Week One

This week is a cyclist’s dream, an absolute joy to ride and overflowing with ravishing scenery and historic sights.

After flying through the gorgeous Kent countryside, we take a ferry to Dunkirk before gliding along the legendary cycle paths of Belgium and the Netherlands.

And winding our way through no less than four countries means you’ll have the chance to sample the carby delights of four national cuisines!

GREAT! HOW MUCH WILL IT BE?!

Not one or two but FOUR pricing options. For all options, you can pay in one transaction or two equal, monthly instalments.
1. The standard = £385
Straight up!

2. I can and I will! = £385 + whatever you want
The gift economy! Most tours like ours are double the price. We choose to keep the price lower than most so that we have a fun mixture of people from different backgrounds and lifestyles. If you can afford anything from one to one million pounds extra, you’ll make our day, and make it much more likely Thighs will continue for another year!

3. Low income place = £250
4. No income place = £0
Previously the low and no income places have been given to people that spend lots of time volunteering and people out of work, particularly if you are a migrant and don’t have the right to work. If this is you, please get in touch with us at hello@thighsofsteel.com

This money covers the costs of the trip, the £500 fundraising is separate and goes directly to Help Refugees.

Scroll down to find out more about the fundraising.

sign ups are temporarily closed

This is a great week for people who are new to long distance cycling, or those who want to take a slightly more relaxed approach to the trip.

That said, it ain’t no holiday! This will be a challenge. There will be hills and there will be sweat!

What makes this week particularly special is that we’ll arrange places to stay pretty much every night of the ride, so we’ll be welcomed by all sorts of generous hosts along the way!

For the first few days in England we’ll have the Kentish hills to master! We’ll ease ourselves in with a short 55km day to start, weaving our way out of London and cycle along the beautiful ancient Pilgrim’s Way to The Quadrangle Trust, a Victorian farmstead, now a centre for arts and permaculture.

On day 2 we’ll take on the toughest day of the ride, with 110km to ride all the way to the Kent coast over it’s lush hills and skinny, quiet lanes!

After arriving in Dunkirk, we’ll just have time to pick up a croissant or three before nipping over the border into Belgium.

Our route to Amsterdam takes us along the LF2 long distance cycle route so we’re promised incredible cycle paths, centuries-old village chapels and farmhouses, gothic cathedrals and 19th-century city palaces - and even the occasional stork!

This week is a bit of a historical city tour as we pass through Bruges, Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Antwerp on our way to Amsterdam. You are particularly encouraged to come if you know the history, we’re keen to learn.

But we’re also riding through Kalmthout Heathland, over (!) the lakes of the Reeuwijkse Plassen, and the Green Heart of Holland so there’ll be plenty of fresh air and endless views.

By coming on a week of the ride, you’re committing to fundraise a minimum of £500 for awesome grassroots refugee organisations.

Together, we’re hoping to raise £60,000 for Help Refugees. Every penny of this will be given to projects such as Khora, who are supporting refugees to move forward under exceptionally difficult circumstances.

We're confident you won't find it too tough to raise £500, to give you a head start, here's a load of ideas and tips from Thighs cyclists who've fundraised gazillions in the past. We're always around to help you come up with new ideas as well - drop us a line if you’re worried.

Read more about your incredible impact as a Thighs cyclists on The Reason page

580km of carefully chosen roads with as little traffic as possible.
Veggie breakfasts, lunches and dinners from the night before the ride begins until the morning after it ends.
Calypso, our support vehicle, equipped with mini bike workshop, space for your belongings and an alfresco kitchen
Somewhere to sleep every night! This ranges from adventurous wild camping spots, to a hostel with real actual beds in Amsterdam. We'll also find you a place to sleep on July 5th in London, before the start of the ride, if you'd like.
A tent to sleep in.
Ferry from UK to France.

