscoff: EuroVelo 4 / La Vélomaritime (France)

This stage: 430 km / Cumulative: 1560 km

Official website: LaVeloMaritime.com

STAGE 6:

Roscoff to Royan: EuroVelo 1 / La Vélodyssée (France)

This stage: 870 km / Cumulative: 2430 km

Official website: Cycling-LaVelodyssee.com

Malcolm Glover (via Facebook): “If you’re coming anyway near Carhaix in Brittany you’re more than welcome to stay with us. We are just a few hundred metres away from Velo 1.”

STAGE 7:

Royan to Sète: Le Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo / Les Canals de la Garonne Et du Midi (France)

This stage: 680 km / Cumulative: 3110 km

Official website: CanalDes2MersAVelo.com

STAGE 8:

Sète to Andermatt: EuroVelo 17 / Rhone Cycle Route (France / Switzerland)

This stage: 1250 km / Cumulative: 4360 km

Official website: ViaRhona.com

STAGE 9:

Andermatt to Rotterdam: EuroVelo 15 / Rhine Cycle Route (Switzerland / France / Germany / The Netherlands)

This stage: 1500 km / Cumulative: 5860 km

Official website: EuroVelo.com/ev15

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