4 Days - 258 Miles

Heading 6

Join Adventure Velo on an amazing tour through 3 countries - Cycling through French, Belgium and Netherlands coastline and countryside. Overnight stops include Bruges, Ghent and Wervik.

The 3 night, 4 day tour is fully supported by the AV team with Crew van to carry luggage and tired riders, plus 2 guides making sure everyone stays on track - add in great routes, accommodation and food for the perfect cycling adventure!

ITINERARY

DAY 1 - After arriving at Dover Cyclists will be met by a member of the AV team who will guide you through check in and onto the Ferry. Once on the ferry riders will make their way to the Premier lounge for food, drinks and an Adventure Velo briefing.

Day 1's ride takes us from Dunkirk to Bruges - 65 miles and 600ft of elevation. Marvel at the Tall ships at Dunkirk, enjoy a coffee or first Beer of the day as we cross the French/Belgium border. Lunch stop in Nieuwpoort before heading along the coast to Oosteede, we then head inland towards our night stop Bruges. The first nights accommodation is a lovely 4* hotel within walking distance to Bruges centre. Rooms are twin rooms with breakfast included.

DAY 2 - After a restful night and hearty breakfast we head out onto day 2. Today we ride 66 miles and 525ft of elevation. Tonight's stop is the wonderful town of Ghent. As we leave Bruges we cycle along the beautiful Brugge-Oostende Canal - a beautiful tree lined waterway with many traditional windmills. We cycle through the beautiful town of Damme. After ten miles we cross the border into Holland, heading towards the coast and Breskens Haven - an ideal coffee stop. We follow the coast to Ternauzen before heading back inland towards Ghent following the Ghent-Ternauzen Canal. At 46 miles we cross back over the border into Belgium. We pass through the towns of Desteldonk, Oostakker and Sint Amandsberg before crossing the Handelsdok into Ghent. We follow the canal into the centre of Ghent past Het Gravensteen one of the largest moated castles in Europe before reaching our nights accommodation. Tonight's accommodation is a 3 star boutique hotel in the centre of Ghent. Rooms are on a twin basis - breakfast is included. Whilst in Ghent why not try paddle boarding on one of the many canals?

Day 3 - After breakfast we shall return for our bikes and hit the road. Todays ride is 62 miles and 800ft of elevation. We are riding from Ghent to Wervik including sections of the famous Paris - Roubaix!

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As we head out of Ghent we head out along the Scheldt passing through the Reytmeersen where you can see grazing Galloway cattle and Konik Horses - its not your everyday experience. At 20 miles we reach the town of Oudenaarde - an ideal coffee stop and the home of the 'Centrum Ronde Van Vlaanderen' - The Flanders tour cycling museum. We cycle through the Domein van Bourgogne - park and arboretum and the ruins of Chateau de la Royere. As we pass through Sally-lez-lannoy we reach the highlight of the day, the Paves

Paris Roubaix, including section 2 - Willems Hem and The Espace Charles Crupelandt - named after the 1912 and 1914 winner who was from Roubaix. We ride up the Chemin Des Geants - Road of the Giants after all the race winners and into the Original Velodrome. If we are lucky we may be able to do a lap or 2!

After the excitement of the Velodrome we are only a short distance from our nights stop - we head out of Roubaix and onto our nights stop in Wervik.

Tonight we are staying in a country lodge - a home cooked group meal will be served at the hotel ( additional fee) - we will also have a home cooked breakfast before we hit the road on day 4.

Day 4 - Our final day! Today we criss cross between Belgium and France as we cycle 55 miles and 725ft from Wervik back to Dunkirk. We cycle out of Lille through Quesnoy-sur-Deule along the Deule River to Deulemont where we cross the border into Belgium. We then follow the river crossing from Belgium into France and back again 5 times in the space of 2 miles! We then cross the border into Belgium (and stay there) at the town of Comines with its impressive market square. We follow the Leperkornen Canal past Hellebeke and into the city

of Ypres. Ypres is the third city of Flanders behind Ghent and Bruges. Ypres is a great opportunity to have an explore and grab some lunch. We then head across country back into France, passing through Elverdinge, Woesten and the beautiful city of Bergues - where the film 'Welcome to the Sticks was filmed. We follow the Canal De Bergues back to Dunkirk ready for our evening ferry. Once at the ferry port you will once again be guided through check in and onto the ferry. On the return journey you will have time to explore the ferry before arriving in Dover and your onward journeys.

RIDER EXPECTATIONS

WHATS INCLUDED

Return ferry crossing from Dover to Dunkirk.
Premium lounge on the ferry ( including tea/coffee/snacks).
3 nights accommodation in 3/4 star hotels.
3 breakfasts.
Selection of ride snacks and drinks.
Support vehicle for luggage and tired riders.
GPX files of the routes.
Support and encouragement whilst on the ride.
2 Adventure Velo guides to show you the way.
Lunch on day 4.
Full tour profile.
Tour medal

EXCLUSIONS

You will notice that lunch and dinner is not included. Everybody likes different things to eat while riding, we find it easier to make recommendations and then everyone can choose. Similarly in the evenings we like to let everyone enjoy the nights stops as they wish. We of course have our favourite places to eat and you are more than welcome to join us!

It is the riders responsibility to get to and from Dover - we can recommend parking and accommodation if needed the night before.

You will need your own bike. You will be boarding the ferry as a foot passenger with your bike - ideally a gravel bike or road bike with chunkier tyres.

You will need to provide your own travel insurance for the trip

RIDER EXPECTATIONS

Please be aware departure from Dover is early on the 16th May - 6am so overnight accommodation will be needed in Dover the night before unless you live close by. The return ferry on 19th May is 6pm - however there is an option for an earlier ferry if we arrive in time.

Full instructions will be given on the best Dover Hotel, parking and meeting points. A full interactive tour guide is provided nearer to departure.

Please note we class this ride as an easy ride due to its flat nature HOWEVER there is a lot of ground to cover each day (60-70 miles) therefore you must be comfortable for long days in the saddle. We ask riders to be able to cover an average of 12 MPH - some sections will be slower below 12 and some sections faster above 12 but an average of 12 MPH is expected.

The route covers a mix of terrain - roads, cycle paths, canals paths and forrest trails ( non technical) we there for recommend a slightly larger tyres with a bit of bobble and not skinny 23/25's.

Rooms are allocated on a Twin basis - if you are travelling alone you will be paired with another rider of the same sex.

COSTS

We like to keep our tour sizes low so everyone can have the best experience possible. This tour is limited to 14 spaces - Total cost for the tour is £800PP based on a twin room ( if you are travelling alone you will be paired with another rider) Single rooms are available at a supplement.

If you would like to book a space on this amazing tour please hit book now below. We require a £150 non refundable deposit ( would be refunded if trip does not run) at the time of booking. The balance is then due 60 days before departure. Please pay attention to our terms and conditions at checkout!

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