Mike Wells 
The River Rhone Cycle Route 
From the Alps to the Mediterranean

Guidebook to the River Rhone Cycle Route, an 895km bicycle ride from the Alps of central Switzerland to the Mediterranean Sea, near Marseille, France. The route – which is mostly downhill, except for an optional 15km climb to the start point at Furkapass – is divided into 20 stages (averaging 45km per stage) and can be completed by most cyclists in 12-14 days.

The route uses two waymarked national cycle trails: the Swiss R1 Rhone Route and the French Via Rhona, which together have been adopted by the ECF (European Cyclists’ Federation) as Euro Velo route EV17.

The guide provides detailed route descriptions and 1:150, 000 mapping for each stage, as well as two route options along either the north or south shore of Lake Geneva. It also includes plenty of practical advice such as preparing for the journey, transport options there and back, what to take, accommodation en route and a French/German glossary.

About the author

Mike Wells is an author of both walking and cycling guides. He has been walking long-distance footpaths for 25 years, after a holiday in New Zealand gave him the long-distance walking bug. Within a few years, he had walked the major British trails, enjoying their range of terrain from straightforward downland tracks through to upland paths and challenging mountain routes. He then ventured into France, walking sections of the Grande Randonnee network (including the GR5 through the Alps from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean), and Italy to explore the Dolomites Alta Via routes. Further afield, he has walked in Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Norway and Patagonia.


Mike has also been a keen cyclist for over 20 years. After completing various UK Sustrans routes, such as Lon Las Cymru in Wales and the C2C route across northern England, he then moved on to cycling long-distance routes in continental Europe and beyond. These include cycling both the Camino and Ruta de la Plata to Santiago de la Compostela, a traverse of Cuba from end to end, a circumnavigation of Iceland and a trip across Lapland to the North Cape. He has written a series of cycling guides for Cicerone following the great rivers of Europe.