Europe is simply full of variety and putting together a trip itinerary can be intimidating and exciting. And seeing it by bike is so rewarding. Fancy a tour of the beautiful towns and villages in the low countries like Belgium and the Netherlands, or the WW1 battlefields, perhaps? You also won't be far from taking in parts of the most famous one day classics. France offers us vineyards and rolling rural rides all the way through to the steep challenges of the Alps, Mont Ventoux and the Pyrenees. Fancy tackling some (or all!) of the Tour de France, perhaps. Germany offers massive forests, wonderful river routes and beautiful scenery at every turn, or challenge your legs in Austria, Switzerland and northern Italy. One of our own favourites is the area round Tuscany - beautiful rolling hills and the famous white roads combined with the potential to overnight in Florence of Pisa. Spain is wonderful cycling country, smooth tarmac, warm climate wonderful food and plenty to see. All round the Mediterranean is perfect for a winter get away - and don't forget the islands such as the Balearics or Canaries - follow the major teams to their winter training camps! If you're inspired, talk to us about planning your trip and how we could support you. We think Euro Velo is a great source of information and ideas. You can find them here . If you're thinking of going further afield, talk to us and we'll discuss what we can do to help make your world wide cycling dreams come true. Lonely Planet have some great books and articles such as the one you'll find here .

If you're a UK resident or you're thinking about visiting, the UK has some great cycling possibilities which are easy to underestimate. For a start the UK has a wide variety of landscapes, from the quiet rolling countryside of the south, the Moorland uplands of the Peak District, Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales to the more tougher mountainous areas of Wales and Scotland. With lots of rural areas and routes don't think there is a lack of cycle friendly routes and that there is too much traffic on our roads - and with the " Sustrans " network there are lots of long distance cycling routes opening up. If you do intend to tour the UK it is easy enough to avoid the large conurbations (unless there is a Sustrans route through it) and the main 'A' class trunk roads as the amount of traffic on these can be large and UK drivers although usually courteous are not used to a lot of cyclists. If you stick to the minor roads and use the long distance cycle routes you should have some great touring. It goes without saying that we at Go Pedal can help you work through all these options. If you're visiting the UK or having a staycation we'd love to talk to you about how we make your cycling adventure happen, from transfers and equipment, to routes and accommodation and on ride support. Follow these links for more information, then come back to Go Pedal so we can help you ride wherever you want to. Sustrans National Cycle Network here More cycling routes, this time from Cycling UK here A great set of county and region guides, also from Cycling UK here A set of northern England guides from Cycle England here Some of England's quietest roads from Visit Lincolnshire here

For me, the beauty of Go Pedal is our flexibility to provide a bespoke service; this means that we can support and facilitate everything from cycling holidays through to long distance corporate rides - but Go Pedal's origin is networking and team building. If you know me you'll know my background is in relationships and engagement, so you'll also know I've done more than my fair share of networking in bars and the like (and hosted a good number too).Like me, I'm sure you'll have also sat in an office on a team building course. They've got merit - like many things in the world, it works for some not for others; but for me, it's time we took more advantage of other ways to build business, build relationships, build teams. I mentioned Go Pedal's origin; Go Pedal has gestated since 2015 when I rode from London to Liege in three days on a ride organised by John Lewis for their property teams. We raised a rake load of cash for a great charitable cause but that wasn't just why JLP organised these rides. They knew that the shared passion and shared challenge gave a real strengthening of relationships between their property team and their supply chain. Six years on I am still in regular touch with all of the group I rode with, we've shared business, supported each others aims and goals and done a lot more cycling together too. Sitting here today there is so much around us about everything opening back up. We're all getting about more and I'm sure events in bars and meetings in offices will soon be back filling our diaries. But, I believe that there is more of a mindset toward meeting in a different environment than there has been before. Whether it's health, whether it's Covid, or whether it's another reason doesn't matter, what is key is that different and more healthy ways to build strong and lasting relationships is becoming more acceptable.

