Tag: France

“One Of My All-Time Favourite YouTube Videos… Epic Stuff!”

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On July 3rd 2022 I set off from The Hook of Holland in The Netherlands, turned right and pedalled off in the direction of France. It was an anti-clockwise tour of the continent; 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 Morlaix, 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 back to The Hook of Holland and the return ferry to Hull on September 3rd.

The Sherborne Travel Writing Festival 2023

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Travel writing is very much on my mind at the moment as I continue to work on the first draft of my 4th book, provisionally titled ‘Le Grand Tour’ which willl recount the story of the cycle around France, Switzerland and down the Rhine that I completed last summer. A few years ago, around the time of the publication of the 3rd book, ‘Spain to Norway…’ I had the great pleasure in being invited to deliver a talk at the Lismore Festival of Travel Writing that takes place every year in County Waterford, Ireland. It’s a unique event within the British Isles as no other book festival specialises in travel writing. Or rather, it was until now…

asphalt road leading to the summit of mont ventoux

Cycling Mont Ventoux: Everything You Need To Know 

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Cycling Mont Ventoux should be on the bucket list of every avid cyclist. It’s the highest mountain in Provence, and because it’s isolated from other mountains of the same size, it’s one of the most prominent geographical features in northern Provence. You can access the top of Mont Ventoux by road, from where you can enjoy the spectacular views of Provence and Rhône valley, the southern Alps, and even the Pyrenees when the air is clear. 

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 067 – Cycling In Brittany – Tim Boden / Geoff Husband

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In June 2022, Tim Boden – an experienced group cyclist – set off on his first solo cycle tour, to Brittany in north-west France. His route took him from the port of Roscoff along the Vélodyssée / EuroVelo 1 to Redon. He then joined French regional route number 42 to follow the coast to Saint-Nazaire before returning to the Vélodyssée for a cycle beside the Loire to Nantes and back to Redon. Here he rejoined the eastern portion of route 42 to cycle north to Saint-Malo. Tim talks about the routes but also the history and culture of this distinctive French region. We also revisit two encounters from episodes 55 & 56 with three French cyclists – Fabian, Julian and Guillaume – and, from Breton Bikes and Camping de Gouarec, Geoff Husband.

YOUTUBE EXCLUSIVE: Episode 067 Of The Cycling Europe Podcast

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In June 2022, Tim Boden – an experienced group cyclist – set off on his first solo cycle tour, to Brittany in north-west France. His route took him from the port of Roscoff along the Vélodyssée / EuroVelo 1 to Redon. He then joined French regional route number 42 to follow the coast to Saint-Nazaire before  returning to the Vélodyssée for a cycle beside the Loire to Nantes and back to Redon. Here he rejoined the eastern portion of route 42 to cycle north to Saint-Malo. Tim talks about the routes but also the history and culture of this distinctive French region. We also revisit two encounters from episodes 55  & 56 with three French cyclists –  Fabian, Julian and Guillaume – and, from Breton Bikes and Camping de Gouarec, Geoff Husband.

EuroVelo 8 – Mediterranean Route: (My) Once-In-A-lifetime Experience

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It will soon be 10 years that I set off to cycle along the Mediterranean coast from Cape Sounio in southern Greece to Cape St. Vincent in southern Portugal. My route was inspired by the EuroVelo 8, although it was much less developed back then than it is today. I saw some EuroVelo 8 signs in Catalonia but aside from that, I’m not quite sure I saw any elsewhere. And after Valencia, when I was beginning to run short of time – I needed to be back at work at the beginning of September – I headed inland, away from the coast in order to complete the journey without resorting to jumping on the train.

Le Grand Tour: Part 3 – La Véloscénie (Paris To Mont-Saint-Michel)

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Later this year I will be releasing a film about my 5,500km journey by bicycle and train from the Hook of Holland, along the Dutch and Belgian coasts, anticlockwise around France, into Switzerland beside the Rhone and finally along the Rhine to Rotterdam. Editing takes time but, in anticipation of the full film being finished by the end of 2022, here’s a 10-minute segment of the film that tells the story of my cycle along La Véloscénie from Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel via Chartres, Nogent-le-Rotrou and Domfront. Wacth out for the Musée du Vélo! The music is from the skilled fingers of Rob Ainsley and the audio commentary is taken from episode 054 of The Cycling Europe Podcast.

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 061 – The 1903 Tour De France… On A Brompton

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Gareth Dent has a long-term relationship with small-wheeled bicycles. Growing up in Stevenage in the late 1960s he made the most of the town’s futuristic network of cycle routes on his 14” Moulton Mini. 40 years later he rekindled his love for small wheels during an organised folding bike challenge from London to Paris, in the process meeting a group of like-minded enthusiasts. It was with these new friends that , several years later, he started to cycle the route of the 1903 Tour de France, in stages, over 4 years. The interview was recorded in Halifax’s covered market where we also bumped into Tony, the West Yorkshire town’s own proponent of small-wheeled cycling. He had much to say…