Freewheeling France blog about cycling in France

The official Tour de France race guide ALWAYS SELLS OUT. It has all the info you need to follow the Tour de France. Here is how to find it. • Apr 02, 2025

France cycling holidays planning advice. Tours, bike hire, luggage transfers and accommodation. Need help? This page is for you. • Feb 27, 2025

I've launched a 'bespoke' bike hire service to help you find bike rental in France. Here's how I can help you. • Oct 08, 2024

AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW! The official Tour de France 2024 race program and guide includes all the route maps for each stage, plus stage start and end times, and team and rider profiles. • May 20, 2024

So you want to ride Ventoux? If you need a little support, I'm now offering a bespoke service to help you arrange your Ventoux cycling holiday. Here's how I can help. • Nov 01, 2023

Some years after it was published, France en Velo: The Ultimate Cycle Journey from Channel to Med remains an ideal route-planner. • May 03, 2023

The Pyrenees offers some of the best cycling in France. This lovely cyclist-owned house is looking for a new owner – it could be you! • May 03, 2023

The official Tour de France 2023 race guide and program includes route maps, stage times, maps and rider profiles. • Apr 18, 2023

Need help arranging your Provence cycling holiday? Maybe you need luggage transfers or route-planning advice? Then this page is for you. • Mar 06, 2023

The annual La Montée du Géant du Tourmalet event has been cancelled for 2022. • May 06, 2022

The Official Tour de France 2022 program and race guide includes stage times and maps. Here is where to buy it. • May 02, 2022

The Mai à vélo website has launched to boost cycling in France during the month of May. • May 01, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic and cycling in France - the latest guidance and local advice. • Apr 21, 2022

How to make your French campsite, hotel, B&B, or gite accommodation business cycle-friendly • Jan 20, 2022

France is a best explored by bike – and cycling isn't about fitness anymore. With e-bikes, choose your own adventure regardless of the terrain or your ability. • Jun 30, 2021

The Official Tour de France 2021 program and race guide includes stage times and maps. Here is where to buy it. • Apr 30, 2021

The Nature Is Bike Festival, organised by the bike-friendly city of Angers in the Loire, is designed to put the marriage of cycling and nature front and centre. • Mar 01, 2021

A lockdown sort out prompted Bob Zeller to rediscover some of his treasured cycling books and memories. • Jan 19, 2021

Regular readers will know we're not ones to brag at Freewheeling France, but cut me some slack just this once. • Jan 19, 2021

It's a bad time for the travel industry – here are a few ways you can help support independent businesses that offer the best service. • Nov 19, 2020

An amusing and instructive look at cycling with a young baby in the Dordogne more than 40 years ago. • Nov 16, 2020

What type of pedals do you prefer? Bob Zeller sings the praises of his tried and tested toe clips. • Nov 13, 2020

The perfect storm is brewing for cycling in Paris, with the coronavirus and concerns over air pollution combining to boost cycle commuting. • Jul 31, 2020

The Official Tour de France 2020 guide includes stage times and maps. Here is where you will be able to get it. • Jul 06, 2020

The French government has announced a €20 million cash injection to boost cycling as the country comes out of its COVID-19 lockdown. • Apr 30, 2020

The London to Paris bike route is one of France's busiest. Now, one of its most popular B&Bs is up for sale. I caught up with current owner Madeleine to find out more. • Mar 01, 2020

Looking for a cycling holiday in Corsica? Let me help you sort it – just send me your wishlist! • Jan 05, 2020

Riding the 2020 Étape du Tour? Here is everything you need to know to enter, enjoy – and survive – the most famous sportive in the world. • Oct 14, 2019

Information on a website for French, Dutch and German cycling guidebooks and maps. • Sep 04, 2019

An overview of the Tour du Limousin, which takes place across the region August 21-24, 2019. • Jul 29, 2019

Reader Q&A: Steve emailed to ask about bike rental in the Dordogne for a week-long cycling holiday. • Jun 02, 2019

The very excellent online Stanfords Travel bookshop is having a sale on all things French, including cycling maps. • May 20, 2019

What you need to know about riding French cycling hero Thomas Voeckler's Alpine sportive in Morzine. • May 13, 2019

If you fancy tackling a cycling sportive in France then our calendar is the place to find the one for you. • May 11, 2019

La Limousine André Dufraisse is an annual sportive based around the city of Limoges. • May 10, 2019

The Official Tour de France guide has all the info you need to follow the Tour, including stage times and maps. Here is where to get it. • May 09, 2019

La Périgordine is an annual sportive in the Montignac-Lascaux area of the Dordogne.. • May 08, 2019

The Oisans Col Series is an annual event at that closes roads to cars to allow cyclists to ride cols like Alpe d'Huez on traffic-free roads. • May 08, 2019

The Flower Campings network of independent campsites is a good place to start for family friendly pitches and self-catering cabins. • Apr 02, 2019

Here is the calendar of randonnées and sportives planned for the Gironde department for 2019. • Apr 01, 2019

Reader Q&A: Donna wrote to ask if there was anywhere to store bike boxes at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. • Mar 22, 2019

The Meuse Cycle Route – one of France's newest bike routes – has won EuroVelo 19 status. • Mar 14, 2019

There is now an English-language guidebook from a mainstream publisher for cycling the Canal de Garonne from Bordeaux to Toulouse. • Feb 09, 2019

I thought I'd post a short blog with some quick tips on finding French trains that take bikes. • Jan 20, 2019

Funding for a bold cycling strategy in France is aimed at getting more French people onto their bikes. • Oct 02, 2018

Guidebooks for cycling the Tour de Manche bike route linking the UK to France are available from French publishers Iterance Velo. • Sep 25, 2018

Outdoor publishing specialists Cicerone have released a new guidebook for cycling the Loire bike route from the Massif Central to the Atlantic coast. Bob Zeller has this review. • Aug 10, 2018

How to get the train from Paris to Le Puy with bicycles for the French Camino. • Aug 09, 2018

The roads around Alpe d'Huez will be turned over to cyclists every Tuesday morning throughout the summer for the Oisans Col Series. • Jun 27, 2018

Once or twice a year, I organise a mixed ability social rides weekend. Our latest one was at Ventoux. Here's how it went. • May 28, 2018