I’m sure you’ll have seen the stats on the growth of cycling during the pandemic - quite a common story across most news feeds. Less talked about is the impact of the pandemic on charities. Is now the time that we encourage and challenge ourselves? It’s undeniable that the pandemic’s impacts on charity feel rather like a perfect storm. Although figures (depending on the source) vary widely, some report incomes from charitable giving across the sector down as much as 17%, half of all charities report a significant decrease in donations. Against that, 47% report a significant increase in requests for their services that makes it ever more difficult to cut back and resize as the commercial world was able to – in fact 35% of charities report an increase in costs. Long term, it doesn’t feel like there’s much to celebrate as the long-term economic impacts of Covid (and Brexit) place pressure on corporate and household finances which charitable giving is intrinsically linked to. But Go Pedal’s genesis, and a lot of our experience is from raising money from cycling. Across the cycling industry, we see 60% sales growth in 2020 and what is now a £2.2bn industry and it’s undeniable that cycling is rude health. Personally, I’m delighted; yes, it’s great for Go Pedal and all the other businesses involved, but every moment in the saddle that improves health and reduces impact on our health services is to be celebrated. And I think that now is the time those who can start to think about what we can do on our two wheels to help. Honestly, I’d be delighted if you came to us and let Go Pedal help you set something up. We’ll always work to minimise all the costs of a ride where it’s for a charity and we’ll take time to persuade and cajole our suppliers to do the same so we can ensure the maximum return to the charity. But we’ll also be happy to give free advice too. Our experience comes from raising £12,500 for Anthony Nolan and Disability Snowsports UK with ten riders when we covered 4 Countries in 4 Days from Lincoln to Paris back in 2018. To do that we got support vehicles donated for free, some of our riders were encouraged by their businesses who gave time off for voluntary activity and we ensured costs of travel, accommodation food and support did not come from any funds raised for the two great causes. But it doesn’t have to be that grand - for example, one of the 4C4D team is riding 250 miles across this week to raise £500 for a charity close to his heart.* Yes, I’d love you to think of Go Pedal and get in touch if you’re thinking you can do something to help close the charity income gap. I’d love it if Go Pedal could help you plan it and support your ride. But we’ll also always be here just for a bit of advice, a steer or guidance from our own experience. Whatever you choose to do, good luck. Chapeau. Find out more at www.gopedal.net/our-services#Charity * Andy Gutherson will be riding 250 miles this week to raise £500 to buy a brio epilepsy alarm for a 13 year old local lad who also has hereditary spastic paraplegia and will in the future almost certainly be confined to a wheelchair. If you would be willing to sponsor Andy, you can make donations by texting CADL 5 to 70085 (Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message). To donate different amounts, change the last number. To donate £3 text CADL 3, to donate £10 text CADL 10, to donate £20 text CADL 20.

Ever been on a team building session of some kind and been asked "what high performing teams can you think of?" How many times have the Red Bull (insert other F1 team) pit crew or the Red Arrows been given as an answer? If you're anything like me it will be often and many. If you want an alternative I'd like to offer one, here. If you follow cycling you'll be all over this already, if you don't or if you aren't (or if you aren't as keen as us here at Go Pedal) then let me explain. The Tour de France is a set of races within a race; as well as 21 individual stages to win there are also four "jerseys" to win. The yellow jersey for the best overall time total, polka dots for the King of the Mountains, white for the best overall time total by a rider under under 25 and then the green jersey for the rider with the highest points total, points being scored at intermediate sprints and for stage wins. It's the green jersey that is really exciting this year, the man wearing it (a certain Mark Cavendish who hails from the Isle of Man,) and his Deceunink Quick-Step team mates. Like any team the individuals in it support overall performance. 23 teams of 8 riders started the Tour three weeks ago in Brittany. Teams will have all rounders who can climb well and hold their own in a sprint and are likely to be in the yellow or white jersey race, they'll have straight climbers who grind their way uphill for hours dragging their team mates with them and they'll have the sprinters with lightning fast explosive bursts but who hate the steep stuff - they'll be after points and the green jersey, and there we find Mark Cavendish, Cav, the Manx missile. The quandary with Cav is that he is devastating in a sprint, but boy does he hate the steep stuff. But he has to do the steep stuff, and he has to do it fast enough to avoid the time cut off, so finish within 30-40 minutes of the stage winner (varies by stage in a complicated moving goalpost) But he'd also been written off; at 36 Mark is old for a competitive cyclist (the current yellow jersey holder is 22), in 2018 he failed to make the time cut and hasn't ridden in the Tour since. But this year was different; recovered from health issues he got the ride with Deceunink Quick-Step. Having beaten the Alps and two trips up the fearsome Mont Ventoux, Cav hit the high peaks of the Pyrenees in the green jersey and had equalled the 34 stage win record long held by the legendary Eddy Merckx. Just one more stage win and he'd beat it, but between him and the two possible chances to do so lay three mountain stages, two of them summit finishes including the infamous Col de Tourmalet and heights way above 2000 metres. And that's where the team really show their mettle. Don't get me wrong, Cav didn't get to the record equalling 34 stage wins alone; particular mention must go to Mark's lead out man, Michael Morkov, but look back at the picture that heads this article. Like all good teams there are the leaders and the supporters - in cycling the "domestiques." In the mountains, Mark's domestiques know their leader needs support and Mark, as the leader is humble enough to know there are times when the team are better than him. Each day in the mountains four of them have shepherded, guided, supported, cajoled their leader to the top, protecting him and the jersey that will bring the winners glory on Mark, and the whole team, and them. And they've done it, the last mountain is conquered, comfortably inside the time cut off each day. They're back in the flatter stuff and riding as I type this. Possibly today they'll pilot the phenomenal Mark Cavendish to his next stage win and he'll take Merckx's record, or it may be Saturday on the Champs Elysee. And I guarantee that, whether he wins one of them, both of them or neither of them, the first thing he'll do will be to seek out, congratulate and thank the team he is so pleased to be part of. Team player, team leader, team member - chapeau Cav (I tip my hat to you.) I really must mention that Mark and his supporters are also a sub-team! At the other end of the race the overall team leader, the flamboyant Julian Alaphillipe continues to push for as high an overall finish as he can achieve, but knowing that overall team success comes from supporting the man in green. Good luck to everyone riding this weekend, I think I know my nomination for Sports Personality of the Year. Go Pedal (www.gopedal.net) provide bespoke planning, logistics and support services to make cycling dreams happen. If you want to ride where records fell, recreate the Pyrenees stages or just have a staycation on your bike then get in touch and find out how we can help. Wherever you want to ride, we help you get there.