Any prospective author probably hopes to encounter a few challenges along the way, because it all helps to add a bit of drama to the story: you can always rely on closed facilities somewhere, a bit of bad weather when you don’t want it, and some intransigent bureaucracy is almost inevitable. 

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These (and other) challenges are recounted with wit and humour, interspersed with numerous tangents and distractions – and there is pleasure to be had from both. 

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Just in case that didn’t provide enough suspense, Sykes allows himself the use of an occasional train. A bike on a train: what could possibly go wrong? The answer is enough to help with the story, but not enough to disrupt his plans too much.

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On the other hand, friendly locals and unexpected hospitality are equally predictable: we know that such delights often benefit self-propelled travellers, and are a large part of the reason why we do it.

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I find that travelogues normally provide more in the way of inspiration than actual detail on equipment or routes – and that is the case here. There’s a few comments about the Rohloff hub, Gates belt drive, and Schwalbe tyres that were used - and some useful tips and general information that could be of interest to future travellers.

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Later this year I will actually be visiting the same areas of Switzerland as Sykes did, and did get some helpful advice about a visit to the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, the UCI’s “world headquarters of cycling”.

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Sykes takes the opportunity to compare aspects of this trip with his previous journeys, and looks at how things have changed. The use of technology is an obvious example: there’s more of it, more time spent ensuring that it works, and a greater reliance on it. It all creates opportunities for potential hazard, which in turn provides more to write about!

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An important reason for increasing the tech quotient is that Sykes wanted to produce regular podcasts throughout his trip, which you can find here https://cyclingeurope.org/category/podcast/ . That’s another thing that marks out those for whom such a trip isn’t a normal holiday, because there’s always work to be done.

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If you want to get a flavour of Sykes’ trip (and writing), you can look at an article that appeared in the Cycling UK magazine, and on the website https://www.cyclinguk.org/cycle-magazine/great-rides-le-grand-tour – with one caveat: the article is illustrated with some rather good pictures, whereas (disappointingly) the book has none at all. 

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After teaming up with a publisher https://summersdale.com/titles/andrew-p-sykes/spain-to-norway-on-a-bike-called-reggie/9781849539906/ for book number three, Sykes is back to being self-published this time. Sykes uses the Amazon ecosystem for printing, which I find normally produces a slightly low-budget result – including a cover that needs no encouragement to curl up, and paper thin enough to allow some ‘show through’. 

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Taking the Amazon route also means that the all-powerful behemoth will take most of the sales – although if you want a signed copy, go can go straight to Sykes’ own website https://cyclingeurope.org/books/. 

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‘Le Grand Tour’ joins Sykes’ other three books in being an entertaining travelogue that should have appeal to anyone who enjoys wry humour and good storytelling: there’s little here to frighten off non-cyclists – although with luck they will realise that it’s only the use of a bike that makes the adventure what it is.