Tag: Le Grand Tour …on a Bike Called Wanda

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 24 – The Hook Of Holland, The Netherlands

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It was almost precisely midday when I set off along the 5,500km loop that, if all went to plan, would see me return to The Hook of Holland in two months. I was fully expecting to retrace my route back to the small ferry at Maassluis where I planned to cross – again – the waterweg to Rozenburg on the southern side of the estuary. It would be a 15km cycle through familiar territory and, as Wanda’s robust touring tyres rolled over the rough concrete of the wide path beside the water, I began to contemplate what was to come over the next few weeks. The known knowns, the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 23 – Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, France

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When topography does you no favours – there were no mountains to feast upon in this part of France – the other facets of geography need to put in extra effort if they are to impress. On the morning of July 30th, they were sweating their assets hard. Within a matter of minutes of leaving the campsite at 7.30 am, I was on a dusty path, pine trees to my right and a meadow awaiting its grazing horses to my left. In the distance a few trees softened the line between land and sky and beyond them, across the vastness of space (and a just little bit of time), the yellow globe of the sun had started to glide effortlessly across the sky. Its golden influence washed across the field, its countless rays crashing and splintering as they came into contact with the cushion of mist on the ground. Above everything and beyond a transition from orange to yellow to white was a developing blue sky, unblemished by even the bravest of clouds. It was a scene that would have had J.M.W. Turner erecting his easel and mixing his paints without a moment of hesitation. Yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt sienna, olive green, cobalt blue… This was a scene to exhaust the palette. And aside from an invisible Joseph and me, there was not another soul to witness the early morning spectacle. Beautiful.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 22 – Perros-Guirec, France

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Adopting the roads as it did, the route was set back slightly from the sea, often through wooded areas or gently undulating suburbia where it was difficult to judge where I was or how far I had travelled. But then I would descend slightly and find myself confronted with a picture-postcard view of a coastal village or an otherworldly beach. This was especially the case as I approached Tourony, but before I could explore, I noticed some familiar faces.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 21 – Ritzingen, Switzerland

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The final 10km of the day saw a return to more modest – but no less spectacular – climbing. Along quiet roads and mountain tracks the route linked village to village beside lush late-summer meadows. On the northern side of the valley the red and white trains continued to glide up and down on their spotless tracks. No leaves on the line here in Switzerland. The businessmen in their Ferraris roared up and down the road. On my side of the valley there was just me, a few other cyclists and the cows ringing their bells. This was peak Switzerland. All that was missing was a cuckoo telling me the time.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 20 – Bordeaux, France

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Nearly twenty years later I was back. Arriving beside the River Garonne the previous evening it had been immediately obvious that the frenzy of work in the first few years of the 21st century had not been in vain. A wide esplanade which had previously been the fiefdom of the car had been transformed into gardens, fountains, walkways and, much to my delight, a long, wide cycleway. It guided me beside the river and into the imposing expanse of the Place de la Bourse. When I was here in 2003 I was not even allowed to step foot in the square as it had been entirely fenced off and gaping holes had been dug deep into the ground. On this occasion, once I had negotiated the relatively narrow width of the road and tramway I was able to cycle freely, taking in the magnificence of the 18th-century architecture surrounding me. I circumnavigated the flamboyant fountain with its revealing Three Graces extolling mirth, elegance and beauty with not a hint of modesty. With a smile on my face, the virtues of the three young women seemed an apt metaphor for what I was experiencing.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 19 – L’Avenue Verte, France

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More farmland came and went and although I was rarely afforded the opportunity to cycle through it, there was clearly a lot of forest, especially to the south between the Avenue Verte and the Seine. The increasingly predominant crop was sunflowers, their heads drooping slightly under the weight of their seeds. They were now at the point where the sun had done its work and they seemed desperate for the bees to take their pollen, the birds to eat their seeds or a farmer to decapitate them and turn them into a tub of Flora. But as of yet, no semi-detached houses, tree-lined cul-de-sacs, excruciatingly polite dinner parties or seething resentment of the people next door. Suburbia had yet to be reached.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 18 – Alzonne, France

