Ridden the London to Brighton? Ready for a new challenge? How about cycling from London to Sydney, Australia? It'll take a lot of energy gels, but that's the proposition from Ride25, a cycle touring company for the very, very ambitious.
The Ride25 concept is to lead cyclists all the way from London to Australia via a combination of 25 stages that can be ridden at any time and in any sequence. Rings a bell? You may have spotted the Ride25 team pitch their plan on Dragons' Den last year (you can watch the clip here - warning: contains Peter Jones).
As the Dragons quickly spotted, a tour on this scale takes some epic planning. At present only four legs are on offer: London to Paris, Paris to Geneva, Geneva to Milan and Milan to Rome. Camaraderie and comfort are two of the company's priorities: they believe a good night's rest between days and good food and conversation on the day offset large distances and elevations.
The dates for the first four European legs are now open for booking, and offer beautiful riding through the UK, France, Switzerland and Italy. The routes skirt lakes, follow valleys and canals, cross picturesque countryside, climb mountains (the Alps, anyone?) and plenty more. Each day of each tour includes food (3 course dinners), snacks and mechanical support from the support vehicles, with riders rewarded each day by a comfortable bed in a nice hotel.
Average daily distances are upward of 80 miles with challenging elevation profiles, and stitching together two or three tours allows you to rack up total tour distances up to 1094 miles, depending on the combo.
If that sounds like something to tickle your fancy, check out this year's dates:
June:
● London to Paris, 9-12 June, 233 miles, daily averages 77 miles and 2300ft climb
● London to Geneva, 9-17 June, 584 miles, daily averages 84 miles and 5840ft climb
● Paris to Geneva, 13-17 June, 354 miles, daily averages 89 miles and 6980ft climb
August:
● Leeds to Paris, 31 Aug - 5 Sep, 420 miles, daily averages 84 miles and 4290ft climb
September:
● London to Paris, 2-5 September, info as above
● London to Geneva, 2-10 September, info as above
● London to Milan, 2-17 September, 934 miles, daily averages 85 miles and 5100ft climb
● London to Rome, 2-22 September, 1324 miles, daily averages 85 miles and 6290ft climb
● Paris to Geneva, 6-10 September, info as above
● Paris to Milan, 6-17 September, 704 miles, daily averages 88 miles and 6930ft climb
● Paris to Rome, 6-22 September, 1094 miles, daily averages 88 miles and 7210ft climb
● Geneva to Milan, 12-17 September, 350 miles, daily averages, 88 miles and 6540ft climb
● Geneva to Rome, 12-22 September, 740 miles, daily averages 88 miles and 6321ft climb
● Milan to Rome, 17-22 September, 390 miles, daily averages 86 miles and 7520 ft climb
For more info and to get started on your challenge, check out www.ride25.com.
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