Le Grand Tour - Part 4 - The Rhine Cycle Route (EuroVelo 15)

On July 3rd 2022 I set off from The Hook of Holland in The Netherlands, turned right and pedalled off in the direction of France. It was an anti-clockwise tour of the continent; the EuroVelo 12 along the Belgian coast, the EuroVelo 4 to Dieppe, L’Avenue Verte to Paris, La Véloscénie to Mont St Michel before rejoining the EuroVelo 4 to Morlaix, the EuroVelo 1 / Vélodyssée to Royan, the Canal de la Garonne to Toulouse, the Canal du Midi to Sète, the EuroVelo 17 beside the Rhône to Andermatt in Switzerland and finally the EuroVelo 15 / Rhine Cycle Route back to The Hook of Holland and the return ferry to Hull on September 3rd.
The film comes in four parts and this is the final part of that film that tells the story of the cycle from Andermatt in the Swiss Alps along the route of the Rhine to The Hook of Holland in The Netherlands.
Filmed entirely on location in Switzerland, France, Germany and The Netherlands, the audio extracts are taken from episode 59 of The Cycling Europe Podcast and the music is written and performed by Rob Ainsley.
More details about the journey and the podcasts can be found at CyclingEurope.org/LeGrandTour

[@freewheelandive]

Thank you Andrew for the excellent photography, sensible inclusion of the Euro Velo signage and piste conditions and your calm and logical sharing of what is after all a vacation. I found it very educative so thanks.🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks Dave. It was a pleasure! :-)

[@MrJepo100]

you sound like my dad's best friend, weirdly comforting

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Err… Thanks? I’ll take that as a compliment :-)

[@daveanderson7304]

Really wonderful videos. Very well done. I am looking forward to retirement, soon, to enjoy longer tours. Greetings from Oregon, USA.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks Dave. Your feedback is very much appreciated. May your retirement be long and active! Best wishes from Yorkshire, England.

[@colinwellman9480]

Thanks for sharing your journey Andrew, I'd already listened to the podcasts and the film is a real bonus. I've taken advantage of the offer on a Kindle book of one of your earlier tours. I'm hoping it will be just as enjoyable as Le G'and Tour.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks Colin. Your positive feedback is much appreciated. Hope you enjoy the books. The Grand Tour book should be out at some point in the spring... :-)

[@davidcollier6520]

Many thanks for producing this very information set of videos, I watched all 4 and learned something from each one. I have rarely cycled in France and was surprised how good the infrastructure was. They are very nicely made and I really enjoyed them.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks David. Delighted you enjoyed the films and that they have hopefully inspired you to seek out your own routes in France :-)

[@davidcollier6520]

@@CyclingEuropeKZbin Oh yes, and I like your gentle political comments e.g. the time check from 7th July for the resignation. Joking aside, they have all made extended recreational cycling around Europe a lot harder ... and a lot of other things too.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

@@davidcollier6520 They have indeed...

[@easterlake]

excellent video! I live in the U.S. and am recently retired. I am flying to Amsterdam in late April to first spend a week enjoying the area during Tulip time. I will then take the train to get as close to the source of the Rhine as I can, then ride back to the Hook of Holland. A major undertaking for me . Videos like yours help take away some of the "unknowns" Thanks!!!

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Hi Luna. Many thanks for the kind comments. Much appreciated. Hope your trip along the Rhine goes well! 😃

[@ljd8520]

How did it go ?

[@mixflix2874]

Particularly like this video because i have it in my mind to do the eurovelo 15 rhine route. Possibly next year but staying in hotels lol not into camping. Nice set of videos .

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks. Good luck with your own trip!

[@clarkdenby7089]

What a beautiful set of films. Excellent storytelling. Love following your journeys

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks Clark - your comments are much appreciated :-)

[@markjthomson]

What an excellent wee loop. Great combination of footage and commentary. nicely done.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks Mark. Delighted you enjoyed the trip!

[@davidharris4062]

All four parts were brilliant 👍

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks David. Your comments are much appreciated :-)

[@chrisstoker3377]

One of my all time favourite KZbin videos (all four parts) - wonderful content, thank you so much for taking the trouble to film your journey and share it - epic stuff!

