My most challenging adventure yet: Le Loop.
Le Loop follows the official route of the Tour de France, one week ahead of
the professionals. In 2023 it starts with the ‘Grand Depart’ in Bilbao on Friday 23rd June and finishes 21 stages, some 3,400kms
later on Sunday 16th July in Paris. Some cyclists choose to ride
just a few days, others further. I have unfinised business from 2022 when Covid stopped me after 8 days (see blog below) so will once again be taking on the ultimate challenge of
riding the full tour!
The purpose of this challenge is to raise money for the William Wates Memorial Trust whose mission is to help the most disadvantaged young people keep away from a life of crime and violence and fulfil their potential. This is achieved by giving grants to charities that engage young people through the medium of sports, arts and education.
It's been a tough couple of years, particularly for young people. This is my chance to give something back and help support young people who aren't lucky enough to enjoy the advantages in life that most of us take for granted.
Le Loop is no small undertaking. Training for and riding even ONE stage of the Tour de France route is going to hurt! Please reward my pain by giving generously.
Merci!
My Updates

Looking back: It's all about the people!
Sunday 23rd Jul

The end
Monday 17th Jul

Stage 21! 😀😀😀
Sunday 16th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
The final mountain(s)
Saturday 15th Jul

Stage 20
Saturday 15th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
A smile-generating ride
Friday 14th Jul

Stage 19
Friday 14th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Homely headwinds
Friday 14th Jul


Hairpin heaven/hell
Thursday 13th Jul

Stage 17
Thursday 13th Jul https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11548935243?share_unique_id=78 Share
Chase the Cookie Monster
Tuesday 11th Jul

Stage 16
Tuesday 11th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Keeping cool
Monday 10th Jul

Stage 15
Sunday 9th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Bagging cols
Saturday 8th Jul

All about the final climb
Saturday 8th Jul

Stage 14
Saturday 8th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Stage 13
Friday 7th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Beautiful Beaujolais
Friday 7th Jul

Stage 12
Thursday 6th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Good company and good food
Wednesday 5th Jul

Stage 11
Wednesday 5th Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Picture perfect scenery
Tuesday 4th Jul

Stage 10
Tuesday 4th Jul Slow to get back into the swing of things so just a Garmin link today
"Warm up" complete
Monday 3rd Jul

Stage 9
Sunday 2nd Jul https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Our prayers for sunshine were answered in the afternoon
Saturday 1st Jul

Stage 8
Saturday 1st Jul https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11465527883?share_unique_id=51 Share
Teamwork makes the dream-work
Friday 30th Jun

Stage 7
Friday 30th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Waterfalls and water in the air
Friday 30th Jun

Stage 6
Thursday 29th Jun
A Pyranean Welcome
Wednesday 28th Jun

Stage 5
Wednesday 28th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Vines galore
Tuesday 27th Jun

Stage 4
Tuesday 27th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
More hill blindness
Tuesday 27th Jun

Stage 3
Monday 26th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Redefining flat and hilly
Monday 26th Jun

Stage 2
Sunday 25th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Perfect weather for a beach trip (less so for cycling)
Sunday 25th Jun

Stage 1
Saturday 24th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Acclimatising to Bilbao
Friday 23rd Jun

1 week to go!
Saturday 17th Jun

Here we go again!
Saturday 29th Oct

Staying positive
Sunday 10th Jul

Here endeth my Le Loop 2022
Tuesday 5th Jul

Alpine lakes have never looked so inviting
Sunday 3rd Jul


Easy does it
Friday 1st Jul




Cobbles
Wednesday 29th Jun

Bonjour France
Wednesday 29th Jun

Stage 5
Wednesday 29th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Reflections on Denmark
Tuesday 28th Jun

Stage 4
Tuesday 28th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Keeping cool
Monday 27th Jun

Stage 3
Sunday 26th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
Saturday 25th Jun

Stage 2
Saturday 25th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Stage 1 Complete
Friday 24th Jun

And we're off
Friday 24th Jun https://www.wahooligan.com/users/live/wWO8ANdeHmBSkRWm7MF3-w
Stage 0 complete
Thursday 23rd Jun

Training Complete
Thursday 23rd Jun

Conquering Challenges
Wednesday 15th Jun
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Food glorious(?) food
Wednesday 8th Jun

New Shoes
Thursday 26th May
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6 weeks to go!!!
Friday 13th May
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Alpine Training
Monday 9th May
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March Update
Tuesday 26th Apr
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Blown off course?
Friday 11th Mar
The spring flowers are starting to appear and giving me
cause to smile during my rides. However, the weather in February did not
generate smiles. The storms and their associated winds made me decide some of
my planned rides were too dangerous to go ahead with. Although I made it up with some
time on the turbo trainer, the distance covered in the month (800km) was down
on where I hoped to be and my first 100miler of the year had to wait until
March.