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I found Camping l’Escale Occitane around 3km north of the canal on the far side of Alzonne. It was, perhaps, France’s only airline-themed campsite. Rémy and Nadia had both worked in the airline industry before deciding to leave the jet set to run the campsite and restaurant. Air France memorabilia was strategically placed in the bar, including a row of seats from an Airbus. I could not spot the Airbus itself but would not have been at all surprised if it was on Rémy’s list of future purchases. It would make an interesting addition to the range of accommodation options that the campsite offered. This included an area set aside for cyclists and I pitched the tent as the sky was just beginning to take on a pinkish hue generated by the slowly setting sun. As I glanced towards the horizon I could see the hazy silhouettes of the foothills of the Pyrenees. They would always remain distant on this trip but, as I neared the southernmost point of my Grand Tour of Europe, it was a reminder that the greatest physical challenges of the journey were still ahead of me in the Alps. It was Sunday 7th August. I had now completed just over five weeks in the saddle and there remained only four weeks to complete the cycle. Had I bitten off far more than I was capable of chewing? On which thought I went to order some airline-style food in the restaurant.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 17 – Basel, Switzerland

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I was, for the first time on my Grand Tour, lost. Not in the middle of a forest or on a remote mountain path but in Switzerland’s third largest city. I turned right for the simple reason that I would be heading north but there were no visual hints that I was making a good choice. Five minutes later I crossed back into Germany. I had envisaged cycling from Basel straight into France. This was not part of the plan but I continued cycling north. Eventually I noticed a sign for the EuroVelo 15 and turned left. This took me to a hydroelectric barrage across the Rhine and back into France.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 16 – Sault-Brénaz, France

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All that remained was to cycle the final few kilometres of the day to the campsite on an island to the south of Sault-Brénaz. It was somewhat busier than the Lidl. The enterprising owners of the campsite had cut a meandering narrow channel across the island through which the fast-flowing waters of the Rhône were able to flow. The result was a very popular wild-water canoe and kayaking course, the Espace Eau-Vive. After such a quiet, sedate day on the bike it was very much a shock to the system to be confronted with people and noise, but welcome nevertheless. There was ample space for camping at a suitable distance away from the hullabaloo and after a beer in the bar, I set about making camp for the night.
It would be the usual fare of spaghetti and pesto (with the added delight of Lidl Parmesan cheese) but what was not so usual was the cool evening. The sunset came and went at around 9 pm and thereafter the temperature dropped rapidly. After so many nights spent simmering in the tent, as I headed further and further into the mountains, things were gradually changing and it was not just the colour of the water.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 15 – Dangu, France

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The coastline was more built up than it had been after crossing over the border from the Netherlands. Not that this made for unpleasant cycling; far from it. In most seaside towns the motorised traffic had been shunted inland by at least one block of flats worth of land. What I assumed to have once been the coastal road had been transformed into a wide active travel paradise with plenty of space for pedestrians, cyclists, café terraces and the forecourts of shops that hired out vibrantly painted four-wheeled pedal-powered karts. These contraptions could seat an entire family and there seemed to be an unwritten rule that the member of the family who possessed the lowest level of driving skill should be in charge of the steering wheel. For anyone on a cycling mission to get to the French border in one piece – that would be me – they made for potentially treacherous adversaries but, mercifully, I survived.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 14 – La Réole, France

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The coastline was more built up than it had been after crossing over the border from the Netherlands. Not that this made for unpleasant cycling; far from it. In most seaside towns the motorised traffic had been shunted inland by at least one block of flats worth of land. What I assumed to have once been the coastal road had been transformed into a wide active travel paradise with plenty of space for pedestrians, cyclists, café terraces and the forecourts of shops that hired out vibrantly painted four-wheeled pedal-powered karts. These contraptions could seat an entire family and there seemed to be an unwritten rule that the member of the family who possessed the lowest level of driving skill should be in charge of the steering wheel. For anyone on a cycling mission to get to the French border in one piece – that would be me – they made for potentially treacherous adversaries but, mercifully, I survived.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 13 – Ostend, Belgium