580km of downhills.
A bike. (BUT...We have two bikes available for hire for £70. Let us know in your sign up form if you need one)
A luxury week away. We'll rotate all the jobs that need to be done to make communal life a dream. Be ready to cook, do the washing up, and put your own tent up and down as required.
A daily shower. There's no guarantee. More often than not we simply head for the nearest body of water, or tip a water bottle over our heads!
Most days we’ll have a quick break at a café, bakery or a shop so that you can stock up on caffeine and carbs. Sometimes, depending on the group vibe, we might get lured into a fantastic-smelling restaurant en route. For all of these, you'll pay your own bills.
Your journeys to the starting point and then homeward after the trip. We strongly recommend that you book travel as early as possible to get a decent price.
Insurance. It’s boring but essential

SUNDAY 5 JULY // Meet in the morning, have a chat about the week ahead and get our bearings. Then we’ll get our legs spinning with the first day of the week! Cycle around 55km to the Quadrangle Trust (beautiful!!) have a dip in the river, eat, wash, sleep.

*If you need somewhere to stay on Saturday night, we can find you a Thighs of Steel host, just let us know on the sign up form

MONDAY 6 // Cycle really far to as near to Dover as we can get, pitch our tents, eat, chat and sleep.

TUESDAY 7 // Cycle a short way down to the ferry port, so long England....Bonjour France! We'll get off the ferry and cycle into Belgium, where we’ll do some more cycling before we camp, eat and sleep.

WEDNESDAY 8 // Today is when we start to step up the kilometers so it’s lucky that the countryside we’re cycling through is pretty darned flat! Expect dreamy cycle lanes and pretty towns, including the UNESCO World Heritage town of Bruges.

THURSDAY 9 // Today we pedal into our fourth country of the week - the cycling utopia that is The Netherlands! Expect fast cycle lanes, actually helpful road signs and exceptionally polite drivers. Either today or tomorrow we’ll whizz past the picture-perfect iconic Kinderdijk windmills.

FRIDAY 10 // The last day of the week is always the hardest, so we ease your pain by riding through cheese utopia Gouda. In Amsterdam, we’ll collapse in a puddle of joy before stuffing our bellies with carbs.

SATURDAY 11 // Wake up, a mixture of tired and elated, wander around the city in a happy daze. Set off home with Thighs a little steelier.

* NB: All the above details are loosely collated from our route planning, the internet and our imagination. What we do know for sure is that this is a real adventure and that plans and itineraries mock you in retrospect.

sign ups are temporarily closed

A WEEK NOT ENOUGH?

After one week, most people are seeing showers as mirages on the horizon and are shuddering at the sight of a bicycle, but not you! You’re craving adventure and muscle ache, and god damn it, you will not be stopped after a measly week!

You may be wild enough to be considering 3 or 4 or ALL of the weeks, but because places on the ride are limited, we only allow people to come for a maximum of 2 weeks so that as many people can come as possible, and therefore fundraise as much as possible. It's possibly obvious, but you’ll pay £385 for each week, and fundraise £500 per week too.

To sign up, you have two options:
1. Fill in the sign up form on each of the weeks you want to join for e.g. sign up on weeks 2 and 3. This is the quickest way.
2. If you'd like to pay in 4 monthly instalments to spread the cost, email us at hello@thighsofsteel.com. We'll reserve you a spot on both weeks if there space and then set up a payment plan with you.

BIKE-LESS BUT WANT TO JOIN US?

This year we have not one but two spare bikes for you to borrow.

The aim of the game is to make overland travel easier and encourage people who want to avoid flying - but we understand how hectic life is and welcome all-comers.

The cost of hiring a bike is £70.

The first bike will fit a human 5’5” - 5’9” (166cm - 175cm) tall.
The second bike will fit a human 5’9” - 6’1” (175cm - 185cm).

If you would like to reserve one of the bikes, let us know when you sign up.

Note: We will provide lights, a day bag for your lunch, a variety of pedals
Please bring your own helmet and 2 inner tubes. Bring your own saddle if you have a favourite one,
otherwise we have a few to choose from.

WHAT WILL I NEED TO BRING?!

What on earth do you bring on this trip!? Don't panic!
We have a kit list for everything you need, HERE.
We're fans of doing things as cheaply and greenly as possible, so there's not much on our 'essentials' list.
We really recommend asking buddies and pals to borrow bits and bobs to save on buying new!

TRAVEL & LOGISTICS HELP!

We understand travelling is a bit of a logistical puzzle sometimes!
SO...we've researched the routes and the best ways to get there!
Head here to see how!