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks for the very positive feedback Chris. It's much appreciated! Delighted you enjoyed the videos :-)

[@kevinw7044]

Great stuff, I think I will have to watch this series again. Subscription is a must.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks Kevin. Your comments are much appreciated :-) Have you watched the Outer Hebrides film?

[@kevinw7044]

I will be watching the Outer Hebrides very soon.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

@@kevinw7044 Thanks :-) (And don’t forget the Way of the Roses!!!)

[@Martin-on2pp]

Great video! My wife and I want to cycle this route next year. Starting in Arnhem or Nijmegen and than all the way to the Oberalppass. And camping off course, and a hotel from time to time. Greating fom the other side of the North-Sea👍🇳🇱🚴‍♀️

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks. I hope you have a great trip 😃🚴‍♂️

[@jdijkshoorn6975]

Thanks for sharing, beautifully done!

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks for the positive feedback. Delighted you enjoyed the films! :-)

[@paddyducey8328]

Another calming and interesting film of your final part of the Grand Tour

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Hi Paddy. Thanks for the positive feedback. Delighted you've enjoyed the films :-)

[@ljd8520]

Just planning a cycle from Hook of Holland to Konstanz starting April 28th .a mere 800 km . Wish me luck.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Good luck! Hope the weather is kind :-)

[@bobhardy128]

Very enjoyable videos Andy! Grand tour on a bike called Wanda! We met in Prestbury on Saturday!

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks for the positive feedback Bob. Much appreciated. However… I don’t think it was me who you met in Prestbury on Saturday. I had a quiet weekend at home… Another Andrew perhaps? :-)

[@bobhardy128]

Andrew Sykes?

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

@@bobhardy128 Yes, but not the one you met :-)

[@peterlindsay8235]

Hi Andrew, I am also thinking I may need to include some fast forwards on my ride to keep to my overly optimistic ride plan. Can I please ask what train company you used and if you had to prebook your bike? I liked the fact that you didn’t have to unload or box your bike. I will be heading in the same direction having crossed France to Mulhouse on EV6

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks for the comments / questions Peter. The trains were very easy to use. The secret is to avoid using high-speed trains (TGV etc...) as these are always problematic. Medium-distance regional trains are the way to go. In France these are the TER trains of the SNCF and there are equivalent trains in all the other countries. Unlike in Britain where the train network has been fragmented and made very complicated, in most other European countries the network remains in tact and one app on your phone will cover all of the trains in your chosen country. France: SNCF / Germany: DB (Deutsch Bahn) / Switzerland: SBB etc... Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip! :-)

[@glennnutting1785]

How much of this route is paved? Will be there in a few weeks and trying to figure if my road bike can handle it. Thanks!

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Hi Glenn. Most of it is paved. I think you'd be OK on a road bike although there are sections where you might prefer to have something a little thicker on wheels. I remember some cobbles and farmers' tracks which were slabs of concrete that had a ridge every couple of metre. Watching the video should give a good idea of what the surface is like. Also check the EuroVelo 15 website as that gives information on road surface quality, I think. Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip :-)

[@glennnutting1785]

@@CyclingEuropeKZbin Sounds good. Appreciate the help. Great work on the videos and podcast as well. Thanks

[@dooley-ch]

Don't know what the hell you were doing in Basel, but there are definitely elevators on ALL of the platform, have been for several years.

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Have you considered that even Swiss elevators break down?

[@paulstubbs5032]

hi enjoyed the video,looking to do this in June,what guide were you following(book)?,,,do you have to use the ferries?

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

Thanks Paul. For this section - the Rhine - I had the Cicerone guide but it’s an easy route to follow as it follows the river (usually) and is well signposted. The ferries on Lake Constance / the Bodensee? No… I met a friend in Breganz and I drank too much beer so I took the ferry to Konstance instead of cycling. My bad! :-)

[@paulstubbs5032]

Thanks for the reply,,all the eurovelo 15 vlogs I've watched have people using the ferries,,

[@CyclingEuropeYouTube]

@@paulstubbs5032 The Bodensee ferries?

[@paulstubbs5032]

Not sure which ferries,,