Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda

by Andrew P. Sykes

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 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.[ This adventure also contains trains.]“I love, love, love the humour” Helen Moat, travel writer“Engaging, witty and pacy"Steve Silk, journalist and travel writer“Interesting, intriguing, humorous and well-written” Brian Palmer, The Washing Machine PostFrom the author Europe on a Bike Called ReggieAlong The Med on a Bike Called ReggieSpain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie

374 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2024

About the author

Andrew P. Sykes was born and grew up in the small town of Elland, in the foothills of the Pennines in West Yorkshire and he studied for a degree in mathematics at the University of York.

Following a period of time working in London and then France, he returned to the UK in 1999 to train as a secondary school teacher of French at the University of Reading. He taught in Berkshire and Oxfordshire for 15 years before taking a career break in 2015 to learn some Spanish, cycle from Tarifa in Spain to Nordkapp in Norway and move back to live in Yorkshire. He now teaches at the same school that he attended as a pupil during the 1980s.

Since 2009 he has been travelling long distances on his bicycles: first Reggie, now Wanda (with Ronnie taking up the slack on the shorter commutes to work).

He has written four books about travelling Europe:

- Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie (2011)

- Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie (2014)

- Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie (2017)

- Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda (2024)

Andrew also produces a podcast, The Cycling Europe Podcast, that can be heard across all major podcast platforms. He has made a number of films about his cycling journeys and they can all be watched online at YouTube. He is also present on social media @CyclingEurope.

Andrew regularly gives talks about his travels. If you would like him to speak at your event, please get in touch. His contact details can be found on his website.