The first big ride abroad was the 2008 journey from Calais to Montpelier in the South of France - undertaken with Jon and detailed on the www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk website, and our book Wine-ding Down Through France.

Starting in 2012 I organised overseas trips with groups of members from Heart of England Cycling Club (CTC-Heart of England prior to 2015) - this is just a quick list, I may add more detail and photographs in due course:
 

2012

- Eurotunnel Bike service and ride to Ypres with tours of the WWI sites on the "Peace Trail" cycle route - 7 members
The story as a .pdf document (opens in a new window, close window to return here)  CLICK HERE

2013

- Eurotunnel Bike service and hired coach with bike trailer to the Loire Valley staying at two centres and then riding via Orleans into Paris and the Eurostar train ride to London - 13 members
The story as a .pdf document (opens in a new window, close window to return here)  CLICK HERE

2014

- Eurotunnel Bike service and a reprise of my ride with Jon in 2008 from Calais to Montpelier, travelling back on the European Bike Express bus service - 5 members (I should have been riding but I was seriously ill and unable to go)

2015

- Eurostar train to Paris and then TGV to Metz to ride along the Moselle to Koblenz, via Luxembourg, and then along the Rhine to Koln before turning left to cross Holland and finish in Belgium for the Eurostar train ride to London from Brussels - 8 members.

2016

- Eurotunnel Bike service and a reprise of the Ypres ride, adding Ghent and Bruges on the way back to Calais - 11 members

2017

- ferry from Portsmouth to Caen and then riding along the coast to Calais and the Eurotunnel Bike service to Folkestone - 11 members

2018

- ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo and riding in a large loop around the Cherbourg peninisula to the ferry at Caen - 9 members

2019

- ferry from Portsmouth to Caen, hired van for the bikes and train to Tours for stays at two centres in the Loire Valley ending at Angers (Tour of the Cointreau factory) and train/van back to Caen and the ferry - 10 members

2020

- the one that got away . . . . the plan was ferry to St Malo and then ride/part train to the area around St Nazaire for stays at two centres - 10 members.   [The Covid pandemic forced cancellation]

2021

- provisonal plan to do what we planned for 2020 . . . but who knows?