After what seemed like two solid months of rain to kick off 2026, the clouds have finally parted and the UK has been graced with warmer and clearer weather. Of course none of the potholes have been fixed – some of them are now truly massive with the flooding. Some of the lanes which literally washed away are getting repaired, although that means they’ll be open to cars as well as bikes which is something of a double edge sword. Anyhow, with milder weather now here, the mind turns to cycling adventures once again. Albeit on a fairly modest scale for this year.
What the heck is RRR?
Last year’s ride to Munich was originally planned to involve riding home along pretty much the entire length of the Rhein river path. But when plans changed, the Rhein section got shortened to the stretch from Strasbourg south. Admittedly, that is probably the loveliest section of the route, but it does leave the rest as unfinished business. Well, most of the rest, anyway. I did do a short stretch on TCR too. So RRR is this year’s tour – Rest of the Rhein Route.
Before you leap in and tell me I’ll be riding a ton of boring industrial bits in the north, I fully realise that. But urban and industrial activity and decay isn’t necessarily something I find boring, especially with a film camera in hand. Something I plan to try again this year even though last year it barely got used. I’ve shortened the daily distances on many stretches, especially early on, which hopefully will yield more off bike time to take in the surroundings.
Better still, it looks like buddy Christopher from Munich may even join me for the earlier stretches. In fact I replanned the first day to make that more possible, and also to divert to a gorgeous looking Alsace town called Colmar which Christoper had recommended last year but was too much off route for me. I guess in the back of my mind was the notion that riding right through it might be tempting enough to tip the scales for him being able to join. But the bigger part is that having looked into it more I am really excited to visit. And the bonus is it makes for a much nicer arrival day. With flights altered to arrive late morning, barring any flight issues or damage to the bike, I can build it all up and have a gentle afternoon ride of around 75km.
So here’s a peak at the route for this June:
Fly out, ride and ferry back, with the only bit which doesn’t really grab me being the ride back across London and out to Gatwick to pick up the car. But maybe that part will be better than I’m imagining
Didn’t you say you were done with TCR?
Yep, I did. And I (probably) still am – from a riding perspective anyway. But when the “volunteers” email landed in my inbox a few week’s back it caught my attention. Possibly because buddy Nico had mentioned how much fun it was having an allocated set of riders to follow as an “official dot watcher”. So, since I’ll be at my desk working those two weeks anyway, I applied. And the following email popped up a short while after:
So, having done my own tour I’ll also get to dot watch and cheer on a bunch of TCR aspirants as they set off on their own adventures. And I would be lying if I said there was no chance ever of me entering again. One aspect (maybe even a downside) of finishing NC4K is I now have a much clearer picture of how a TCR finish could be achieved even at my snail’s pace. It wouldn’t be within GC, but with fair winds it could be a finish. I think the only thing that would actually lure me back though would be a return to one of the “classic” routes e.g. either a start or finish in Geraardsbergen. The more recent variations have so far failed to entice me.
Beyond?
Ah well, there lies the greater uncertainties. One thing that has really caught my imagination though is Tour Aotearoa. Although in true Robbie Walker fashion, potentially with a twist. The North Island leg looks amazing, but the South Island part seems a bit too much busy highway (one 400km stretch especially). That was my least favourite aspect of the few parts of NC4K. But …. whilst studying the maps I spotted another South Island option called Sounds to Sounds. I’m not sure if they were trying to put people off in one of the descriptions which said something along the lines of “more remote, with longer distances between resupply and more rugged terrain“. But that just made it seem more appealing to me.
Realistically, all of the above is likely to have to wait until Ben finishes A levels i.e. 2028. Which handily leaves the door open to other adventures next year. If not TCR then I have a killer route idea which involves no plane travel at all. Cycle to Plymouth, ferry to Santander, ride EV1 up the west coast of France back to Roscoff on the French coast, and then ferry back to Plymouth again (or maybe Poole). Has the makings of a properly “grand tour” – I’m already getting excited about the idea just typing it out now.