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The coastline was more built up than it had been after crossing over the border from the Netherlands. Not that this made for unpleasant cycling; far from it. In most seaside towns the motorised traffic had been shunted inland by at least one block of flats worth of land. What I assumed to have once been the coastal road had been transformed into a wide active travel paradise with plenty of space for pedestrians, cyclists, café terraces and the forecourts of shops that hired out vibrantly painted four-wheeled pedal-powered karts. These contraptions could seat an entire family and there seemed to be an unwritten rule that the member of the family who possessed the lowest level of driving skill should be in charge of the steering wheel. For anyone on a cycling mission to get to the French border in one piece – that would be me – they made for potentially treacherous adversaries but, mercifully, I survived.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 12 – Pouzols-Minervois, France

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It would be an early start for me, one of the earliest of the trip. A symptom, perhaps, of my enthusiasm to move on to pastures new or at least to be cycling somewhere other than beside the Canal du Midi. Shortly after 7 am, I was standing at the gate of the campsite looking directly towards the rising sun. It was a moment of quiet contemplation. The previous two days had been hard work and, with Sète still 100km away, it seemed likely that today would be no different. My willingness – eagerness even – to give the towpath yet another opportunity to redeem itself was as annoying as it was bewildering. Before setting off from the UK, the Canal du Midi was firmly lodged in my mind as a highlight of the entire journey around Europe. Yet here I was just wishing for this section of the ride to be over and done with. I was annoyed with myself for having had such high expectations. I was annoyed with the authorities for not making any effort to accommodate cyclists. I was annoyed with the canal for having been built in an age when towpaths needed to be nothing more than rough paths for towing.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 11 – Goedereede, The Netherlands

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To get to Ouddorp and my campsite, this bit of humanity on a bicycle needed to cross the first of my four dams, the Haringvlietdam. As you might expect, the Dutch had afforded cyclists much more than a painted line on the road. We had our own two-way segregated lane and the only force of nature I had to contend with was that of the wind which was doing its best to toss me over the edge of the dam and into the lake on my left. It was not difficult to see why the concept of the windmill had taken off in such a big way in these parts. There was a particularly stunning example of one such windmill as I passed through the outskirts of the village of Goedereede. It stood, motionless, at the far end of a busy field of allotments which was dominated by a pleasingly chaotic display of red, orange and yellow wildflowers alongside more disciplined rows of vegetables. In a day that had already exposed me to many of the delights of the Dutch nation, this was perhaps the finest and I paused to appreciate it in all its glory.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 10 – Canal De La Garonne, France

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After my experiences along the Canal de Nantes à Brest, the Canal de la Garonne felt familiar. It made for easy, comfortable cycling; the towpath was well maintained and mature trees provided ample, almost continuous, shade from sun. It was also very straight. I could see on my map the River Garonne wriggling erratically along a seemingly endless number of meanders while the canal continued a sensible path heading south-east. The canal presented as a parent on a mission to get to the shops, the river as a young child who simply wanted to have a bit of fun running up and down the pavement despite being firmly attached to its mother.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 9 – Brittany, France

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It was almost inevitable that I would encounter more disused railway lines in Brittany and that was the case as I cycled towards Yffiniac. Although the Vélomaritime vaguely followed the route of the old railway from Matignon to Yffiniac – it was only in operation for a short period between 1924 and 1948 – visual evidence of it doing so was thin on the ground. Perhaps a piece of civil engineering that had been abandoned before it could celebrate its 25th birthday was easy to erase. Or rather most of it. As it passed along the coast, long passerelles were required to lift the line above the soggy landscape and two of these structures were still in use ensuring that I too was able to keep my feet dry. They were not inconsequential structures. The Passerelle de la Côtière extended over 150 metres. It was built from reinforced concrete, manufactured offsite and “assembled in the manner of Meccano”. Yet as with most baguette-straight constructions of this type, travelling over them is rarely the best place to appreciate their architectural glory. Not so, the Viaduc des Pont-Neufs further along the line near Coëtmieux. Here, the engineers had foreseen my inquisitive arrival a century in advance and had kindly built their stunningly elegant bridge along a curve 30 metres above the ground allowing me to pause and admire it even from the cycle track. After a long day in the saddle, it was much appreciated, even if it too resembled something that might have been inspired by a box of Meccano. 

