London to Venice

When you are undertaking a 1000 mile bike ride that takes in Paris, Lake Constance, a crossing of the Alps and Lake Garda you need suitably iconic book-ends and they don’t come more iconic than these two. A more varied trip would be hard to find:

Starting at the London Eye we follow our tried and tested ‘London to Paris’ route, then head across the wonderful farmlands of central France to Basel and the Swiss border. From there we hop between Switzerland, Germany and Austria as we follow the Rhine into and then out of Lake Constance. Finally we must cross over the mighty Alps but, while inevitably this is demanding riding, the climbs are manageable if taken slowly and you will be glad that the support vehicle is there to haul the bags and re-fill water bottles. We spend our final night in Mestre, just off Venice Island (where bicycles are not allowed!) and you may wish to consider extending your stay by a day or two to take in the sights.

You should only consider this trip if you are strong, fit and intend to cycle regularly in the months prior to departure. Average daily mileage is 65 but there are some longer (though very flat) days. In the Alps you will climb as much as 8,500 feet in a day