The UK doesn’t make bike paths the same as they do in France!

[@SteveBrill]

Great video of some lovely English country scenes Darren. 😎 Also lovely to witness the bromance between you and Pete. 😂 You two would be the perfect riding companions. 👌 Don’t keep us waiting too long for more great rides in your bikes.

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thanks Steve, I don’t know if you are aware, but Pete works for me in Royal Mail. We do get stick for our friendship at work, but I don’t care! As he is just one of the nicest blokes you’ll ever meet, and I’m proud to call him my friend. I have the first shirt I’ve ever made coming out on Wednesday morning, followed by my misadventures with a Rottweiler next Sunday. After that, I still have to figure out what the next one will be still. But there will be one!

[@andrewranucci5349]

These backpacking videos are so good. You have such a gift in knowing how to keep them really interesting and your music choices are gold. It's a huge effort. Well done mate.

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thanks Andrew, I do love bikepacking, there is just something so special about travelling with a bike and carrying everything you need. I really appreciate your comment, I put a lot of time into making these videos and choosing the music, so it’s great to know it is noticed.

[@andrewranucci5349]

In my 20’s I did a 3 week cycle tour around the island of Tasmania and I still carry so many good memories of that trip. Then with marriage, work, kids life got busy… Looking forward to getting back to some touring/bike packing. Keep up the great work mate, it’s wonderful to see that your motivation for cycling has been truly resurrected!

[@bobmunday4542]

Loved the videos, nice to see you back on the bike, looking forward to the next adventure 😀 thanks for sharing 👍

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thanks Bob, it’ll become a little easier, once Cooper goes to Guide Dog school in October. But I’ve made a couple of videos, which will be out shortly.

[@davida7619]

Excellent, well done, enjoyed watching 👍

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thank you David!

[@katherinesmith1370]

What a great video series of your trip to France. Thanks Darren and especially Pete for making us smile! An epic adventure in a lovely part of France. Apart from the skinned knee glad you had a safe trip! 😉

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thank you, it was an awesome week with the best company. I still can’t figure out how he got all his stuff in his bags though! Just when you think you’ve seen everything, he produces a pack of biscuits from nowhere!

[@lewiswalker7803]

Fantastic series lads, well done!! 👏🏽

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thanks Lewis, bikepacking opens up a world of possible trips! It’s such an enjoyable way to travel and enjoy riding your bike.

[@andybance7546]

Brilliant series of videos, Darren. Great work on the bike, the camera and the editing! Well done 👍

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thanks Andy, a lot does go into making these videos, but I really enjoy the process and making something at the end I’m proud of. I’m glad you enjoyed the series. I really enjoyed the trip and it was good to be back on a bike after my struggles getting out this year.

[@8259lv]

Super videos really enjoyed watching both of you! Thank you and hopefully you’ll both go on another adventure soon. 😊

[@DarrenPhillips]

I’m already planning my next adventure, although I think Pete has already got plans for next year. But if we can, I’m sure we will. Thank you for watching!

[@bonzobanana1]

Very enjoyable videos and Pete seems such a genuine decent bloke and friend. I guess I would have liked to have known more about the bikes, their age and their spec and how they faired for the trip overall. It looked like the Trek was a recent bike but the Ridgeback looked quite old.

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thank you, I can only really speak for my Trek Domane. Which has pretty much featured in all my videos, since I bought it. I absolutely love it, it’s the most comfortable bike I’ve ever ridden and just so enjoyable to ride. Despite the varying terrain, it just handles it all really well, as it has built in Isospeed, which is a kind of suspension to help smooth out the roads. It handles really well, even with all the weight of the bags. I’m running Hunt Aero 35 carbon wheels and 30mm Conti GP5000 tyres. I think it’s the 2021 model of the Domane, so it’s a few years old now. I’ve asked Pete to comment on his bike, as I know he loves how comfortable it is, but the brakes need updating. I think he has cantilever brakes, or something similar. Also, Pete is just like that in real life. He really is the nicest person you’ll ever meet!

[@YuMiGO2023]

Can you explain fizzy fish, it sounds like a nasty soft drink 😝 The last couple minutes were a nice wrap up 👍🏻

[@DarrenPhillips]

😂 They are sweets, fish shaped jelly candy, covered in a fizzy sugar. They were cheaper in the shop than the Haribo! Thanks Wayne!

[@YuMiGO2023]

@@DarrenPhillips Ahh, I understand. Similar to the jelly bears people like for energy boosts.

[@jonfarcher]

Really enjoyed this series and its definitely gone on my ever expanding list of rides to do. Hopefully somewhere near the top though. Thanks for sharing your journey 👍

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thanks Jon, you’re very welcome. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t recommend it highly enough. Eurovelo 1 next!

[@jonfarcher]

@@DarrenPhillips I’ll look forward to seeing that one then.

[@jonathangreen7111]

Enjoyed watching the whole trip, thanks. Did you plot the route on Komoot?

[@DarrenPhillips]

Thank you Jonathan. Yes, I plot everything on Komoot, I’m a huge fan of the app. It has the campsites in the search as well as all the Eurovelo routes. I’ve just figured out though, that I didn’t need to create the individual stages, as I could have just plotted Roscoff to Cherbourg and done it as a tour. It would have then split the days into how far you want to ride each day. Which I’ve just done plotting the EV1 route tour, I’d like to do next. I spend hours plotting rides and have over 100 saved. This was oddly one of the oldest I’d planned. As it was initially an idea pre Covid, so sat there for a few years. I think my next oldest is the NC500. So one day!!