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 8 – Saint-Fort-Sur-Gironde, France

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The final few kilometres of the ride were somewhat less spectacular but pretty nevertheless through parched fields of sunflowers and past occasional clusters of brown cattle. I arrived at Port Maubert near Saint-Fort-sur-Gironde in the mid-afternoon, exhausted, not by the cycle from Royan but from the cycle to Royan on the previous day. It was time for a late afternoon off the bike and, after erecting the tent under some handily located trees at the local campsite I lay back on the grass and snoozed. It was a world away from the people, fireworks and rampant sex of the previous night. But the night was yet young.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 7 – Arnhem, The Netherlands

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Beyond the western suburbs of Arnhem was an area of dense woodland. That in itself was not surprising. What was surprising was just how hilly it was. After so many days of cycling on the flat, it was a delightful novelty to find myself freewheeling down paths in the forests and trying to use my momentum to carry me part of the way up the next hill. It did not last for long but whilst it did, was good fun. Then, suddenly, I was flung back into suburbia. It was perhaps not quite as well-heeled as its counterpart near Arnhem, but nonetheless pleasant and eminently liveable. The changing environment was being tossed in my direction at an alarming rate and I was loving it. 

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 6 – The Furka Pass, Switzerland

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The road to the Furka pass is only open for around five months every year but in late August 2022, there was not a hint of inclement weather. Although the air was cool and the wind had been gradually gaining strength throughout the day, the sky remained predominantly blue and the views that it afforded were, from the perspective of a cyclist with limited experience in the high mountains, unprecedented. After several kilometres of contouring beside the railway line east of Gletsch – its tracks crossed the road before shooting off into the Furka Summit Tunnel – I hit the wall of rock and the final series of switchbacks kicked in. Eight corners in total, each flipping my direction (great for an even tan!) and finally an opportunity to gaze at the view back down the valley. I could trace my route since Gletsch and far below me on the valley floor was the Rhône, meandering its way across the plain as a freshly born offspring of the still unseen glacier.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 5 – Mont-Saint-Michel, France

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The sun was now at its highest and strongest. Not the best time to be moving away from the shady protection of the trees but I had little choice. For the next few kilometres, I followed the meandering path of the ever-widening river as it made its way towards oceanic freedom. However, it was not until the river had melted imperceptibly into the sea and I had turned to head west along the coast that I found what I was looking for. It had been in the back of my mind since leaving Paris: the Mont-Saint-Michel.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 4 – Toulouse, France

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I had wanted to start my day by returning to the Place du Capitole to fly the drone so as to capture the glory of the town hall – le Capitole – in the golden-hour light of the morning sunrise. Alas my plans were scuppered by the constant stream of revellers who, at 8 am, were making their semi-drunken way back home. One young guy seemed particularly keen to ride Wanda around the square but I managed to persuade him otherwise. I could only imagine that his enthusiasm for flying – and no doubt crashing – the drone would be even greater. He stayed off the bike and the drone stayed stowed away in my front-right pannier bag.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 3 – L’Avenue Verte, France

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It was with a certain sense of reserved contentment – that feeling you get after having finished your first beer – that I climbed the hill away from the Avenue Verte in the direction of the centre of Forges-les-Eaux and Camping de la Minière. It was still only 3 pm and the distance cycled had been a modest 57km but to continue would risk not finding a suitable place to stay as well as potentially tainting the experience of the day’s cycle. I suspected that from here to Paris, however wonderful sections of the route might be, it was unlikely that the Avenue Verte would be so enduringly glorious as it had been today. Quit while you are ahead, happy and famous.

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 2 – The Rhine, Germany

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I paused briefly for breakfast at a bakery in Stockstadt am Rhein, a small town which was no longer on the Rhine thanks to canalisation work. I was delighted to discover that the cycle route now seemed to be devoid of the horrible concrete slabs that had blighted much of the previous afternoon. As the path followed the course of the severely emaciated meander of the old Rhine, it did so along wooded paths, quiet roads and at one point over some comically bone-shaking cobbles… but no slabs of concrete. I was not quite ready for that torture again. 

Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 1 – Andermatt, Switzerland

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As I packed up the tent at Gotthard Camping, I had some decisions to make. A helicopter hovered above the campsite picking up metal girders from an adjacent field and flying them off into the mountains to be deposited elsewhere. Every few minutes it would return to repeat the operation. I fell into conversation – when it was possible – with my neighbours, Rich and Becca from Ilkley, the posh bit of my home county of West Yorkshire. They were also travelling by bike and had set off from Nantes earlier in the summer. Their route would eventually take them to Rome but up to this point, it had been almost identical to my own. 

‘Le Grand Tour’: The Audiobook

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Over the years, many people have asked why there isn’t an audio book version of any of the books I have written. Well, I’d love to say that I had the time, resources and technical know-how required to embark upon such a feat. I can cope with making podcasts which don’t require stringent adherence to technical standards and in which my ropey diction can be forgiven (hopefully) by the listeners. But an audio book? I have tried on occasions to record something but I’m no Stephen Fry. The attempts have been quickly abandoned. However, I have news…

Signed Copies Of Le Grand Tour On A Bike Called Wanda: Be Quick!

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It is only now a matter of days until three become four and the new book – Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda – is published. The date is May 1st although you can already pre-order the eBook from Amazon if you want to start reading at midnight on the 1st! The paperback isn’t available to pre-order but rest assured that will also be available from May 1st. Initially you’ll have to go via Amazon to get hold of the book but Apple Books will also have the book available on iTunes, hopefully from May 1st. And if you’d like a signed copy, keep reading as these should be dispatched this very weekend, several days before the official publication!

1.3.25: Le Grand Tour Talk, Pie & Peas!

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A few years ago I gave a talk near Sheffield about cycling from Spain to Norway. In 2025 I’ve been invited back, this time to talk about Le Grand Tour. Thanks to Paddy Ducey for organising the event that will take place on the evening of Saturday March 1st. Pie and peas included! Tickets available from Paddy: email paddyducey@hotmail.com

Le Canal Des 2 Mers À Vélo: Carte Touristique

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Should you ever choose to send me an email, try to send it later in the week – Thursday or Friday is highly recommended – as I tend to reply to emails on a Saturday morning. If you send an email later today or tomorrow, you’ll have to wait a few more days for a reply. Anyway, replying to emails is what I’ve just been doing; I have made a few more arrangements to give a talk in Nottinghamshire in March 2025 (more of that soon), I have offered my humble words of wisdom to a cycling-writer in Cyprus and responded to some kind feedback on the books and the podcasts from a Scottish chap who now lives in New Zealand. I’ve also replied to a woman – who I suspect lives in North America – regarding official information about the Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo cycle route in France. She appeared to have made the rather dangerous assumption that this website was in some way ‘official’ as opposed to the random ramblings of a middle-aged British cycle tourist.

Le Grand Tour: “Eagerly Anticipated… And It Did Not Disappoint”

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Earlier this morning it was nice to see that Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda was topping the Amazon ‘cycling books’ chart, for a few hours at least. Readers continue to get in touch to pass on positive comments about what they have read, often via social media and often with a picture of the book (often, curiously, beside an alcoholic drink but I’ll try not to read too much into that). Miha Pavšič is in Slovenia and he chose to email me with some feedback and it was a delight to start the day by reading what he had to say:

Le Grand Tour: “I Felt Uplifted”

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Those of you who are members of Cycling UK will soon be receiving your copy of the bi-monthly magazine Cycle. It’s a cracking read and it comes as no surprise to discover that it is Britain’s most widely read cycling magazine. (If you don’t receive a copy, sign up to Cycling UK – it will cost you just £4 a month – and six times a year you’ll get your own copy delivered for free!) Back to the new edition of the magazine – August / September 2024 – that I have just been browsing online. It contains the usual eclectic mix of cycling-themed news, rides… and reviews.

Le Grand Tour: Cycle Touring Done Right… Or Wrong?