Hill Training
Tuesday 15th Feb

Too busy cycling
Friday 21st Jan
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Autumnal Cycling
Monday 13th Dec

2022 Calendars: Gifts that give!
Saturday 27th Nov

Contact me directly to order, or make a £10 donation and reference them in your message and I will be in contact to organise delivery.

Training has started!
Sunday 21st Nov
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Thank you to my Sponsors

£600
Julia Robson

£265
Helen Burnham
Hope you make it this time, Julia!

£215
Joe Parry
Good luck!

£212
Celia Monteiro
Here's 10p per mile. We hope it's some motivation when things get tough! Good luck for the adventure. Xxx

£212
Celia Monteiro
Hi Ju, I can't afford a pound per mile so it's a pound per ten (rounded up as I'm feeling generous). Congratulations on completing the entire course this year super sister. So glad you made it! Lots of love, xxx

£200
Helen Burnham
Attagirl! Good luck with the training!

£200
Patricia Gardener

£150
Mike Robson
Enjoy the ride into Paris

£108
Catherine Kearns
Enjoy every agonising minute x

£108
Anonymous

£108
Offline Fundraising

£100
Irene & Tony
Wishing you every success and a wonderful trip

£100
Simon Hay

£100
Kaush Kotak

£100
Anthony Bosanko
Good luck Julia!

£100
Pollie Boyle
This will be an amazing experience! 170km a day - wow! I reckon I could manage that for a day or two but three weeks... Good luck and enjoy the extra food!

£96.50
Cambridge Intelligence Ltd
Good Luck!

£54
Tom Fisher
Happy pedaling!

£54
William James
Going well on your second attempt! Roll on Paris - just a few bumps to go...

£54
Anonymous
Have a great ride!!!

£54
Hisako

£54
Johan Dreyer
What an incredible challenge for an incredible cause. You're an inspiration to many of us Julia. Have a great adventure!

£54
William James
A massive adventure!! Enjoy the route, and the rest days 😂

£54
Craig Padley
Good luck and enjoy!

£54
Hk

£50
Anthony Crawshaw

£50
Anonymous

£50
Kaush Kotak

£50
Austin Benson

£50
Katherine Abell
Keep going and have fun, Julia.

£50
Charlotte Roach
Good luck! Such an epic challenge!

£50
Alan And Hilary
Wishing you good luck with this impressive challenge!

£50
Bryan Amesbury

£50
Hisako Mcrobbie

£50
Anonymous

£50
Neil Talbott
Amazing effort for the first 8 stages. I'm so sorry you had to stop through no fault of your own. Best of luck for a second crack or whatever you decide to focus on next instead.

£50
Richard Peter Alan Sworder
Good luck, happy birthday and enjoy the ride!

£50
Katherine Abell
Good luck, Julia!

£50
Jay Derrett
Bloody well done, Julia! Hurculean effort for a very special cause. Thank you.

£50
Richard Sworder

£50
Jill Patterson
Fantastic challenge. Hope you enjoy it

£50
Neil Talbott
Absolutely phenomenal. I hope you enjoyed the after-party and are looking forward to a very well-earned rest and a lot of pies!

£50
Anonymous
Awsome

£43.20
Courtney Collins
Best of luck Julia!!

£43.20
Mark And Alison
£40 to mark your parents' 40 years of marriage.

£43.20
Julia Robson

£42
Cambridge Intelligence
Good luck!

£40
Adam & Daniel Hodson

£40
Rebecca Langton
Crazy challenge, but hope you keep on smiling! Best wishes for an awesome adventure!!

£37.80
Roger Murby
Good luck in the mountains !

£35
Richard Loke
Have a great ride!!

£34
Phil Rodgers
Good luck!

£32.40
Kirsten Morgan
Looking forward to many long rides with on the tour! See you on the 22nd 😁

£32.40
Roger Murby
Enjoy the mountains ! Although possibly harder work cycling than gliding I expect.

£32.40
Nigel Turner
What a massive challenge! Hope the training goes well

£30
Iain Butler
Allez !

£27
Amalie

£27
Valdis Lusis
Great challenge Julia! Very best wishes.

