For immediate release · 21 October 2026
Wonks Route '66
A 60th birthday, a 1966 Tour de France, and 1,306 km ridden
A man, a bicycle, and the ghost of the 1966 Tour
On Thursday, 10 September 2026, Steve “Wonks” Williams set off from Nancy to follow the 1966 Tour de France route to Paris. He rode 1,306 km before an injury at St-Georges-de-Didonne made the difficult decision to halt unavoidable. The achievement, support and fundraising for Parkinson's UK still stand.
The 1966 race was won by Lucien Aimar — who, in a lovely turn of events, has sent Steve his photographs and a handwritten letter of encouragement ahead of the ride. Steve will shadow that same course: from Nancy through the Vosges, down the Rhône to Marseille, across the Alps and the Pyrénées, up the Atlantic coast, and finally into Paris on the Champs-Élysées.
His wife Helen follows in the motorhome as support driver, and friends, family and well-wishers followed the adventure at wonksroute66.app — a custom-built site preserving the map, dispatches, photos, films and day-by-day road book.
Steve is raising money for Parkinson's UK. Donations can be made at his JustGiving page.
At a glance
- The ride
- Nancy → St-Georges-de-Didonne, following the 1966 Tour de France route
- The distance ridden
- 1,306 km
- The original plan
- 3,833 km to Paris
- The journey
- Thursday, 10 September 2026 – 22 September 2026
- The occasion
- Steve's 60th birthday
- The charity
- Parkinson's UK
Press enquiries
For interviews or photographs, please call Steve “Wonks” Williams directly.
+44 7966 650599Read the complete road book at wonksroute66.app.
About the ride
Wonks Route '66 is a non-commercial personal challenge. Steve is an experienced amateur cyclist; the route, distances and climbing are real and were plotted from the actual 1966 Tour de France stage maps. The site was built by friend Robin Bennett so that anyone — press included — can follow the adventure as it happens.
For more on the history of the Tour de France and the Parkinson's Parkinson's UK charity Steve rode for, see the About page.
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