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It was with a certain amount of trepidation that I started reading ‘Will Cycle’s’ review of Le Grand on a Bike Called Wanda. He had written kind words about my previous books. He might even be in the category of a ‘fan’. Yet his tweeted link to the review that he had written suggested that he had fallen out of favour with my take on cycle touring. Somewhat hesitantly, I followed the link…

Le Grand Tour: The Audio Book Saga | Behind The Scenes

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You might think that once you’ve written a book and it’s been published that you’d be able to sit back and relax. It never seems to be like that, for good reason. Lot’s of people have been getting in touch directly with kind comments about Le Grand Tour – I always take time to respond – and the marketing is an ongoing process. However, there is one thing that I started doing yesterday that I haven’t done before. I spent a serious amount of time thinking about and researching the options available to make an audio book of Le Grand Tour. I even had a go at recording.

Move Over Tim Moore*: “An entertaining travelogue…

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The words of Richard Peploe in his review of Le Grand Tour… which has just been published on the Seven Day Cyclist website. But it gets better. A couple of years ago you may remember that I headed off down to London to meet up with one of the greats of cycle-touring literature, Mr Tim Moore. His publisher is a master of coming up with a catchy title for a book: French Revolutions, Gironimo, Vuelta Skelter to name but three. I wonder if a title such as ‘Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda’ would have ever got further than the trash can; I was once told by an important person in the publishing world that the title ‘Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie’ was one of the worst titles he had every seen! Anyway, I digress…

Le Grand Tour… En España, Part 3

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Does it ever worry you that you forget things that, really, you should remember? I’ve just had one of those moments. I searched CyclingEurope.org to see if I posted anything about an interview that did with Talk Radio Europe shortly before setting off on the 2015 cycle from Tarifa to Nordkapp. I was in southern Spain at the time and I went down to the studios of the radio station in Estepona for a chat about the upcoming trip. It’s not something that I seem to have recorded here on the webiste, not even in passing. Strange but there you go. My search did, however, reveal that back in late September 2011 I appeared on Talk Radio Europe to chat about my 2010 cycle to southern Italy. I have no recollection whatsoever of having done so but the proof is there. I did. You can listen to that interview from 13 years ago at the foot of this post.

Le Grand Tour: Moving On…

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It is fair to say that writing a book takes up a lot of time. It’s also equally fair to say that once the writing has finished, marketing a book also takes up a lot of time. This is my excuse for not having posted to the website or produced many episodes of the podcast in recent weeks and months. However, it’s now over a week since Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda was unleashed from my protective shackles and I’m hoping to begin to return to the life of a blogging, podcasting cyclist. As for the book, it is now at the mercy of those who choose to read it and, perhaps, review it. So far, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and I am very grateful to everyone who has posted on social media or messaged me or indeed written a formal online review. To all those who have done so, thank-you.

Le Grand Tour: The First Review Has Landed…

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As you may have noticed, Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda will be published on May 1st. It’s always a slightly worrying moment as your baby is let loose into the at-times-unforgiving world of literary criticism. I can only hope there are more reviews similar to the one that has just been published on Brian Palmer’s Washing Machine Post website. Brian’s full review can be read by following link below. Here is an extract.

Le Grand Tour On A Bike Called Wanda: Just Days To Go…

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It is only now a matter of days until three become four and the new book – Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda – is published. The date is May 1st although you can already pre-order the eBook from Amazon if you want to start reading at midnight on the 1st! The paperback isn’t available to pre-order but rest assured that will also be available from May 1st. Initially you’ll have to go via Amazon to get hold of the book but Apple Books will also have the book available on iTunes, hopefully from May 1st. And if you’d like a signed copy, keep reading as these should be dispatched this very weekend, several days before the official publication!

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 078 – Le Grand Tour On A Bike Called Wanda / Andrew P. Sykes

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In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, guest presenter Andrew Edwards chats to Andrew P. Sykes about his 2022 cycle around Europe and his new book – Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda – that is published on May 1st 2024.
“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.”

Covering All Bases: ‘Le Grand Tour … On A Bike Called Wanda’

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Secondary school teacher and inveterate would-be adventurer Andrew P. Sykes is back in the saddle. This time, however, it’s not the one belonging 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.]