Goal

And so it’s time for the Summer 2026 tour. After considering Spain, France rose to top of the pile - good roads, good weather, some iconic climbs and relatively easy to get to from Cardiff once I bridged down to the south coast for a ferry port.

How did it go?

It was spectacular - everything I hoped for and more. France is a dream to cycle through - not because the drivers are better (because they are not) but because you can route through deserted D-xx roads where you are the only traffic. Or get onto a dedicated cycleway that runs for 50km in the direction you need to go. The weather was glorious - an hour of rain each of the first 4 days in France, then a mini-heatwave.. Not withstanding some very dodgy brakes, the bike held up well. Just one puncture which failed to seal so I had to put in a tube - nothing else.

France tour map — Figure 1. 17 segments to get from Cardiff to Marseille.

France tour map elevation — Figure 1. Elevation to get from Cardiff to Marseille. Note the Mt Ventoux climbs in the last quarter!

Here’s the interactive version generated by the Python code - click on the stars to see day-by-day stats..

17-Day Ride Summary

Day	Distance_km	Time_h	AvgSpeed_kmh	Calories	Elevation_m
1	110.159	4.37766	25.1638	2428	903
2	123.841	4.83427	25.6173	2829	1024
3	125.041	5.12736	24.3871	2789	713
4	126.462	4.72023	26.7915	3015	1267
5	99.7562	3.83853	25.9881	2169	702
6	107.662	4.14295	25.9869	2144	347
7	132.391	5.11967	25.8593	3025	462
8	87.2415	3.39226	25.7178	2074	355
9	122.854	4.6074	26.6645	2999	792
10	125.515	5.0888	24.6649	2881	988
11	73.1984	2.95506	24.7705	1416	204
12	86.0449	3.39758	25.3254	2030	199
13	49.9336	2.10317	23.7421	1153	398
14	28.5901	1.19436	23.9376	735	351
15	103.279	6.19567	16.6696	4131	3391
16	53.2573	2.10969	25.2441	924	103
17	92.2416	3.87759	23.7884	1890	716

Day 1: Cardiff - Beckington

Day 1 Strava link

First day of the tour was the last day of a scorching heatwave for the UK. My goal today was Beckington, a pretty little town about halfway between Cardiff and Portsmouth.

After a lot of faffing at the house including going back in and checking everything was off 3 times, rolled out of Cardiff on the Newport road and onto the A48. Made good progress and got some nasty close passes in and Newport - probably coke heads and drunks just going about their business knowing Newport. Once over the Severn bridge I had to tack south and negotiate Bristol which had a big road closure but actually the traffic itself was ok. Through some gloriously cool tunnels on the Bristol - Bath old railway line and then busier roads to Beckington - the A36 and A38 I think. Encountered a few wanker drivers here too, but not as close as Newport. Get to the hotel in good time and have a nice chicken katsu curry for dinner. Day 1 in the bag and we’re up and running.

Day 2: Beckington - Portsmouth

Day 2 Strava link

Day 2 is already 10 degrees cooler - 34 down to 24 which is a perfect temp. The direct route to Portsmouth is a very fast and busy A-road with a healthy quotient of knobhead drivers so the order of the day is country lanes to the east and west of the direct southerly route, but always trending south. Get to Portsmouth and stop at a Screwfix to buy a hi-vis vest because (a) the checkin email said I needed it, and (b) Irish Ferries almost took my bike off me last year without it. At check-in the guy has no information whatsoever about hi-vis vests and told me I shouldn’t have bothered. About an hour wait to board, got some good photos of Royal Navy T45 destroyers and one of the aircraft carriers tied up. Then all the car alarms went off and I could hear them from my cabin. That’s the last thing I remember - woke up 6 hours later, best ferry crossing I’ve had in years!

Day 3: Saint Malo - Notre-Dame-du-Touchet (Mortain Bocage)

Day 3 Strava link

Didn’t get breakfast onboard, so stopped at a Lidl to replenish and then again at a cafe for a morning coffee. Straight out the gate, the roads are better than the UK. I wouldn’t necessarily say the drivers are though. All this talk about french drivers loving and respecting cyclists is merde. I’m tootling along the polders east of St Malo when I start seeing road signage for Mont St Michel which rings a bell. After a quick search I immediately recognise the iconic silhouette and immediately come off my route to get there. Didn’t realise I’d be so close to it! The tide is out so I can cycle right up to it and get a great photograph. Stopped close by to have a nice pepperoni pizza and coke + coffee - a staple. The day gets quite warm in the afternoon and my chambre d’hote has a nice swimming pool to cool down in, but not before I sit on the bed and collapse it - and I’ve been watching my diet for this trip and all!