Hunting the Golden Lion: A Cycle Safari Through France

We have to admit responsibility for this book. We challenged Martin Lloyd to put his money where his mouth was when he claimed, in The Trouble with Spain, that it must be possible to cross all of France by staying only in Hotels called ‘Hotel du Lion d’Or’. This book is the result.

Surely it will be a straightforward and leisurely ride through France? As long as the hotels are no more than a day’s ride apart, of course. And if your bicycle has been constructed this century, and if you remember to take with you all that you need… and if your name isn’t Martin Lloyd.

Is this why, on the first day of his safari, he is standing in his pyjamas on a pavement a thousand miles from home, clutching a broken bicycle with a bleeding hand?