£27
Steve Woolcock
Good luck on this epic journey. Well done so far with the training during those cold December, January and February days.

£27
Explore Zero Waste
What an amazing charity and event well done!

£27
Jenny G-s
In awe of what you accomplished even before covid-19 struck. Even one day of the Tour is a huge challenge.

£27
Andrew Disney
Bon courage!

£27
Zoe Moran
Good luck!

£27
Alice Ghorashi
What a wonderful cause to raise money for. Wishing you the best of luck with your ride x

£27
Adrian Brown

£27
Jim Indield
You are very courageous to take on such a tremendous challenge. Wishing you every success, good luck and remain injury free !

£27
Cambridge Intelligence
Good luck!

£27
Bente Dignam

£27
Jessica Berrisford
Good Luck Julia, hope you enjoy it too!

£25
Lizzie Gallant
You are doing an amazing thing! You still make me feel tired after all these years!

£25
Jenny G-s
John would be cheering you on

£25
Anonymous

£25
Corey Lanum

£25
Corey Lanum
This sounds amazing, I am happy to donate.

£25
Jonathan Castell
Good luck, Julia!

£25
Neil Cotton
Good luck - you're mad but brilliant. Neil, Sophie, Lucy and Lowenna XXxx

£25
Toby Faber

£25
Karin Cotgrave
Good luck on your adventures

£25
Linda Cotgrave

£25
Andrew Disney
I look forward to cycling around France vicariously through photos on Slack!

£25
Nick Collings
You can do it! 💪

£25
Jake Reich

£25
Courtney Collins
Best of luck Julia!

£25
James Shaw

£25
Anonymous

£25
Christian Lentfort

£25
Jon Glass
Good luck - a very impressive challenge!

£25
Catherine Kearns
Good luck Julia!

£25
Gibbo
Flats hills and tail winds.

£25
Rachel & James
Good luck on your latest and craziest adventure yet!

£25
Bobby Brinkley
Good luck Me Julie. X

£25
Cambridge Intelligence

£25
Adrian Fraser
Good luck Julie - that's quite a big effort.

£25
Nusrat Hamid
Good luck!

£25
Toby Faber
Part of me thinks you're mad; another part is a little bit envious.

£25
Jonathan Murphy
Good luck with the ride

£25
Adrian Brown

£21.60
Paul Brennan

£21.60
Gavin Smith
Best of luck with it all Julia, it looks amazing :-) Gavin

£21.60
Amalie
Woop woop - you did it!!! X

£21
Becca Downing
Good luck Julia! We think you're crazy, but it's super impressive! Can we follow you or get daily updates? love Becca, Chris, Amelie and Lucas xxxx

£21
Becca Downing
Good luck Julia! You're doing amazingly, we're enjoying watching the full Tour and tracking you at the same time. Have a fantastic time, love Becca Chris Amelie & Lucas xxxx

£20
David Egbue
Cookies and brownies brought me here ☺️

£20
Amy Kingston
Amazing challenge, hope it goes well :-)

£20
Offline Donation

£20
Cambridge Intelligence

£20
Jo
Well done Julia- keep going!!!

£20
Dan
Good luck!

£20
Evie
Good luck!

£20
Peter Mcevoy
Somehow the donation amount seems underwhelming compared with the magnitude of your challenge! But hopefully my contribution will help a little.

£16.20
Nicola O'clarey
Doing the Full Loop - Wow you must have a big heart physiologically and emotionally xxx

£16.20
Andrea Walker
You are unstoppable Julia! Best of luck with this impressive challenge xx

£15
Jack
Good luck!

£15
Ray

£15
Warren
Good luck!

£15
Mike Gatfield

£10.80
Carla Velterop-martin
Good luck, Julia!

£10.80
Grant Chapman
Good luck mate

£10.80
Anonymous

£10.80
C Donald
Getting one more calendar for a friend that really liked your photos 😊 Good luck Julia 🚴♂️

£10.80
Simon Costello

£10.80
Rosy

£10.80
Michael Faboyinde
Go.. go.. go... Julia

£10.80
Carolyn

£10.80
Ray G

£10.80
Owen Michael Wyatt
Good cause dont ever stop

£10.80
Joanne Brand

£10
Anonymous

£10
Alex Finch

£10
Kevin N

£10
Bonney O'hanlon
Good luck for a smooth ride this time!

£10
David Cotgrave

£10
Yvonne Robson

£10
Jennifer Phillips Campbell
Hope you get to do the mountains this time!

£5.40
Sam Fletcher

£5.40