It feels strange writing this. For months, this project has lived quietly in spreadsheets, route maps and a handful of conversations. It’s been an idea I’ve carried around in my head. Today, it’s public.

The JUST PHIL RIDE is live.

In just 5 months, I’ll ride the entire 2026 Tour de France route — every stage and every transfer — completely solo and unsupported. Nearly 6,000 kilometres in around 25 days. No team cars. No support crew. Just me and the road.

GOING LIVE WITH this website feels almost as significant as rolling out of Barcelona will. Because this is the moment it becomes real.

The hardest part of this whole process so far wasn’t planning the route or working out the daily distances. It was simply saying the words out loud “I’m going to do this.”

Once you say it publicly, there’s no going back.

This ride is deeply personal. In April 2025, I lost my mum to dementia. Like so many families, we experienced how devastating and isolating it can be. Right now, there is no cure. That’s incredibly hard to accept. So this is my way of doing something — turning loss into action, and hopefully helping raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s Research UK.